Another stumble would heavily dent Egypt’s hopes of advancing to the second round of the qualifiers.

After claiming two successive victories in Group 12, Egypt were looking to maintain their 100% record at the expense of Malawi earlier this month.

However, the Pharaohs came down to earth after suffering a stunning 1-0 away defeat to the Flames, thanks to a last-gasp volley from Chiukepo Msowoya.

The loss not only halted Egypt’s winning streak, but also alerted them that nothing is taken for granted in football.

Furthermore, it increased the importance of tonight’s game as Egypt will be keen to avenge the defeat, which saw the African champions slip to third in their group.

Fit Duo

Egypt coach Hassan Shehata will be boosted by the return of his preferable attacking duo- Emad Meteb and Amr Zaki.

Shehata had to rely on ENPPI’s Ahmed Raouf and natural midfielder Ahmed Eid in the defeat to Malawi due to shortage of options upfront.

Zaki came on as a late substitute against Malawi as he wasn’t 100% fit due to a knee problem.

The problem occurred again afterwards and the Zamalek star was deemed doubtful for tonight’s match.

But lately, he has been passed fit to participate in the game after shrugging off the complaint.

Meteb, who is always favored by Shehata despite his poor goalscoring run, has also recovered from injury in time to feature in the anticipated game.

Al-Hadari Saga

Uncommonly, it is not yet clear whether the majority of the fans will support Egypt against Malawi.

Ahli fans, who form the backbone of Egyptian supporters, always chant angry slogans against Egypt keeper Essam Al-Hadari.

The reason is quite clear- Al-Hadari left Ahli and joined Swiss side Sion without the consent of the Egyptian champions.

Egypt’s 2-1 victory over DR Congo on the first of June was tarnished by the fans’ constant insults against the veteran goalie.

Egyptian FA president Samir Zaher and the team’s goalkeeping coach Ahmed Soliman were left irritated, denouncing the fans’ behavior right after the match.

Section of Ahli fans called for similar actions against Malawi.

Zaher invited Ahli chairman Hassan Hamdi to attend the match in a bid to ease the fans’ anger.