Egypt champions Ahly will be looking to continue their winning run when they face rivals Petrojet in the Egyptian Premiere League on Tuesday.
The Reds made their best start of the season since 2004/2005 by winning the five league matches so far, and beating the petroleum club will be a good boost for extending their lead as long as they can.
“Achieving the full mark until now was a very important thing, especially considering that our primary target is to defend our league title. However, there is still work to do as a coach and areas where the team can improve,” Ahly coach Hossam El-Badry said in a recent interview with Ahram Online.
“I would like to thank my players for the victories, especially as I was appointed just before the start of the league. We didn’t have enough time to prepare for the new season and or train together in camps.”
"We will be working hard to win the coming matches before the international break next month," the coach added.
On the other side, Petrojet will not be such an easy opponent for Ahly, as the club, guided by veteran coach Talaat Youssef, has not lost a single match since the season start. They lie third in the league table with 11 points from three wins and two draws.
Ahly will be without some key elements against Petrojet, like Tunisia's left wing-back Ali Maaloul, who also missed the 2-0 league's win over Aswan due to a muscular injury.
Ahly is also suffering from the absence of striker Marawn Mohsen and defense duo Rami Rabia and Ahmed Hegazy since the season start due to various injuries.
However, the on-form players Saleh Gomaa, Momen Zakaria, Walid Soliman and John Antwi could still make the difference for El-Badry's team.
