CAIRO (Interstat) — Tala’ea El Gaish hosts Pharco on Monday, May 18, in an Egyptian Premier League matchup that pits two sides struggling for consistency in the bottom half of the table.

The teams met twice this season, with Tala’ea El Gaish winning both by 1-0 margins. In the most recent encounter Jan. 4, a solitary goal gave the home side the victory at Pharco’s expense. The previous meeting Aug. 19 also ended 1-0 in favor of Tala’ea El Gaish.

Tala’ea El Gaish enters the match on the heels of a 1-0 loss at El Ittihad SC El Iskandary on Wednesday, May 13. That defeat snapped a modest unbeaten run that included a 1-0 win over Ghazl El Mahalla SC on May 7 and a scoreless draw against Modern SC on April 29. The team’s form has been erratic: since late March, Tala’ea El Gaish has posted wins against Petrojet (2-0), National Bank of Egypt (1-0) and Wadi Degla SC (2-1), but also suffered losses to Kahrabaa Ismailia FC (2-1), El Mokawloon El Arab (2-0) and Wadi Degla SC (3-1).

Pharco, meanwhile, dropped a 1-0 decision at home to Modern SC on May 12, extending a difficult stretch. The visitors have not won since April 13, when they beat Haras El Hodood SC 2-1 at home. Since then, Pharco has gone 0-3-2 in its last five matches, with draws against Kahrabaa Ismailia FC (0-0) and Ghazl El Mahalla SC (1-1) and losses to ZED (1-0), El Gouna (1-0) and Petrojet (1-0). Overall this season, Pharco has managed only two victories in its past 12 league games, with its other win coming March 2 against Kahrabaa Ismailia FC (2-0) – that result was later reversed by a 2-0 loss to the same side.

Interstat’s game simulator projects a 1-1 draw.

Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. local time at Cairo’s Gehaz El Reyada Stadium.