Two sides with seven titles between them, Zamalek Sport Club and Enyimba International FC, go toe to toe in Africa’s premier club competition, the Caf Champions League on Monday.
The permutation for the Egyptians is straightforward - win against Enyimba at the Petro Sports Stadium and book a ticket for the semifinals of the competition.
For Enyimba, it is a bit more complicated; the ‘People’s Elephants will need to avoid defeat on Monday (a win will be the preferred conclusion) and produce a performance to earn a good result on the final matchday against South African club, Mamelodi Sundowns in Nigeria, to progress.
Enyimba’s build up to Monday’s game could be likened to a roller coaster.
The game which was supposed to be played on Sunday was suddenly brought forward by 24 hours at the behest of the Egyptians.
Enyimba swiftly protested, asking for the game to be moved forward by one day with club chairman, Chief Felix Anyansi-Agwu [below] describing Caf’s initial decision as ‘unfair’.
“This is highly unfair. I don’t know how the fixture of a game as important as this can be brought forward without any consultation with the visiting team.? It's against the rules,"
“We have made all our plans based on the knowledge that we are playing on Sunday, so we don’t know how we can suddenly ?be told to ?play on Saturday.
“What if we had arrived Egypt on Friday? Would we have been forced to still play on Saturday?
“This is not fair at all for us and for the entire Nigeria. Any change should have been discussed with us so all parties can work out what is in the best interest of everyone. Right now, this doesn’t suit us at all,” Anyansi said.
Absent players and a quick dash from Spain
Many believed Anyansi-Agwu’s furious protests were not just based on Caf’s failure to consult with the away side on the sudden change of date for the game.
They reasoned that the Enyimba chief was livid with ‘antics’ by Zamalek to deny Enyimba the chance to field several key players led by club captain, Chinedu Udoji, and inspirational goalkeeper, Joel Theophilus Afelokhai.
Those players had travelled with an NPFL All Star side to Spain for a playing tour that included high-profile fixtures against Valencia, Malaga and last season’s beaten finalists in the Uefa Champions League, Atletico Madrid.
The initial plan was for the Enyimba players to take part in the first two matches against Valencia and Malaga before jetting out of Spain in time for the game against Zamalek on Sunday.
However, with the new development of a change in date, the Enyimba stars had to leave a day early.
It did not matter in the end as Enyimba got their wish with Caf moving the game to Monday.
A captain's war cry
The Enyimba stars eventually arrived from Spain at 1 am (Nigerian time) on Saturday.
The five players who came in from Spain increased the number of playing personnel to 21, and Udoji was full of the right noises.
"We are happy to be here. We were bitter when we got the news about the change of date for the game and we decided to travel and make this huge sacrifice for the team.
“We are happy the management won the battle for us (players). It will give us enough time to rest and bond with the team before the game on Monday," Udoji said.
Talk is cheap and Udoji and friends will need to produce one of their biggest, if not their biggest performance of the season to get a creditable result in Egypt on Monday.
Since their tumultuous Federation Cup quarterfinal against Rivers United on 27 July, Enyimba International FC have not won a game.
Underwhelming performances that culminated in two draws in the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) against Enugu Rangers and Sunshine Stars have seen a late title charge flag.
It is also poignant to note that Enyimba have lost all of their games in the group stages of this year’s Caf Champions League.
Enyimba know that they must raise their game at the Petro Sport Stadium in Cairo on Monday night or be prepared to kiss the competition goodbye.
The White Knights are riding the crest of a wave
In contrast to Enyimba’s patchy form domestically and on the continent, Zamalek is flying.
Zamalek recently won the Egyptian Cup when they overcame Al Ahly 3-1 on 8 August.
The White Knights have suffered only two losses in their last 21 fixtures.
Enyimba will, however, be comforted to learn that those two losses were recorded against South African side, Mamelodi Sundowns in the Caf Champions League.
That does not take anything away from the fact that the Egyptians are a well-oiled unit that can hurt any side on their day.
The Enyimba rank and file will recall quite vividly that the Egyptians won the reverse fixture 1-0 in Nigeria on 18 June.
Zamalek head coach, Moeman Suleiman says that they will not be treating the game against Enyimba with kid gloves.
“We know what we want from this game against a very physical Enyimba team.
“A win is what we will be aiming for and so we must concentrate on the offensive and defensive.
“Our fitness levels will also be important as it will be a very physically demanding game,” Suleiman told the club’s official website, www.el-zamalek.com.
This one is shaping to be a game for the ages.