Ali Mahmoud handed first Al Ahly midfield start as Koka moves to left-back against ZED

Ali Mahmoud will make his first start in midfield for Al Ahly when they face ZED in the second round of the Egyptian Premier League.

The match will be played at Cairo International Stadium, with kick-off scheduled for 20:00 local time.

Ali Mahmoud comes into the midfield in place of Ahmed Nabil “Koka”, who has moved to left-back. Karim Fouad, who occupied that position previously, starts the game on the substitutes’ bench.

Al Ahly have also included Yassin Marei, Ahmed Reda and Omar El Saai in their matchday squad for the first time. All three players will begin the match among the substitutes.

Al Ahly’s starting line-up is:

Goalkeeper: Mustafa Shobeir

Defenders: Mohamed Hany, Hady Riad, Amr El Gazar, Ahmed Nabil “Koka”

Midfielders: Marwan Attia, Ali Mahmoud, Ahmed Sayed “Zizo”

Forwards: Monsif Bekrar, Achraf Bencharki, Taher Mohamed Taher

The substitutes are Mohamed El Shenawy, Yassin Marei, Yasser Ibrahim, Sofiane Bendjedid, Ahmed Reda, Hussein El Shahat, Omar El Saai, Oktay Abdullah and Karim Fouad.

Al Ahly continue to be without Tawfik Mohamed, Emam Ashour, Ahmed Eid, Reda Slim, Achraf Dari, Mahmoud Salah and Akram Tawfik. Their absences are attributed to technical and physical reasons.

Mohamed Magdy “Afsha” is also missing from the squad after suffering an injury. Afsha scored Al Ahly’s late winning goal in the opening round of the season.

Al Ahly began their campaign with a 3-2 victory over Eastern Company Enppi, while ZED opened their league season with a goalless draw against Wadi Degla.

The match will be refereed by Mohamed Maarouf, who is taking charge of his first game of the season.

The changes to Al Ahly’s team give Ali Mahmoud the opportunity to operate in the centre of midfield from the start, while Koka’s switch to defence allows the side to retain him in the starting line-up. Fouad will instead provide an option from the bench as the reigning Egyptian champions look to build on their opening-round victory.

ZED, meanwhile, are seeking their first win of the league campaign after being held to a 0-0 draw by Wadi Degla in their opening fixture.