The Red Devils, who lost the previous two league editions to arch rivals Zamalek, made a perfect start to their new campaign, chalking up five consecutive wins.
Unlike in the past season, Ahly now have an embarrassment of riches upfront, with new arrival Bruno Savio making a fine impact and South African forward Percy Tau finally regaining fitness following an injury-disrupted campaign last term.
Ahly produced a fine attacking display to beat Ghazl El-Mahalla 2-0 away in their last league outing and they will be favourites to overcome Ittihad and preserve their 100 percent record.
"We played very well in attack and managed to create many goal-scoring chances," Ahly's Swiss coach Marcel Koller said following the victory over Mahalla.
"Tau needed a chance after recovering from injury and he excelled in the striker role."
Ittihad will be eager to halt Ahly's winning run at Cairo's Al-Salam Stadium. They made a fine start to the season with three straight wins but were then given a reality check after losing two consecutive games.
They lie sixth in the table with nine points from five games, six adrift of Ahly.
Ahly will only miss winger Taher Mohamed Taher, who is suffering from a knee injury.
(For more sports news and updates, follow Ahram Online Sports on Twitter at @AO_Sports and on Facebook at AhramOnlineSports.)
Short link: