Al Ahly make 10 changes for friendly against Europa

Al Ahly head coach Houcine Ammouta has made 10 changes to his starting line-up for the friendly against Spanish side Europa as the club continue their preparations for the new season.

The changes come as part of Al Ahly’s programme to improve the squad’s technical and physical readiness ahead of the forthcoming campaign.

Only one player remains from the team that started the previous friendly against Badalona, which Al Ahly won 3-0. Ammouta has therefore selected 10 new names for the meeting with Europa.

Karim Fouad has moved to left-back to cover for Morocco international Youssef Belammari, who has suffered a cruciate ligament injury.

The Al Ahly team is:

Goalkeeper: Mostafa Shobeir

Defenders: Mohamed Hany, Hady Reyad, Amr El Gazar, Karim Fouad

Midfielders: Ahmed Nabil “Koka”, Marwan Attia, Ahmed Sayed “Zizo”

Forwards: Achraf Bencharki, Oktay Abdallah, Taher Mohamed Taha

Europa compete in Spain’s third tier and have already faced Barcelona during their own pre-season preparations. They lost that game 4-1, with Hamza Abdelkarim taking part for the Spanish side.

The friendly against Europa is another fixture in Al Ahly’s build-up to the new football season, with the Egyptian club continuing to assess their players and prepare the squad for competitive action.

A more high-profile test awaits Al Ahly later this month when they meet Barcelona in the Joan Gamper Trophy on 19 August.

The match against Barcelona will come shortly before the start of Al Ahly’s new campaign. The club are scheduled to begin their season on 23 August with a match against Eastern Company ENPPI.

Ammouta’s decision to alter almost the entire starting line-up against Europa reflects the ongoing nature of Al Ahly’s preparations, while Fouad’s deployment at left-back provides cover following Belammari’s serious injury.

The 3-0 victory over Badalona had provided the previous reference point for the team, but the line-up against Europa features a significantly different balance across defence, midfield and attack. Mostafa Shobeir starts in goal, while Mohamed Hany, Hady Reyad, Amr El Gazar and Fouad form the defensive line.

In midfield, Ahmed Nabil “Koka” and Marwan Attia are joined by Ahmed Sayed “Zizo”. Bencharki, Oktay Abdallah and Taher Mohamed Taha lead the attack as Al Ahly continue preparations for the matches that will open their season.