Former international player and technical analyst Ali Musri stated that the technical data witnessed in the 12th round of the first phase of the ADNOC Pro League indicates that Al Ain team tops the list of candidates to win the league title, followed by Shabab Al Ahli, then Al Wahda and Al Wasl. Musri pointed out that this season's league is more competitive compared to last season, with five teams competing for the top spots, along with four teams at the bottom of the table, whereas last season's competition was limited between Shabab Al Ahli and Sharjah. Musri told "Al Ittihad": "On the coaches' front, Al Ain's coach, the Serbian Vladimir Ivic, currently leads the scene, relying on a (5-3-2) system, characterized by improving the team's defensive performance and finding solutions for the absence of influential players like Sofiane Rahimi and Eric, in addition to dealing with the decline in Kwame Quaidoo's level while maintaining competitiveness among players in all positions." He added: "Next is Shabab Al Ahli's coach, the Portuguese Paulo Sousa, who relies on a (4-4-2) style, and has succeeded in managing the challenges the team faces in external and local participations, despite the absence of the influential player Sardar Azmoun. Also prominent is Al Dhafra's Montenegrin coach Zeljko Petrovic, who relies on a (4-3-3) system, and managed to achieve remarkable results during the first phase with his team's capabilities." Regarding the offensive level of the league, Musri said: "We witnessed the brilliance of Al Ain's striker Laba Kodjo, who this season surpassed the record for Al Ain's all-time top scorer Ahmed Abdullah, scoring 13 goals so far, along with the brilliance of Al Wahda's Syrian player Omar Khribine, scoring nine goals, and his Serbian partner Dusan Tadic, making seven assists, as well as Al Ain's player Alejandro Caco, who made six assists." He explained that the individual performance of several players caught his attention, most notably: Abdelkarim Traore (Al Ain), Iranian Mehdi Ghaedi (Al Nasr), Colombian Kevin Agudelo (Al Nasr), Iraqi Mohammed Ali (Dibba), Moroccans Karim El Barkaoui and Mohammed Al Khulaifi (Al Dhafra), Portuguese Ailton Felipe (Khorfakkan), Brazilian Serginho Pereira (Al Wasl), and Joao Palma (Shabab Al Ahli). He added: "As for the midfielders in the first phase, the top performers are: Matias Palacios (Al Ain), Spaniard Rinau Tapia (Al Wasl), Brazilian Jadson da Silva (Al Wahda), and Majid Sur (Sharjah), as the best central midfielders." Musri described the performance of Bani Yas and Al Bataeh teams in the first phase as disappointing compared to their experience in the professional league. He pointed out that one of the most positive aspects of this season is "the remarkable results of UAE clubs in external tournaments, whether in the AFC Elite Champions League, or AFC Champions League 2, or the GCC Clubs Cup, where the mentality of dealing with match pressure has evolved, and clubs have become more capable of managing match pressure without affecting their local results." Regarding the winter transfer window, Musri said: "Shabab Al Ahli and Al Wasl need a striker capable of making an impact if they want to continue competing locally and internationally, while Al Ain has announced its signing of Romanian Adrian But, who will be a strong addition to the team. Al Wahda needs to strengthen the wing positions with players who have speed and skill, while Al Nasr needs two distinguished central defenders if it wants to return to competing with the top teams."
