The Red Devils dominated the competition last season and hope to keep their momentum this season. Ahly will be earger to bounce back to winning ways following their recent loss to USM Alger in the African Super Cup on Friday.

Ahly's coach Marcel Koller is expected to make some changes to his lineup especially by introducing French striker Anthony Modeste and South Africa's winger Percy Tau in his starting lineups.

The Swiss coach will have to do without midfielder Amr El Sulaya, Mahmoud Metwalli and Karim Walid due to injuries. 

On the other side Masry have been one of two teams that didn't lose against Ahly last season and they will be a tough nut to crack.

Masry FC, who finished fifth last season, are bolstered by the acquisitions of several talented new players, including the former Pyramids forward Fakhreddine Ben Youssef, former Ismaily defender Baher El-Mohamdy, and the Egypt's midfielder Mahmoud Hamada.

The Port Said-based club, guided by coach Ali Maher, who previously achieved two draws against Ahly last season when coaching a different team, is eager to commence the new campaign on a strong note.

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