Zamalek Coach Christian Gross Ready for Petro Atletico Showdown

Zamalek head coach Christian Gross is under no illusions regarding the propensity of the task at hand.

The White Knights take on Petro Atletico on Sunday in the CAF Confederation Cup.They most recently dropped points to the Angolan outfit in a one-all-draw in Cairo.

This means that Zamalek’ hopes of making it past the group stages hang in the balance.

Nonetheless, the former Tottenham and Stuttgart manager is hard at work preparing his charges for the clash, and speaking at a media on Saturday, the 64-year-old explained the importance of victory against Petro de Luanda.

“We hope to secure qualification for the next round and we will fight to win and achieve the first victory in the group-stages to reach the fifth point,” Gross was quoted by KingFut.

[perfectpullquote align=”full” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””] “We are determined to beat Petro Atletico because it is our last chance, hopefully, we will take advantage of all the opportunities to win the game.”   [/perfectpullquote]

Gross also expressed concern over the climate conditions in Luanda, where it’s expected temperatures will hit a high of 30 degrees Celsius.

“The climate in Angola is difficult, in terms of temperature and humidity, and we will play the game intelligently so that players don’t get exhausted.”

“Despite the absences, I have confidence in the players we got and their ability to clinch the three points.”

“Petro Atletico have a group of really fast players, but we have a distinguished group of defenders, and I am confident in their abilities,” he added.

Zamalek are four points adrift of Group D leaders Gor Mahia and two behind Atletico and NA Hussein Dey.