Al-Ahly might face their arch-rivals Zamalek at 7pm on May 26 in the round of 16 in the Egyptian Cup, if both of them make it past the round of 32.
Meanwhile, Ahly will face Nabaroh from the Delta province of el-Daqahlia, in Cairo on Saturday at 7pm, while Zamalek will meet Fayoum of Upper Egypt away from home, on Saturday at 5pm, both in the round of 32.
Ahly have grabbed the Egyptian Premier League for the sixth time in a row, while the White Citadel (Zamalek) have qualified for next year’s CAF championship by ending up as runners-up in the league.
The Red Devils are hoping to win the cup and do the double this year, while Zamalek, enjoying a huge revival under coach Hossam Hassan, are equally anxious to win and lift a trophy this season.
The Egyptian Football Association committee chief Amer Sabri last week ruled out media reports suggesting that the Egyptian Cup might be cancelled.
It will be the third battle between Al-Ahly coach Hossam el-Badri and Zamalek's Hossam Hassan, both of whom are eyeing their first derby win in their first season with the Cairo giants, as both sides settled for goalless stalemates in their previous two league meetings.
The Red Devils playmaker Mohamed Abou-Treika, meanwhile, is not concerned yet with his side's potential Egyptian Cup clash against arch-rivals Zamalek.
"We should respect Nabaroh and not underestimate them," Abou-Treika, whose season was disrupted by injury and fitness problems, said on Ahly's official website yesterday.
"We are taking it one game at a time. It will be illogical if we started to think about a potential game against Zamalek before even beating Nabaroh.
"We want first to get beyond the round of 32 and then we can think about Zamalek if they also win their game."
