Win or bust for Zamalek vs Pirates

Saturday Al Ahly vs AC Leopards 8pmEsperance vs Sewe Sport 9pmSundayRecreativo vs Coton Sport 3:30pm Zamalek vs Orlando Pirates 4pmCAIRO. It is win or bust for Egyptian club Zamalek against high-riding South African visitors Orlando Pirates this weekend in a Caf Champions League matchday 4 showdown.Although five titles makes the ‘White Knights’ the second most successful club in the competition behind Cairo neighbours Al-Ahly, they have not won a group game for five years.Zamalek last celebrated a mini-league victory against Dynamos from Zimbabwe, going 12 games without a win since while bitter rivals Ahly conquered Africa twice to reach seven titles.The ‘Knights’ are bottom of Group A with a solitary point from a matchday 1 draw with Ahly before losing narrowly at AC Leopards of Congo Brazzaville and heavily at Pirates.A 4-1 pasting in Soweto means Zamalek must collect maximum points behind closed doors in the Red Sea resort of El-Gouna on Sunday to have any hope of a top-two finish and a semifinals place.“There are no options for us -- we have to win,” admitted Zamalek defender Hani Said. “Only a victory will get us back on track for a semifinals place.“The return of defender Mahmoud Fathallah and striker Ahmed Gaafar from suspension will provide a big boost as we missed their experience in South Africa.”Fathallah regularly makes the national team starting line-up while Gaafar has scored four Champions League goals this season and was sorely missed in Soweto.Coach Helmy Toulan can also call on defender Salah Soliman and midfielder Nour El-Sayed, who missed the first outing against Pirates because of injury.Pirates, the only South African club to be crowned African champions, top the table with seven points and Ahly and 2012 CAF Confederation Cup winners Leopards have four each.Victory for the ‘Buccaneers’ would virtually seal a last-four place and complete an unexpected hat-trick of wins over clubs who have dominated Egyptian football for more than a century.The South Africans, who got the perfect lift with a 1-0 Cup win over biggest domestic rivals Kaizer Chiefs last weekend, whipped Ahly 3-0 in El-Gouna two weeks before tormenting Zamalek.El-Gouna also hosts an Ahly-Leopards fixture the previous day that could determine which club makes the semifinals in a competition offering a $1.5 million first prize.Walid Soliman scored just before half-time to earn Ahly a 1-0 win in the Congolese city of Dolisie and the club that has won 16 Caf titles are favoured to triumph again.