Zamalek slumped to a 2-1 defeat to Masry in an Egyptian league game at Suez stadium on Thursday, making way for archrivals Ahly to advance into the league summit with nine games left for the Cairo giants in the season After the defeat, the white Knights sit second on the league table with 57 points, just one point behind Ahly who are now leading the table with 58 points after claiming a 2-1 win over Maqassa on Wednesday.

Tottenham face an anxious wait to discover the full extent of Harry Kane s latest ankle injury after manager Mauricio Pochettino voiced concerns the forward could be out for the rest of the season. Kane limped off the pitch after a challenge with England teammate Fabian Delph during Tuesday s Champions League quarter-final first-leg win over Manchester City at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

After the stunning 5-0 loss to South African giants Mamelodi Sundowns away from home, Ahly players and technical staff have apologised to the team s supporters, promising to return to winning ways ahead of Saturday s return game at home. The Egyptian giants suffered their worst continental defeat after being blown away by the South African champions in the first leg of the Champions League quarter finals.

Egypt s Zamalek were given a let-off on several occasions to hold Hassania Agadir to a 0-0 away draw in the first leg of the African Confederation Cup quarter-final on Sunday. Agadir s Palestinian forward Tamer Seyam was guilty of two glaring misses either side of the interval and Zamalek keeper Mahmoud Gennesh pulled off some fine saves to keep the hosts at bay.

All eyes will be on strike duo Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez as Barcelona visit Manchester United in the Champions League this week, but defensive lynchpin Gerard Pique is proving equally important to the Catalans treble bid. The centre back returns to Old Trafford for the first time since he left Manchester United in 2008 to rejoin Barcelona, in Wednesday s quarter-final first leg.

Despite the goalless draw with Niger and 1-0 loss to Nigeria last week, Egypt s national football team has held its position at number 57 in the FIFA global football rankings, published on 4 April. The Pharaohs remain in eighth place among African countries, behind Senegal (23), Tunisia (28), Nigeria (42) and Morocco (45). They are fourth among Arab countries, after Tunisia, Morocco and Qatar.

The defensive strategy of rivals Ittihad made Ahly s mission more difficult in Tuesday s 2-0 league victory according to the Reds head coach Martin Lasarte, who insisted that rotating his players was a risk against the Alexandria-based team. "The match was difficult because of the defensive strategy deployed by our opponent. We made some faults in the first half, but we restored the balance after the break," Uruguayan Lasarte said in the press conference after the match.

After failing to move the venue from the damaged Borg El-Arab pitch in Alexandria, Ahly will be hoping to turn their fortunes around and bounce back to winning ways when they take on Ittihad of Alexandria on Tuesday. The defending champions were held to a goalless draw by current league leaders Zamalek on Saturday in a game that was marred by heavy rains on the Mediterranean city that flooded an already poor pitch.

Every week, I offer a glimpse of the kind of intelligence assessments that are likely to come across the desk of the President of the United States, modeled on the President s Daily Briefing, or PDB, which the director of national intelligence prepares for the President almost daily. Sam Vinograd Here s this week s briefing: President Trump s threats to close our border and his order to cut US assistance to Central American countries -- a pledge he has made before but hasn t followed through on -- will undoubtedly create a perfect storm of increased migration flows at our southern border, strained relationships with key partners, and new economic risks for everyday Americans. His actions are also likely perceived globally as a signal that he doesn t care what his own Cabinet members have to say. Their ability to protect us going forward is directly undermined.

The Confederation of African Football sent another letter to the Egyptian Football Association requesting they move Ahly s Champions League quarter-final and Zamalek s Confederation Cup quarter-final games from Alexandria s Borg El-Arab Stadium to another venue, the EFA announced on Sunday. The pitch of the Alexandria-based stadium looked to be in very poor condition again during the recent Cairo derby between Ahly and Zamalek, which finished in a goalless draw.

Liverpool s Egyptian winger Mohmed Salah defended himself after being criticized for his lengthy goal drought, hinting that he is being unfairly treated by the media. Salah helped his side earn a difficult 2-1 win over Tottenham on Sunday when Spurs keeper Hugo Lloris parried out his back post header but the ball struck the unfortunate Belgian central defender and rolled over the line in the 90th minute.

Egypt s Mexican tactician Javier Aguirre is satisfied with the team s performance despite Tuesday s 1-0 loss to Nigeria. The Pharaohs were hosted by the Super Eagles in a friendly match in Asaba amid the preparations of both teams for this summer s African Nations Cup.

Egypt s Mexican tactician Javier Aguirre said on Monday that he is looking to form a team that would compete for the African Cup of Nations title when Egypt hosts the top-flight competition this summer. "Managing Egypt is a very special mission as Egypt has a big history in African football," the 60-year-old coach told a press conference ahead of Egypt s friendly against Nigeria.

Egypt coach Mexican tactician Javier Aguirre will continue examining new faces when his team faces Nigeria in a friendly match on Tuesday. The Pharaohs will be hosted by the Super Eagles in their first warm-up for this summer s African Nations Cup, which they are seeking to win for the first time since winning the last of their record seven trophies in 2010. Egypt was granted the tournament s hosting rights in January after Cameroon was stripped of those rights in December. Nigeria will also be featuring in the prestigious tournament finals.

Egypt s national football team flew to Nigeria from Niger on Sunday morning ahead of facing the Super Eagles in a friendly match on Tuesday. Egypt s perfect run under coach Javier Aguirre came to an end after Saturday s 1-1 away draw against Niger in the last round of the African Nations Cup qualifiers.

Manchester United will hike prices for away fans when they host Barcelona in their Champions League quarter-final first leg to subsidise tickets for their own supporters travelling to Spain for the return, the Premier League club said. United, who were allocated 4,610 tickets for the second leg, were informed by Barcelona that the price for away fans at the Nou Camp would be 102 pounds ($134), which British media reported was the most expensive ticket to a United game outside of a final.

The coach of Egypt s national team has decided to play three friendlies, amid the final preparations for the 2019 African Cup of Nations this summer, team manager Ihab Leheta revealed on Wednesday. "The technical staff, headed by [coach Javier] Aguirre, decided to play three friendly matches at most ahead of the tournament. I hope we play one of them at Cairo Stadium," Leheta told MBC Masr TV channel.

Alexandria s Borg El-Arab Stadium will be ready to host the anticipated Egyptian league derby between Cairo rivals Ahly and Zamalek later this month, according to Amer Hussein, the head of competitions committee at the Egyptian Football Association (EFA). "Borg El-Arab Stadium will be ready to host the derby on 30 March," Hussien was quoted as saying by the EFA s official Twitter account on Tuesday.

Liverpool defender Virgil Van Dijk is not worried about Mohamed Salah s goal drought and is confident he will return to his scoring mood. The Egyptian winger, who has scored 20 goals in 41 games across all competitions, has failed to scored over the past 7 games for the Reds.

Liverpool coach Jurgen Klopp said on Sunday he is happy with Mohamed Salah s displays despite his goal drought, adding that he is confident the Egyptian forward will regain his sharpness after the international break. Salah has failed to score any goal since finding the net against Bournemouth in a Premier League game on 9 February, extending his drought to seven matches in all competitions.

Egypt and Liverpool winger Mohamed Salah believes the Reds can topple defending champions Manchester City to win their first Premier League title since 1990. Liverpool have thrown away a seven-point lead at the top of the Premier League table and are now one point adrift of Pep Guardiola s men.