Egypt's Mohamed Salah in action with Swaziland's Wandile Maseko (Reuters)
Egypt will be looking to secure their place in the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon on Tuesday when they face minnows eSwatini in the cup qualifiers in Manzini.
The Pharaohs are second in Group J with six points, three points behind leaders Tunisia, while eSwatini and Niger lie at the group bottom with a single point.
Egypt need to beat their hosts in Tuesday's clash and hopes that leaders Tunisia avoid loss against Niger in the same day to go through next year's Africa Cup of Nations with the Carthage Eagles.
On paper, the Pharaohs mission against eSwatini will not be tough, even with the absence of the team's star Mohamed Salah, who will miss the clash due to injury.
The Liverpool winger picked-up a muscle injury during Egypt's 4-1 win over eSwatini on Friday in Cairo and he left the Pharaohs camp to start treatment with his club in England.
During Friday's clash, the Pharaohs dominated the full 90 minutes of the game against an eSwatini side who appeared incapable of competing with the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations runner-up.
"We are ready for the eSwatini clash and are determined to keep our winning rhythm," Pharaohs coach Javier Aguirre told reporters on Monday.
"Mohamed Salah is a World class player and we will surely miss him on Tuesday."
"The team has many players who are capable of compensating for his absence."
Reports suggested that coach Aguirre is looking to make many changes in his side.
Al-Ein winger Hussein El-Shahat, Zamalek keeper Mahmoud 'Gennesh' Abdel-Rehim and Ismaily winger Mohamed Sadeq could have a role in Tuesday's clash as the Mexican coach wants to rotate his squad in order to avoid the anticipated fatigue due to playing two games in the space of five days.
"I am fully confident in all players and I am sure that they will produce a strong performance against eSwatini," Aguirre added.
"I asked the players not to underestimate their opponents and to forget the result of the Friday game, especially as the hosts will be fiercer at home," he concluded.
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