Record eight-time winners Ahly were drawn with long-time rivals Etoile Sahel of Tunisia in the African Champions League group stage on Wednesday.

Both were placed in Group B, which also includes Sudanese giants El Hilal and Zimbabwe's F.C. Platinum.

Both Ahly and Etoile have a long history in Africa's elite club competition.

They last met in 2017 in the Champions League semis, with Ahly recording an emphatic 7-4 aggregate win after crushing their opponents 6-2 at home in the second leg.

The Red Devils also defeated Etoile in the 2005 final, with the Tunisians exacting revenge two years later to win the coveted Champions League trophy.

Should Ahly's Cairo foes Zamalek overcome Senegal's Generation Foot later this month, they will play in Group A along with fellow five-time winners TP Mazembe of the DR Congo, Angola's C.D. Primeiro de Agosto and ZESCO United of Zambia.

CAF said on Tuesday that Zamalek will meet Generation Foot in Egypt on 24 October after their previous meeting was called off last month when the Senegalese side declined to show up in protest at a decision to postpone the match for one day.

Generation Foot, which argued that the short-notice change had violated CAF's regulations, have a slight advantage after beating Zamalek 2-1 at home in the first leg of the Champions League second round.

Group C is arguably the strongest, with 2016 winners Mamelodi Sundowns of South Africa facing 2017 champions Wydad Casablanca, Angola's Petro Atletico and Algerian side USMA.

Group D includes Raja Casablanca, Algeria's J.S de Kabylie and defending champions Esperance of Tunisia.  

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