ZED FC name Abdel Rahman El Banouby to lead attack against Al Ahly

ZED FC head coach Mohamed Shawky has named Abdel Rahman El Banouby in a three-man attack for his side’s Egyptian Premier League meeting with Al Ahly in the second round of the season.

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

El Banouby will operate centrally for ZED FC, with Ahmed Adel and Mostafa Saad alongside him in the forward line. The selection confirms Shawky’s attacking options for a fixture against an Al Ahly side who began the campaign with a narrow victory.

Ali Lotfy starts in goal for ZED FC, while Mohamed Rabie, Mohamed Hussein, Abdullah Bakry and Tarek Alaa make up the defence.

Ahmed El Soghary, Mohamed Ezz and Mahmoud Ouka have been selected in midfield. The starting line-up is completed by Adel, El Banouby and Saad.

ZED FC’s starting XI is:

Goalkeeper: Ali Lotfy

Defenders: Mohamed Rabie, Mohamed Hussein, Abdullah Bakry, Tarek Alaa

Midfielders: Ahmed El Soghary, Mohamed Ezz, Mahmoud Ouka

Forwards: Ahmed Adel, Abdel Rahman El Banouby, Mostafa Saad

Shawky has named nine substitutes for the match. They are Mohamed Mazika, Raafat Khalil, Sameh Youssef, Mahmoud Nabil, Abdelrahman Gouda, Walid Ali Farag, Mohamed Ibrahim, Marwan Hagag and Wajdi Nabhan.

The fixture brings together two teams who had contrasting results in the opening round. Al Ahly started the season by beating Eastern Company Enppi 3-2, while ZED FC were held to a goalless draw by Wadi Degla.

That result left ZED FC with one point from their opening match, while Al Ahly carried three points into the second round. ZED FC will now look to El Banouby and the rest of their starting attack to provide a response at Cairo Stadium.

The game will be refereed by Mohamed Maarouf, who is taking charge of his first match of the season. His appointment completes the match officials for the second-round contest between ZED FC and Al Ahly.

Shawky’s line-up combines experience in goal and defence with a midfield built around El Soghary, Ezz and Ouka. In attack, the manager has chosen Adel and Saad to support El Banouby as ZED FC seek their first league win of the campaign.

Al Ahly, meanwhile, arrive after scoring three times in their opening match, although they conceded twice in the 3-2 victory over Eastern Company Enppi. Kick-off at Cairo Stadium is at 20:00.