Al Ahly’s Houcine Ammouta and Modern Sport’s Mohamed Amine Benhachem renew coaching rivalry

Houcine Ammouta and Mohamed Amine Benhachem will meet for a third time as opposing managers when Al Ahly face Modern Sport in the Egyptian Premier League on Thursday.

The match will take place at Cairo Stadium at 17:00, with both teams targeting an important result in the eighth round of the competition.

Al Ahly are third in the league table with 17 points from seven matches, four points behind leaders Pyramids. Modern Sport sit fifth on 13 points.

The fixture will mark the first meeting between the two Moroccan coaches in nine years. Their previous encounters came in the Moroccan league, when Ammouta was in charge of Wydad and Benhachem managed Olympic Safi.

The coaches have each won one of their two previous matches against the other. Across those games, Wydad and Olympic Safi both scored two goals and conceded two.

Ammouta claimed victory in the first encounter, as Wydad beat Olympic Safi 2-1 in May 2017. That match was played at the conclusion of the 2016-17 season.

Benhachem’s side responded in the second meeting, with Olympic Safi winning 1-0 away to Wydad in December 2017, during the 2017-18 campaign.

The match comes as Al Ahly prepare for the group stage of the CAF Confederation Cup. The draw placed the Egyptian club in Group A alongside Moroccan side Raja, Angolan club Primeiro de Agosto and Togo’s ASKO Kara.

Al Ahly secured their place in the group stage by beating Uganda’s Kitara 4-0.