By Ben Wyatt BBC Sport, Cairo

Barcelona players including Lionel Messi (centre) visited the pyramids

European champions Barcelona visited the Great Pyramids of Giza on the outskirts of Cairo ahead of their game against Egyptian side Ahly on Tuesday.

The Spanish club are playing Ahly, the reigning African champions, to help the Egyptian club mark their centenary year.

Barcelona's assistant coach, Dutchman Johan Neeskens, said that they have been a litte surprised by the interest among the Egyptian fans.

"We saw some crazy things when we were on the bus from the airport to the hotel," he told BBC Sport.

"There were a lot of kids driving alongside our bus and they weren't paying too much attention to the road.

"Fortunately nothing happened but there were moments when there could have been accidents."

Neeskens was expecting a similar reception at the Cairo International Stadium for the match.

"We are expecting at least 100,000 people for the match and we know it's going to be tough and also it is going to be very hot," he added.

The only previous encounter between the two clubs took place in 1961 and resulted in a 6-1 drubbing of the Egyptian outfit.