Football fans are counting down to tonight’s eagerly awaited clash between Al Ahly and Barcelona in the Joan Gamper Trophy, with particular attention on Egyptian striker Hamza Abdelkarim. He faces his former club in his first appearance in front of Barcelona’s fans at the Camp Nou.

Catalan newspaper “Sport” has revealed the expected line-ups for both teams. Abdelkarim does not feature in Barcelona’s starting eleven, with his name appearing on the substitutes’ bench.

That comes despite the Egyptian striker’s impressive form through the preparation period, where he has scored 3 goals to become Barcelona’s leading scorer during the build-up. Coach Hansi Flick has yet to settle on a traditional out-and-out striker.

According to “Sport”, Flick is still searching for the most suitable solution to fill the number “9” position before the clash against Elche in the first round of the Spanish league. He fielded Raphinha there during the last friendly against Basel.

The Spanish newspaper also predicts that Moroccans Achraf Bencharki and Sofiane Bendebka will lead Al Ahly’s attack, alongside Algerian Mohamed Bekkar, while Egyptian Emam Ashour starts on the bench.

Barcelona’s expected line-up for the Al Ahly match

Goalkeeper: Joan Garcia.

Defence: Eric Garcia, Andreas Christensen, Gerard Martin, Alejandro Balde.

Midfield: Marc Bernal, Espart, Fermin Lopez.

Attack: Lamine Yamal, Karim Adeyemi, Raphinha.

Sitting on Barcelona’s substitutes’ bench are Szczesny, Kounde, Cortes, Gavi, Pedri, Dani Olmo, Ebrima, Jordan, Bassio, and Hamza Abdelkarim.

Al Ahly’s expected line-up for the Barcelona match

Goalkeeper: Mostafa Shobeir.

Defence: Koka, Hadi Riad, Yasser Ibrahim, Mohamed Hany.

Midfield: Marwan Attia, Akram Tawfik, Ali Mahmoud.

Attack: Mohamed Bekkar, Sofiane Bendebka, Achraf Bencharki.

Al Ahly’s substitutes’ bench includes: Mohamed El Shenawy, Emam Ashour, Reda, Hamza Abdelkarim, Ahmed, Salah, Zizo, and Afsha.

Hamza Abdelkarim against his former club

The match carries special significance for Abdelkarim, who faces Al Ahly for the first time since his move to Barcelona. He came up through the ranks of the Red club before embarking on his European adventure.

“Sport” reckons the Egyptian striker is trying to seize the opportunity handed to him by the absence of an out-and-out starter in Barcelona’s squad so far. That could yet give him a role during the match, even though he does not feature in the expected starting line-up.

Kick-off between Al Ahly and Barcelona is set for 9:00 pm Cairo time at the Spotify Camp Nou, as part of the Joan Gamper Trophy.