Preview: Ahly plagued by uncharacteristic inconsistency ahead of Aswan game
Ahram Online , Wednesday 28 Jul 2021
Ahly are now second on the league table with 55 points, six points behind leaders Zamalek, who played two games more


Recently crowned African Champions Ahly will be looking for a win on Thursday when they take on lowly ranked Aswan in a rescheduled league game in Cairo on Thursday, as the Red Devils are eying a sixth consecutive league trophy.

The Red Devils skipped a shock defeat on Monday when they came from 2-1 down against bottom side El-Entag El-Harbi to earn a last-gasp 3-2 win, keeping their hopes alive in the domestic league race.

Ahly are now second on the league table with 55 points, six points behind leaders Zamalek, who played two games more.

Since their 10th African title, Ahly have been hit with uncharacteristic inconsistency, being held to a 1-1 draw by the National Bank of Egypt club, a few days before being embarrassed against El-Entag El-Harbi.

Despite his satisfaction with his side's result against El-Entag, coach Pitso Mosimane expressed his displeasure over the team's performance, as there is no room for dropping points in the tough competition for the title this season.

The South African coach hopes to avoid a similar scenario against Aswan, with the Upper Egyptian side expected to fight fiercely on Thursday given their critical place on the league table.

Aswan are third from the bottom with 25 points, and they will be keen to avoid loss to skip the relegation zone.

Mosimane explained his side's shaky performance by the enormous fatigue of his players, stressing that his side should decide the remaining games from their early stages to avoid bad surprises such as that against NBE Club and the critical situation against El-Entag El-Harby.

The Red Devils are suffering from many absences, with six players participating with Egypt’s U-23 team at the ongoing Olympics, as well as fullback Mohamed Hani, who will miss the game due to automatic suspension.

Midfielder Hamdi Fathi, who missed the El-Entag win, will be available against Aswan.

On the other hand, Aswan coach Ahmed Mostafa will not be present in his side's crucial clash against Ahly after testing positive for COVID-19

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