Under the guidance of South African coach Pitso Mosimane, Ahly secured a 3-2 hard fought league win over Ghazl El-Mahalla on Monday to extend their full mark; claiming 15 points from the five games played so far.
Ahly, who are looking to regain the league title they lost last season to arch-rivals Zamalek, will be missing key left back Ali Maaloul and striker Hossam Hassan against Smouha after the duo were injured against Mahalla.
The Reds' influential midfielder Amr El-Sulaya will miss Thursday's game due to suspension, but midfielder Hamdy Fathi could fill the gap after missing last match for the same reason.
On the other side, Smouha will be eying their second win this season after winning just a single game and settling for draws in another three.
Smouha, who played just four league games so far, currently lie in 11th place with six points.
Ahly's football director Sayed Abdel-Hafiz has hailed the team's fighting spirit after securing the late win over El-Mahalla, expecting a tough competition for the league title in every game this season.
"All the league games have been strong and on the same level. So, we always stress that we should respect all our rivals and play strongly from the game start until the final whistle," Abdel-Hafiz said after the El-Mahalla victory.
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