Ahly beat Zamalek 2-0 the last time they met in the Egyptian Super Cup in October 2022 (Ahram)
Should the Red Devils prevail, they will go eight points clear of their perennial foes at the top and leave Zamalek with an uphill climb to bridge that gap.
Although the competition has not yet approached its halfway stage, Zamalek are aware that any loss would likely deal a killer blow to their title hopes, especially with a couple of other challengers, Pyramids FC and Future, enjoying fine runs.
Ahly top the table with 30 points, one ahead of Future and four clear of third-placed Pyramids, with the latter duo having played a game more. Zamalek, who played the same number of games as Ahly, have 26 points in fourth.
Zamalek will fondly recall how they played out an exciting 2-2 draw with Ahly in June last year despite conceding an early goal, which kept alive their hopes and ultimately saw them clinch the title for a second successive season.
Their recent form has been alarming though. They have not won any game since defeating Ismaily 3-1 last month, losing to Aswan and drawing with Dakhleya and Ittihad.
They were also knocked out of the Egypt Cup semis after a shootout defeat by Pyramids following a 1-1 draw last Monday. What made the loss even more bitter is that Pyramids played with 10 men for most of the game after defender Ali Gabr had received a straight red card on 11 minutes.
Lack of creativity
Zamalek looked short on creativity in recent games, struggling for clear-cut opportunities.
Their summer signings have so far failed to make a notable impact, with none able to fill a huge gap left by the departure of talented Moroccan winger Achraf Bencharki, who was one of the main stars of their triumphant league campaign last term.
Although Ahly also stutter at times, they are still in a better form going to the derby. Their last league meeting saw them settle for a goalless draw with Masry but they are buoyed by a 3-1 win over Smouha in the Egypt Cup semi-final last Tuesday.
Mahmoud Kahraba, a winger who was banned for six months after breaching his contract with Zamalek in 2019, returned from the lengthy suspension to score and provide two assists against Smouha and is expected to start the derby against his ex-club.
However, Ahly will have to contend with a raft of injuries that hit their key players, including two of their central defenders -- Yasser Ibrahim and Mohamed Abdel-Moneim. Mahmoud Metwalli, another center back, is also unavailable because of suspension.
Key central midfielder Amr El-Sulaya, Brazilian winger Bruno Savio and defensive midfielder Hamdi Fathi are also doubtful.
Zamalek are also missing regular left-back Ahmed Fattouh and his understudy, Abdallah Gomaa. Both men are still short of match fitness, having been out of action since the club's outspoken chairman Mortada Mansour accused them of consuming hashish before a league game against Dakhleya early this month.
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