Al Ahly and Auckland City begin their quest for Club World Cup glory when they lock horns at the Ibn Batouta Stadium in Morocco for a first-round clash on Wednesday.
The winners of this contest will face Major League Soccer outfit Seattle Sounders in the second round on Saturday.
Match preview
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Despite finishing third in the Egyptian Premier League last season, Al Ahly will compete in this year's Club World Cup after finishing as runners-up of the 2022 CAF Champions League, losing 2-0 to Moroccan side Wydad AC.
The Red Devils are participating for the third successive year at the Club World Cup and for the eighth time in their history, with no other team in the competition's history having played more matches (18) than the Egyptian side.
Managed by former Switzerland international Marcel Koller, Al Ahly will be bidding to go one better than the previous two seasons at the Club World Cup in which they finished in third place after beating Palmeiras and Al-Hilal respectively to claim the bronze medal.
Al Ahly have made a strong start to the 2022-23 campaign since it began in mid-October, winning 16 and drawing four of their 20 matches across all competitions.
The 42-time Egyptian top-flight champions currently sit six points clear at the top of the table with a game in hand, and they head into Wednesday's contest having not conceded a league goal for over seven hours since the turn of the year.
As for Auckland City, the New Zealanders will participate at the Club World Cup for a record 10th time this year after winning their 10th OFC Champions League in 2022, beating Venus 3-0 in the final.
The Navy Blues withdrew from the Club World Cup last year to comply with the guidelines in New Zealand during the coronavirus pandemic, but Albert Riera's side have returned for this year's tournament, with Wednesday's fixture to be their first of 2023.
Indeed, Auckland have not played a competitive match since a 3-2 home win over Wellington Olympic on December 4, which was their final game of their triumphant 2022 Nations League title-winning season.
Founded in 2004, the 12-time New Zealand top-flight champions head into the Club World Cup hoping to match or better their third-place finish in 2014 – their greatest showing in the competition.
The Navy Blues will be seeking revenge against Al Ahly after losing 2-0 to the Egyptian side in the quarter-finals of the 2006 Club World Cup, courtesy of strikes from Flavio and Mohamed Aboutrika.
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Team News
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Al Ahly are set to be without Karim Fouad, Akram Tawfik and Oufa Shobeir as they continue to recover from injury.
Goalkeeper and captain Mohamed El Shenawy could be protected by a back four of Mohamed Hany, Mahmoud Metwaly, Ramy Rabia and Ali Maaloul, with Afsha, Aliou Dieng and Hamdi Fathi all set to operate in centre-midfield.
Former Brighton & Hove Albion attacker Percy Tau will be hoping to force his way into the first XI, while January signing Ahmed Kendouci may be in the squad to make his debut.
As for Auckland City, Angus Kilkolly picked up an injury in the 1-0 friendly defeat to Jeonbuk Motors on January 22, but the striker has recovered in time be involved on Wednesday.
Reid Drake and Jordan Vale both missed training preparations in Salou due to family commitments, but they have since flown to Morocco to meet up with their teammates and will be available for selection.
Auckland's all-time leading scorer Emiliano Tade, who has recorded 131 goals in 193 appearances across two spells with the club, is expected to lead the line up front.
Al Ahly possible starting lineup:
El Shenawy; Hany, Metwaly, Rabia, Maaloul; Afsha, Dieng, Fathi; El Shahat, Sherif, Abdel Kader
Auckland City possible starting lineup:
Tracey; Murati, Mitchell, Boxall, Lobo; Den Heijer, Howieson, Garriga; Manickum; De Vries, Tade
We say: Al Ahly 2-1 Auckland City
Both Al Ahly and Auckland will be motivated to come out on top on Wednesday, with the prospect of facing Spanish giants Real Madrid in the semi-finals of the competition next week.
A closely-fought contest is to be expected in Morocco, but we feel that Al Ahly may just have the edge to sneak through to the second round.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Oliver Thomas
