The bitter rivals were draw together in Group B of the last eight phase, along with JS Kabylie of Algeria and Nigeria's Heartland.

"To be honest, we didn’t want to be with Ahli so that both teams could have a better chance of reaching the semis," Ismaili assistant coach Ashraf Khedr told FilGoal.com.

"Anyways we are past this now and have to focus on the task ahead because we want the title."

Benefit

On the contrary to the view from Ismailia, Ahli team coordinator Sayed Abdul-Hafiz sees it as a positive outcome for both teams.

"It is a benefit for both teams to be drawn together," said the former Ahli midfielder, who won the trophy as a player in 2001.

"The two teams know each other well, and hopefully we'll qualify together to the semi-finals."