"I was ruled out of the game because I suffer back pain," the 30-year-old guardian told FilGoal.com

Al-Sayed, who has not played a single game this season due to injury, was passed fit to play several weeks ago but lost his regular place to Mohamed Abdul-Monsef.

Striker Abdul-Halim was also excluded after a string of poor displays for the league runners-up. The out-of-favor Mostafa Gaafar is set to replace him.

Left-back Osama Hassan has returned to the squad for the first time since Zamalek's 1-0 defeat to arch-rivals Ahli in September.

The former ENPPI man is set to compensate for Tarek Al-Sayed, who will miss the match due to suspension.

Zamalek Dutch manager Ruud Krol is apparently giving chances to the forgotten men before deciding on who will feature in the club's CAF Champions League squad.

Hassan has recently insisted he will depart the Cairo giants in January if he is not included in the African squad.

Striker Amr Zaki, who is reportedly frustrated after Zamalek turned down Wigan's offer to acquire his services, is set to lead the frontline.

Zamalek lie fourth in the league table with 24 points, six behind leaders Ahli, who have a game in hand.

The squad:

Goalkeepers: Mohamed Abdul-Monsef, Emad Al-Sayed

Defenders: Wissem El-Abdi, Beshir Al-Tabie, Mahmoud Fathallah, Ahmed Hossam, Khaled Saad, Osama Hassan

Midfielders: Ahmed Magdi, Tamer Abdul-Hamid, Ahmed Abdel-Raouf, Hazem Emam, Mahmoud Abdul-Razeq 'Shikabala', Magdi Attwa

Strikers: Gamal Hamza, Mostafa Gaafar, Sherif Ashraf, Amr Zaki