The Cairo giants are bidding to cap an impressive run under coach Hossam Hassan by winning the cup after finishing runners-up to arch rivals Ahli in the Egyptian Premier League.

They open their campaign against second division side Fayoum in upper Egypt, where they are expected to struggle to move the ball smoothly.

"I inspected Fayoum's pitch, it is really terrible," Zamalek doctor Mostafa Al-Monayeri told FilGoal.com on Wednesday.

"The players may pick up serious injuries due to the poor state of the pitch, I've made the technical staff aware of all that."

Zamalek are also frustrated that they will play Fayoum at 05:00 PM, around two-and-a-half hours before sunset.

The temperature in Egypt has begun to rise, signaling the beginning of a typical hot summer. It exceeded 40 degrees C twice during the past two weeks.

"The players are already exhausted because they played the last two league games before sunset under the hot weather conditions," Al-Monayeri said.

"Our competitors play at much better times," he added, referring to Ahli who will face Nabaroh on the same day but two hours later than Zamalek.

Zamalek will be looking to avoid last season's upset when they bowed out at the first hurdle after suffering a stunning defeat by third-division side Bani Obeid.

They will miss central defender Mahmoud Fathallah, one of their key players, and right-back Ahmed Ghanem due to injuries.

"Ghanem should return to full training after 10 days while Fathallah will wear a protective mask during the coming games, but he will not be able to play against Fayoum," Al-Monayeri said.

Egypt international Fathallah needed 19 stitches in his head after colliding with Asyut Petroleum defender Masinga Vintal during last week's goalless league draw.