Mutasim Abdullah (Dubai)
The current suspension period for the “ADNOC Professional League” competitions is witnessing the holding of four matches, in the race to determine the positions, within the “Professional League Cup”, from the fifth to the eighth, which begins on Saturday with the matches of Al Ittihad Kalba with Al Wasl, and Ajman with Al Nasr, while the next round will be held on January 29, Al Wasl with Ajman, and Al Nasr with Ittihad Kalba, while the matches for the third round are set for next March 25.
The current suspension of the “ADNOC League”, which followed the end of the last round, in the first round, continues until February 4, the date of the start of the second round, due to the gathering of the first team, which will play two matches in a row, in the decisive round qualifiers qualifying for the 2022 World Cup. On January 27, they will face Syria at Al Maktoum Stadium in Al Nasr Club, and Iran at Azadi Stadium in Tehran on February 1.
The four-middle teams in the league standings, Ittihad Kalba (seventh), Al Nasr (eighth), Al Wasl (ninth), and Ajman (eleventh), are looking to prepare well during the league’s suspension, through matches to determine the positions in the “Professional League Cup”.
The quartet came out of the competition for the League Cup title, by losing in the quarter-finals, after Al Jazira eliminated Ittihad Kalba with a score of 5-4, in the total of the home and away matches, and Al-Nasr against Al-Wehda 0-2, and Al-Wasl with a loss against its rival Al-Ain 6-7, and Ajman with a loss. Against Shabab Al-Ahly 1-3.
The quartet “Tigers”, “Brigadier”, “Emperor” and “Orange” hope to compensate by booking a better position in the League Cup, in addition to standing up for the players’ readiness, in preparation for the resumption of the second round of the league, and Al-Wasl is the only team among the four continuing also in competition for the President’s Cup title.
The last rounds of the League Cup, from the first round to the end of the quarter-finals, in addition to determining the positions from the ninth to the fourteenth, witnessed the establishment of 32 matches, during which he scored 92 goals, at an average of 2.88 goals per match.
On the other hand, the competition will be fierce in the semi-finals scheduled for next March, with the presence of the holders of 9 titles of the championship, led by Shabab Al-Ahly “the title holder”, the record holder in the number of coronation times with 5 titles, and Al-Wahda the champion of the 2015-2016-2017-2018 editions. And Al Ain champion 2008-2009, Al Jazira crowned in 2009-2010.
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