Zamalek are playing their first competitive match under the management of recently-installed coach Michel Decastel against Ghazl Mahalla in the Egyptian Premier League on Thursday. Swiss tactician Decastel, whose objective is to put an end to the White Knights' stuttering form, will have to do without some of his key players during the game. Striker Gamal Hamza has been left out of Zamalek's squad, along with midfielder Mahmoud Samir and full-back Osama Hassan. Beleaguered hitman Hamza allegedly took no part in recent training sessions due to injury as well as illness. But some media reports suggested that the 27-year-old is at loggerheads with the club's board, and he was shunned as a result. Muscular striker Junior Agogo has been unexpectedly picked after getting back in training ahead of the game. The Ghanaian player has partly fallen out with his club's board when he was fined as a disciplinary action. On the other hand, Decastel might play newly-signed frontline duo Olie Koffi Kan and Mohamed Al-Morsi, who have been named in the squad. Full-back Ibrahim Salah is another newcomer who might make his Zamalek debut after being included in the 19-man list. Want-out midfielder Mohamed Abdullah, who has been recently kept on the sidelines, is expected to feature on Thursday.
Mahalla The former Ahli player has been training regularly since Decastel arrived at the Cairo side, and might have a go against Mahalla. Out of Contention Zamalek suffered horrendous results throughout the first half of the season, having been ruled out of contention for the title after slumping to six painful defeats. The crisis-hit club had a relatively good start to the season, as they remained unbeaten for about six weeks, but later on they collapsed. They were handed an embarrassing 3-1 defeat in October by bottom team Olympic, after losing 1-0 to Gaish earlier in the same month. Late in November, Zamalek were outclassed 1-0 by Ismaili, before losing to Harras Hodoud and Asyut Petroleum 1-0 and 2-0 respectively. They were also condemned to a 1-0 loss by an out-of-sorts Ahli in January after putting on another lackluster display. Apart from their recurring league losses, the 11-time Egyptian champions were eliminated from the Egyptian Cup after conceding a 1-0 defeat to third tier Bani Obeid, to face a real baptism of fire. Now they have a lot to atone for. Decastel's appointment gave Zamalek's fans a new hope ahead of the reverse fixtures, but the downcast supporters would be struck dumb if the five-time African champions lost to minnows Mahalla. Zamalek lie sixth in the Egyptian league table with 21 points, while Mahalla are in 13th place with 16.
