El Ismaily vs Ghazl El Mahalla Prediction: Take a chance on the newly promoted side

Ismailia Stadium will be the venue for the opening day game of the Egyptian Premier League, with El Ismaily playing Ghazl El Mahalla. The last meeting between these sides ended in a 1-2 win on penalties for El Ismaily in the league cup. Let’s preview this game and make predictions. 

El Ismaily's last league encounter was against ZED FC and they lost in the Egypt Cup semi final. However, looking at the home side's performances in the league last season, they surely have a big task ahead. In 34 matches, this team accumulated just 33 points, scoring 33 goals while conceding 43. In their run of games into this, El Ismaily have two wins, two defeats, and one draw. 

Ghazl El Mahalla will enter the new season with hopes and confidence as they hope for a better performance. Last season in Division 2, Ghazl El Mahalla finished fourth spot in Group A with 35 points from 19 matches. However, their playoff games saw their total points accumulate to 52 points from 28 matches, and finished second spot. Heading into this week one game, Ghazl El Mahalla have an unbeaten run of 19 matches, winning nine and drawing 11. 

Ghazl El Mahalla will not lose this game, looking at how they have improved their play while on relegation. With El Ismaily not too poor the previous season, you can argue they have a chance at home. Yet, I trust the visiting Ghazl El Mahalla squad and will take a chance on them. Also, I expect goals from the two sides, with the visiting side not being too good defensively.