Amer was installed at Ittihad following the departure of Brazilian tactician Carols Cabral, who handed in his resignation in the wake of a league defeat at ENPPI.
Ittihad are now languishing in the league table 14th place with nine points, having lost five games out of ten so far this season.
However, Kenawi is expecting them to show a lot of enthusiasm against Ismaili, who downed Egyptian champions Ahli 3-1 on Sunday.
"We have a tough game on Thursday because Ittihad will be looking to redeem themselves under the new coaching staff," Kenawi told FilGoal.com.
"Every Ittihad player will try to prove his worth.
"We need to fully concentrate on that game if we are to claim all three points."
Ismaili lie seventh in the league table with 16 points, eight behind leaders Zamalek.