Al Ahly coach Pitso Mosimane has hinted at a tactical switch for their CAF Champions League clash with Raja Casablanca.
The reigning champions welcome the three-time winners in Cairo on Saturday and Mosimane will be keen for his side to get a decent result ahead of the second leg in Morocco.
The South African coach has come under a bit of pressure after losing their two group-stage games against Mamelodi Sundowns and their first league defeat against Al Masry.
“We are now entering the difficult phase of the tournament. The easy part [group stage and preliminary rounds] is now something of the past,” he said on Friday.
“We will play against a tough team like Raja, who were able to be at the top of their group. Also, playing against Morrocan teams isn’t easy.
“I will not talk about any tactics today. I might start tomorrow with a different formation. That’s football.
“As for playing in the second leg in Morocco, we have to concentrate only on the pitch and avoid being distracted with things from outside the pitch. If you do your job on the pitch, you have more chances to win no matter how many Raja fans attend the game.”
Mosimane also revealed that his side have some injury problems ahead of the first leg at home.
“We miss Akram, Ammar and all of our injured players. We have a lot of injuries now,” he added.
“However, we cannot make an excuse out of that. We played the Club World Cup without 9 players. We are used to that.
“I’ll see today in the pre-match training session who is fit to participate in Saturday’s game. We are not in our best shape now in terms of injuries but we have the spirit to win.”
Al Ahly will welcome Casablanca at 22:00 on Saturday, having beaten them to the CAF Super Cup on penalties when the two sides met last time.
