Two goals either side of the interval helped Zamalek to an easy 2-0 victory over bottom side Sharqeya in the Egyptian Premier League on Saturday, giving them a morale boost before Thursday's Cairo derby against arch rivals Ahly.
Right-back Osama Ibrahim scored a rare goal to open the scoring in the first half before creating another for winger Ahmed Refaat after the restart as Zamalek continued their recent fine run, chalking up a fourth consecutive win to keep pace with leaders Ahly.
They also kept a clean sheet for the sixth match in a row, having only conceded two goals in 15 games.
Zamalek are five points behind Ahly with a game in hand. Should they beat their perennial rivals on Thursday before a lengthy league break due to Egypt's participation in the Africa Cup of Nations, they will be in pole position to move top when the competition resumes in February.
The White Knights played without several regulars after they looked to have deliberately incurred third yellow cards in the 1-0 victory over El-Entag El-Harby last Wednesday to avoid the risk of missing the anticipated clash against Ahly.
They looked hardly affected by the absences, however, with Sharqeya failing to pose any threats.
Refaat could have put Zamalek ahead midway through the first half when he superbly controlled a right-wing cross but he blasted a volley high over from inside the area.
The breakthrough came in the 37th minute when playmaker Mohamed Ibrahim, making his first start after a five-month injury layoff, sent a chipped pass over the defence for the overlapping Osama Ibrahim to slot home.
Ibrahim turned from scorer to provider 10 minutes after the break, with Refaat sending an angled shot into an empty net after a low cross from the in-form right-back, who picked up a third yellow card that would rule him out of the Cairo derby.
