"We look to the game as the biggest challenge of the season so far because we want to win all our upcoming matches," Sabri Al-Minyaoui told FilGoal.com on Saturday.
Ismaili want to lay their Zamalek ghosts to rest as they failed to snatch even one league point from Zamalek in four seasons.
Zamalek won the last eight encounters home and away and their 1-0 victory at home in 2004-2005 was their only triumph in the second half of the campaign.
The Mediterranean club are now top the league table with 16 points from six games and a win over Zamalek would mean that they overcame one of the biggest blocks so far.
Zamalek, on the other hand, are in sixth spot on ten points from the same number of games as they suffered mixed results against mid-table sides this season.
Yet, Al-Minyaoui stresses that Ismaili are paying full respect to the former Egyptian and African champions.
"Our players are totally focused on the game, ignoring media reports that dub them as favorites due to Zamalek's recent form," he said.