A depleted Espérance de Tunis will take to the field of the Taïeb Mhiri Stadium in Sfax this afternoon to face OCK Kerkennah in the Round of 16 of the Tunisian Cup. No fewer than ten players are absent from the Blood and Gold ranks, between foreign players who are not qualified for this match and those who are injured.

Key absentees include: Tougaï, Aholou, Tka, Chaâlali, Ben Hamida, Sasse, Rodrigues, Ghacha, Sowe, Bukia and Ogbelu. These absences will force coach Miguel Cardoso to call up a large number of young prospects from the training academy.

For these youngsters, this is a golden opportunity to show their worth and catch the eye of the Portuguese coach. Players like Koussaï Smiri, Alaeddine Derbali, Wajdi Issaoui, Mohamed Aloui, Khaïreddine Medaoui, Amen Allah Frikhi and Zineddine Kada will have the difficult task of making up for the absences of the senior players and upholding the colors of Espérance.

Full list of players called up for this match: Memmiche, Ben Chérifia, Debchi, Ben Ali, Meriah, Smiri, Bouchniba, Amamou, Shili, Majhed, A. Derbali, W. Derbali, Issaoui, Aloui, Ouahabi, Medaoui, Ayeb, Triki, Frikhi, Bouguerra, Kada and Ben Hammouda.

Facing a highly motivated Kerkennah team eager to cause an upset, the Blood and Gold will need to be vigilant and not underestimate their opponent. Although in a lower division, OCK Kerkennah has prepared well for its cup match and its players are not here to make up the numbers.

After the defeat conceded last Sunday against Stade Tunisien in the league, the Espérantistes are expected to react. A surge of pride and a victory in the Tunisian Cup would be welcome to get back on track and approach the rest of the season with renewed morale.

Despite the absences and the reshuffled team, the Espérance supporters will undoubtedly be present at the Mhiri Stadium to support their players in this tricky match. A convincing victory is expected to ideally launch the Tunisian Cup campaign and gain confidence before the important deadlines in the league and the CAF Champions League.

Good luck to our valiant Blood and Gold!