Zamalek head coach, Patrice Carteron, announced his 23-man squad set to face Kenya’s Tusker FC in the CAF Champions League preliminary round. Zamalek will hope to improve on last season’s disappointing run in the Champions League, which saw them getting eliminated from the group stage.
The 2020 Champions League finalists will start their journey in the second preliminary round against Kenya Premier League champions Tusker FC. The Egyptian giants arrived in Kenya today (Tuesday) to prepare for the weekend tie. The match will be played at the Nyayo national stadium behind closed doors.
Tusker qualified after beating Arta Solar 4-1 on aggregate. The two clubs drew 1-1 in Djibouti before Tusker succeeded in securing a comfortable 3-0 win in Kenya. The first leg of the round of 32 will be taking place in Kenya on 16th of October, while the second leg will be taking place in Egypt between the 22nd and 24th of the same month. Zamalek head coach, Patrice Carteron, announced his 23-man squad set to face Kenya’s Tusker FC; Five players from the U23 were called-up by the Frenchman, which are Hossam Abdelmeguid, Ahmed Zaki, Hamdi Alaa, El-Sayed Abdallah ‘Neymar’ and Seif Gaafar.
After the clash between the two African giants, the aggregate winner will book a place in the group stages of the continent’s premier clubs competition.
Head To Head:
Tusker FC Overall Form -
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Action has already taken place for Tusker in CAF Champions League as they have defeated Arta / SIHD to reach the 2nd Preliminary Round.
Two home wins in a row for Tusker bring valid hopes of a third. Tusker lost their last game at Leopards after a 0-1 scoreline.
Previous to that game, a CAF Champions League home match hosted Arta / SIHD in a game that was won 3-0.
Zamalek SC Overall Form -
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They also participated in CAF Champions League last season. This ended in the group stage.
Zamalek's travelling support has been rewarded for their time and money so far this season, having witnessed Zamalek collect 33 points from their 16 away matches in the Premier League. 9 victories and 6 draws have created these points (and only 1 defeat). Things are running smoothly for Zamalek who hasn't tasted defeat in their last 19 matches, regardless of venue and tournament. Their last defeat was against Al Ahly.
The visiting Zamalek have scored more than one goal per away game in the league so far. The grand total is 20 goals from 16 games. Zamalek are tight as a drum on their travels, having allowed the opposition only 8 goals away.