Egypt's Al Ahly will face UAE's Al-Ain in the second round of the inaugural FIFA Intercontinental Cup on Tuesday evening at Cairo International Stadium, with both sides aiming to secure a playoff spot.
The game has been dubbed the FIFA African–Asian–Pacific Cup, and this will be the hosts' first game in the competition, while the visitors had to win the FIFA African–Asian–Pacific Cup play-off to qualify.
Match preview
The most decorated club in the world, Al Ahly, qualified for the 2024 FIFA Intercontinental Cup by winning the CAF Champions League for a record 12th time in 2023-24.
The Egyptian club is no stranger to intercontinental battles, having finished third four times in the old format of the FIFA Club World Cup, most recently last year.
The Red Devils are coming into this clash on the back of winning the Egyptian Super Cup last Thursday after defeating rivals Zamalek via a penalty shootout.
With the Egyptian Premier League yet to kick off for the new season, Al Ahly can focus on advancing to the next round of the FIFA Intercontinental Cup before their first league match on November 2.
It will be the first-ever meeting between the two sides, and a victory for Marcel Koller's team will see them advance to the playoffs, tagged the 'FIFA Challenger Cup', increasing the possibility of a potential showdown against UEFA Champions League holders Real Madrid, who have a bye until the final.
Meanwhile, Al Ain have already played a game in the FIFA Intercontinental Cup, securing a convincing 6-2 victory over Oceania champions, New Zealand side Auckland, in the first-round game tagged the 'FIFA African–Asian–Pacific Cup play-off'.
The UAE side made it to the competition after their triumph in the 2023-24 AFC Champions League, marking the second time they lifted the trophy after initially doing so in 2003.
This is not the first time that the Boss will be participating in a global tournament, as they finished runners-up in the 2018 FIFA Club World Cup final, securing victories over Team Wellington, Esperance de Tunis, and River Plate before losing to Real Madrid in the final.
Al Ain will have the opportunity to exact revenge against Real Madrid, who already got a bye into the final, but they have to overcome the hurdles of a second-round tie against Al Ahly and a playoff clash before they can begin to dream.
However, the visitors have had a poor start to the new season, as they are currently sixth in the UAE Pro League after five matches, while they are yet to record a win in the AFC Champions League, sitting second-bottom in the West Region table.
Team News
Al Ahly will be missing three players through injury: left-back Ali Maaloul, who has been out with an Achilles tendon rupture, and right-back Mohamed Hany and winger Karim Fouad, who both have cruciate ligament issues.
Danish-born Palestine striker Wessam Abou Ali is the man to watch for the hosts, as he scored 19 goals last season and was on target in the Egyptian Super Cup last month.
Al Ain are injury-free heading into this clash, leaving manager Hernan Crespo with a wealth of options to choose from.
Soufiane Rahimi, who bagged two goals in the first round of this competition and a hat-trick in the AFC Champions League defeat to Al Hilal, is a man to watch.
Another name to watch out for in the visitors' lineup is Kodjo Fo-Doh Laba, the team's striker and top scorer.
Al Ahly possible starting lineup:
El Shenawy; Tawfik, Rabia, Ibrahim, Allah; Ozdemir; Attia, Koka; Mohamed, Ashour, Shahat ;Ali
Al-Ain possible starting lineup:
Eisa; Traore, Cardoso, Koumare, Erik; Park; Segovia, Baloushi, Palacios, Rahimi; Laba
We say: Al Ahly 2-1 Al-Ain
Al Ahly have the advantage of playing this game on home soil, and this could help sway the result in their favour against an Al Ain team that are struggling so far this season, and winless in their last two matches.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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