Hossam Ghaly appeared to be the best Ahli player for the libero role when the Red Devils employed a 3-5-2 formation under Abdul-Aziz Abdul-Shafi 'Zizo' late last year.

New head coach Manuel Jose is relying on the same formation in his third spell at the Cairo club but the former Tottenham man is not at his disposal for Saturday's game.

Ghaly will be serving an automatic one-match suspension for collecting his fourth caution in the goalless draw with Zamalek on December 30th.

Abdul-Fadil revealed that he had been preparing for his new defensive duty over the past few weeks.

"I'm ready to be deployed as a libero, even though I haven't played any competitive games in that position so far," the ex-Ismaili player told FilGoal.com.

Jose Effect

Abdul-Fadil also highlighted Jose's effect on Ahli of late, saying the Portuguese tactician helps the team 'bring out the best'.

"Jose helps us bring out the best. The way he's treating us during training makes all players ready to follow all his instructions," said Abdul-Fadil.

Jose, who led Ahli to a host of local and African titles in his previous two tenures, played Abdul-Fadil as a sweeper in two friendlies with Shams and Sport Academy during the league stoppage.

"While the international players were absent (for the Nile Basin tournament), Jose described me as a leader and that made me really happy and excited to play under his guidance," Abdul-Fadil added.

Jose was installed at Ahli on January 1st. His first competitive match with the defending champions this season will be against MCDR.