Zamalek will kick off their title defense campaign in the Egyptian Premier League when they host Al Ittihad Alexandria at 8:00 PM on Friday at the Cairo International Stadium, in a match for the first round of the competition.
Zamalek enters the match with high ambitions after winning the league title last season for the 15th time in the club's history, following a fierce competition with Al Ahly and Pyramids that was decided in the final round.
The White team aims for a strong start to the new season, despite the difficult circumstances surrounding the club, most notably a ban from registering players for two transfer windows, in addition to the departure of several key elements, most notably Tunisian Seifeddine Jaziri and Hossam Abdel Magid.
Despite these challenges, Zamalek hopes to retain the league title and deliver a strong season, especially with their return to participating in the African Champions League, which forces them to compete on multiple fronts.
On the other hand, Al Ittihad Alexandria enters the match seeking a positive result against the defending champions and to secure their first points of the new season, in a match that will not be easy against Zamalek's fans at the Cairo Stadium.
Zamalek holds a clear advantage in recent head-to-head meetings between the two teams, having won their last five league encounters. They also secured their last meeting last season with a 1-0 victory at the Cairo Stadium, in the 21st round.
Zamalek concluded their preparations for the match with their final training session on Thursday evening at the auxiliary field of the Defense Air Force Stadium, with a strong focus on achieving a strong start in their title defense journey.
The match will be officiated by international referee Amine Emar, assisted by Mahmoud Abu El Rehal and Hany Kheiry, while Ahmed Hamdi will serve as the fourth official, Hossam Azab as the Video Assistant Referee (VAR), assisted by Mohamed Ahmed El Shennawy.
Zamalek announced the team's squad for the new season, along with the players' jerseys, before their first match against Al Ittihad.
The squad, as announced by the club through its accounts, is as follows:
Goalkeepers: Mohamed Elneny – 99, Mohamed Sobhi – 16, Mahdi Soliman – 37, Mahmoud Ashraf El Shennawy – 46.
Defense: Omar Gaber – 4, Mahmoud Hamdy "Al Wansh" – 28, Ahmed Fathy – 13, Ahmed Hossam – 5, Mohamed Ismail – 24, Mahmoud Bentayj – 3, Mostafa Zenari – 20, Mohamed El Sayed – 39, Mohamed Ibrahim – 52, Ahmed Khadri – 97, Omar Abdel Aziz – 38, Adham Haseeb – 57, Mohamed Farag – 58.
Midfield: Seif Farouk Jaafar – 14, Ahmed Rabie – 12, Mohamed Shatta – 17, Youssef Wael "Frenchy" – 44, Abdullah Saeed – 19, El Sayed Osama – 43, Mohamed Hamad – 55, Mahmoud Jihad – 6, Adam Kaid – 18, Ahmed Safout – 56, Juan Beliza – 33.
Attack: Nasser Mansi – 9, Ahmed Abdel Rahim "Isho" – 11, Amr Nasser – 90, Ahmed Sharif – 31, Adly Al-Dabbagh – 98, Chico Banza – 81, Ahmed El-Gafali – 21, Hossam Ashraf – 7.
