Ahly’s management held a closed meeting with Swiss coach Marcel Koller. Photo from the club's official website
Ahly had a good night on Saturday after Al-Hilal held to a 1-1 draw with Mamelodi Sundowns of South Africa, reviving the Egyptian giants' hopes of reaching the quarterfinals.
Ahly remain third with seven points in the Group B ranking, while Al-Hilal are second with ten points behind leaders Sundowns who already secured a place in the quarterfinals with 11 points.
Ahly’s management held a closed meeting with Swiss coach Marcel Koller to find out his plan for the crucial upcoming games as well as to evaluate the team’s previous performance.
“Ahly chairman Mahmoud El-Khatib held a long meeting with coach Marcel Koller at the club’s headquarter with attendance of the planning committee members to evaluate the previous period and to draw the future plan for the team,” read a statement on the club’s official website.
“Coach Koller showed his evaluation for the past competitions in the domestic and continental games as well as his vision for the coming period,” the statement added.
A tie in points between the Egyptian and the Sudanese sides will be decided first by their head-to-head record then by goal difference followed by most goals scored, according to the tournament regulations.
Ahly is expected to start the game against Al-Hilal cautiously, trying not to concede goals to their opponent after the Sudanese team won the first leg in Sudan 1-0.
Both teams have the same goal difference (+3) with Ahly scoring 11 goals and Al-Hilal netting six in all five games played in the group stage.
Ahly reached the group stage after beating US Monastir of Tunisia 4-0 on aggregate in the second preliminary round last October.
They opened their campaign in the group stage with a 1-0 loss to Al-Hilal away from home, before suffering a 2-2 home draw against Sundowns.
The Red Devils achieved their first victory with a 3-0 win over Coton Sport of Cameroon before suffering a shocking 5-2 defeat by the Sundowns away from home.
Ahly again defeated Coton Sport 4-0 away from home in the fifth round, keeping their hopes of reaching the quarterfinals alive.
The decisive crunch showdown between Ahly and Al-Hilal will be played at Cairo International Stadium with a large number of fans expected to attend.
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