2023–24 Azerbaijan Premier League

The 2023–24 Azerbaijan Premier League was the 32nd season of the Azerbaijan Premier League, the highest tier football league of Azerbaijan. The season began on 4 August 2023 and ended on 26 May 2024.

Azerbaijan Premier League

Season	2023–24
Dates	4 August 2023 – 26 May 2024
Champions	Qarabağ
Relegated	Gabala
UEFA Champions League	Qarabağ
UEFA Europa League	Zira
UEFA Conference League	Sabah Sumgayit
Matches played	145
Goals scored	376 (2.59 per match)
Top goalscorer	Juninho (17 goals)
Biggest home win	Qarabağ 7–1 Kapaz (4 November 2023)
Biggest away win	Sumgayit 1–6 Qarabağ (8 December 2023)
Highest scoring	Qarabağ 7–1 Kapaz (4 November 2023)
Longest winning run	10 matches Qarabağ
Longest unbeaten run	18 matches Qarabağ
Longest winless run	11 matches Kapaz Gabala
Longest losing run	5 matches Gabala
Highest attendance	9,300 Sumgayit 1–0 Qarabağ (28 April 2024)
Lowest attendance	500 Sabail 1-4 Sumgayit (5 August 2023)
Total attendance	6,405
Average attendance	1,281
← 2022–23 2024–25 → All statistics correct as of 11 April 2024.

Teams

Team changes

Promoted from 2022–23 Azerbaijan First Division	Relegated to 2023–24 Azerbaijan First Division
Araz-Naxçıvan	Shamakhi

Neftçi
Sabah

Araz-Nakhchivan

Gabala

Kapaz

Qarabağ

Sabail

Sumgayit

Turan Tovuz

Zira

Locations of the 2023–24 Azerbaijan Premier League teams

Stadia and locations

Note: Table lists in alphabetical order.

Team	Year Established	Location	Venue	Capacity[1]
Araz-Naxçıvan	1967	Nakhchivan, Baku	Dalga Arena	6,500
Gabala	1995[2][3]	Qabala	Gabala City Stadium	4,500
Kapaz	1959	Ganja, Tovuz	Tovuz City Stadium	6,500
Neftchi	1937	Baku	Neftchi Arena	10,260
Qarabağ	1951	Aghdam, Baku	Tofiq Bahramov Stadium	31,200
Sabah	2017	Absheron	Bank Respublika Arena	8,600
Sabail	2016	Sabail, Baku	ASCO Arena	3,200
Sumgayit	2010	Sumgait	Mehdi Huseynzade Stadium	8,700
Turan Tovuz	1992	Tovuz	Tovuz City Stadium	6,500
Zira	2014	Zira, Baku	Zira Sport Complex	1,300

Stadiums

Araz-Naxçıvan	Gabala	Kapaz	Qarabağ	Neftçi
Dalga Arena	Gabala City Stadium	Ganja City Stadium	Tofiq Bahramov Stadium	Neftchi Arena
Capacity: 6,500	Capacity: 4,500	Capacity: 26,000	Capacity: 31,200	Capacity: 10,260
Sabah	Sabail	Sumgayit	Turan Tovuz	Zira
Bank Respublika Arena	ASCO Arena	Mehdi Huseynzade Stadium	Tovuz City Stadium	Zira Sport Complex
Capacity: 8,600	Capacity: 3,200	Capacity: 8,700	Capacity: 6,500	Capacity: 1,300

Personnel and kits

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players and Managers may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

Team	President	Manager	Captain	Kit manufacturer	Shirt sponsor
Araz-Naxçıvan	Ramin Akhundov	Elmar Bakhshiyev	Numan Kurdić	Diadora	Samaya Ltd
Gabala	Fariz Najafov	Kakhaber Tskhadadze	Asif Mammadov	Capelli Sport	Gilan & Knauf
Kapaz	Ilgar Nadiri	Azer Mammadov	Vurğun Hüseynov	Joma	-
Neftçi	Kamran Guliyev	Miodrag Božović	Emin Mahmudov	Erreà	SOCAR
Qarabağ	Tahir Gozal	Gurban Gurbanov	Maksim Medvedev	Adidas	Azersun
Sabah	Magsud Adigozalov	Krunoslav Rendulić	Elvin Jamalov	Nike	Bank Respublika
Sabail	Abdulgani Nurmammadov	Shahin Diniyev	Aghabala Ramazanov	Adidas	ASCO
Sumgayit	Riad Rafiyev	Samir Abbasov	Elvin Badalov	Macron	Pasha Insurance[broken anchor], Azərikimya
Turan Tovuz	Ogtay Abdullayev	Aykhan Abbasov	Kamal Bayramov	Jako	Huner Group
Zira	Taleh Nasibov	Rashad Sadygov	Qismət Alıyev	Joma	Nar, Azfargroup

Managerial changes

Team	Outgoing manager	Manner of departure	Date of vacancy	Position in table	Incoming manager	Date of appointment
Araz-Naxçıvan				Pre-season	Azer Baghirov	17 July 2023[4]
Kapaz	Tarlan Ahmadov				Azer Mammadov	12 June 2023[5]
Neftçi	Laurențiu Reghecampf	Mutual Agreement	21 June 2023[6]		Adrian Mutu	11 July 2023[7]
	Adrian Mutu		24 December 2023[8]	3rd	Miodrag Božović	24 December 2023[9]
Sabah	Murad Musayev	Resignation	1 February 2024[10]	7th	Ruslan Qafitullin (Acting)	1 February 2024
Gabala	Elmar Bakhshiyev	Resignation	24 February 2024[11]	10th	Kakhaber Tskhadadze	25 February 2024[12]
Sabah	Ruslan Qafitullin (Acting)	End of contract	5 March 2024	6th	Krunoslav Rendulić	5 March 2024[13]

Foreign players

Each team can use only seven foreign players on the field in each game.

Main articles: List of Azerbaijan football transfers summer 2023 and List of Azerbaijan football transfers winter 2023–24

Club	Player 1	Player 2	Player 3	Player 4	Player 5	Player 6	Player 7	Player 8	Player 9	Player 10	Player 11	Player 12	Player 13	Player 14	Player 15	Left during the season
Araz-Naxçıvan	Ismail Azzaoui	Semir Bukvić	Numan Kurdić	Mićo Kuzmanović	Wanderson Maranhão	Igor Ribeiro	Elvis Mashike Sukisa	Axel Ngando	Mohammed Kadiri	Cristian Avram	Nuno Rodrigues	Ildar Alekperov	Tugay Alizada
Gabala	Christophe Atangana	Lucas Áfrico	Bilel Aouacheria	Samuel Tetteh	Osama Khalaila	Ayyoub Allach	Clésio	Ahmed Isaiah	Yaovi Akakpo	Zurab Ochihava						Omar Hani Gilad Avramov Fares Abu Akel
Kapaz	Yegor Khvalko	Vladislav Vasilyuchek	Martin Júnior	Mate Kvirkvia	Giorgi Papunashvili	Olawale Onanuga	Latyr Fall	Igor Rodrigues	Adama Niane							Abdullahi Shuaibu
Neftçi	Lucas Melano	Yegor Bogomolsky	Andre Shinyashiki	Yuri Matias	Brayan Moreno	Ivan Brkić	Márk Tamás	Erwin Koffi	Ataa Jaber	Mudo Valdez	Reziuan Mirzov	Keelan Lebon	Alpha Conteh			Kenny Saief Aaron Samuel Olanare
Qarabağ	Redon Xhixha	Yassine Benzia	Juninho	Júlio Romão	Matheus Silva	Leandro Andrade	Patrick Andrade	Kevin Medina	Adama Diakhaby	Hamidou Keyta	Abdellah Zoubir	Luka Gugeshashvili	Marko Janković	Marko Vešović	Andrey Lunyov
Sabah	Bojan Letić	Christian	Ayaz Guliyev	Jearl Margaritha	Davit Volkovi	Jesse Sekidika	Kaheem Parris	Vincent Thill	Sofian Chakla	Emmanuel Apeh	Cristian Ceballos	Jon Irazabal	Marouane Hadhoudi	Ishak Belfodil		Ildar Alekperov
Sabail	Paná	Adi Mehremić	Sylvain Deslandes	David Gomis	Madi Queta	Nir Bardea	Yadin Lugasi	Ayub Masika	Alexandre Ramalingom	Anass Najah	Pedro Nuno					Matija Ljujić
Sumgayit	Octávio	Trésor Mossi	Steven Pereira	Casimir Ninga	Jordan Rezabala	Erik Sorga	Roi Kahat	Abou Dosso	Masaki Murata	Kristijan Velinovski	Easah Suliman					Todor Todoroski
Turan Tovuz	Belajdi Pusi	Alex Souza	Brunão	Pachu	Martin Petkov	Piruz Marakvelidze	Denis Marandici	Otto John	Roderick Miller	Aykhan Guseynov	Álex Serrano	Emmanuel Hackman
Zira	Filipe Pachtmann	Ruan Renato	Raphael Utzig	Dimitrios Chantakias	Salifou Soumah	Stephane Acka	Pierre Zebli	Issa Djibrilla	Abbas Ibrahim	Vladyslav Kulach	Eldar Kuliyev	Tiago Silva				Toni Gomes Andrija Luković

In italics:' Players that are on loan from another APL side.
In bold: Players that have been capped for their national team.

League table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Qarabağ (C)	36	26	5	5	97	37	+60	83	Qualification for the Champions League second qualifying round
2	Zira	36	16	10	10	33	22	+11	58[lower-alpha 1]	Qualification for the Europa League first qualifying round[lower-alpha 2]
3	Sabah	36	17	7	12	50	40	+10	58[lower-alpha 1]	Qualification for the Conference League second qualifying round
4	Sumgayit	36	15	12	9	37	38	−1	57
5	Neftçi	36	16	8	12	51	40	+11	56
6	Turan Tovuz	36	13	9	14	53	53	0	48
7	Sabail	36	11	9	16	50	60	−10	42
8	Araz-Naxçıvan	36	9	9	18	31	50	−19	36
9	Kapaz	36	9	8	19	39	67	−28	35
10	Gabala (R)	36	7	5	24	30	64	−34	26	Relegation to Azerbaijan First Division

Source: Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head points; 3) Head-to-head goal difference; 4) Head-to-head goals scored; 5) Head-to-head away goals scored (only if two teams); 6) Goal difference; 7) Goals scored.^[14]
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated
Notes:

1. Zira are ahead of Sabah on head-to-head points: Zira 1–0 Sabah, Sabah 0–1 Zira, Zira 0–1 Sabah, Sabah 0–1 Zira
2. The 2023–24 Azerbaijan Cup winners qualified for the Europa League first qualifying round. Since the cup winners (Qarabağ) qualified based on league position, the Europa League spot was passed to the second-placed team, and the second Conference League second round spot was passed to the fourth-placed team.

Fixtures and results

Clubs play each other four times for a total of 36 matches each.

Home \ Away	ARA	GAB	KAP	NEF	QAR	SAB	SEB	SUM	TUR	ZIR	ARA	GAB	KAP	NEF	QAR	SAB	SEB	SUM	TUR	ZIR
Araz-Naxçıvan		2–0	0–1	1–0	2–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	0–3	1–0		1–1	1–2	1–0	2–2	0–1	0–2	1–1	0–1	0–3
Gabala	1–4		0–3	0–2	1–2	1–0	0–1	1–2	4–0	1–0	2–0		0–1	0–1	0–4	2–0	2–3	0–1	1–2	1–1
Kapaz	1–2	0–1		1–0	1–2	0–2	0–3	1–1	0–2	0–0	3–1	2–1		3–3	1–6	1–2	1–4	1–1	2–1	0–1
Neftçi	1–1	2–0	2–0		0–2	0–1	1–1	1–2	3–2	1–0	3–0	3–1	5–1		1–4	0–1	3–0	1–1	3–0	1–0
Qarabağ	2–1	3–0	1–1	2–0		2–0	3–1	5–0	3–0	0–1	3–1	2–2	7–1	5–0		3–3	4–2	2–0	4–3	3–1
Sabah	1–1	5–0	2–2	1–1	1–2		4–0	3–1	0–3	0–1	2–0	2–1	3–2	0–0	3–2		2–0	2–0	1–1	0–1
Sabail	1–0	3–0	0–0	2–4	2–1	2–2		1–4	2–1	1–2	2–2	2–3	3–3	0–3	1–2	2–0		0–1	1–1	0–0
Sumgayit	2–0	0–0	1–0	0–1	1–6	1–0	1–0		0–0	0–0	1–0	1–0	1–3	2–1	1–0	1–2	2–1		0–0	0–0
Turan Tovuz	3–1	2–2	4–0	0–1	2–2	2–3	1–3	2–2		1–0	2–0	2–1	1–0	1–1	1–3	2–0	3–1	1–4		1–2
Zira	0–0	1–0	1–0	1–1	0–1	1–0	2–2	1–0	2–1		0–1	4–0	2–1	3–1	0–1	0–1	1–0	0–0	1–1

Source: soccerway.com
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Season statistics

As of match played 26 May 2024

Top scorers

Rank	Player	Club	Goals[15]
1	Juninho	Qarabağ	20
2	Alexandre Ramalingom	Sabail	15
3	Yassine Benzia	Qarabağ	12
	Nariman Akhundzade	Qarabağ
5	Leandro Andrade	Qarabağ	11
6	Toral Bayramov	Qarabağ	10
	Pedro Nuno	Sabail
8	Orkhan Aliyev	Araz-Naxçıvan	9
	Otto John	Turan Tovuz
	Osama Khalaila	Gabala

Hat-tricks

Player	For	Against	Result	Date	Ref
Yassine Benzia	Qarabağ	Kapaz	7–1 (H)	4 November 2023	[16]
Davit Volkov	Sabah	Turan Tovuz	2–3 (A)	11 November 2023	[17]
Bilel Aouacheria	Gabala	Turan Tovuz	4–0 (H)	25 November 2023	[18]
Filip Ozobić	Neftçi	Kapaz	3–3 (A)	9 March 2024	[19]
Andre Shinyashiki	Neftçi	Kapaz	5–1 (H)	10 May 2024	[20]

Own goals

• Sertan Taşqın – Turan Tovuz vs Qarabağ 13 August 2023
• Jon Irazabal – Sabah vs Neftçi 20 August 2023
• Ishak Belfodil – Sabah vs Araz-Naxçıvan 7 October 2023
• Numan Kurdić – Araz-Naxçıvan vs Sabail 2 December 2023
• Ilkin Qirtimov – Sabail vs Gabala 15 December 2023
• Bojan Letić – Araz-Naxçıvan vs Sabah 15 December 2023
• Adi Mehremić – Sumgayit vs Sabail 23 December 2023
• Numan Kurdić – Qarabağ vs Araz-Naxçıvan 23 January 2024
• Wanderson – Araz-Naxçıvan vs Zira 25 February 2024
• Nir Bardea – Neftçi vs Sabail 15 March 2024
• Murad Khachayev – Sumgayit vs Sabah 17 March 2024
• Yuri Matias – Neftçi vs Sumgayit 7 April 2024
• Igor Ribeiro - Neftçi vs Araz-Naxçıvan (13 April 2024)
• Slavik Alkhasov - Turan Tovuz vs Sumgayit (19 April 2024)
• Murad Khachayev - Sabah vs Sumgayit (18 May 2024)

Clean sheets

As of match played 25 May 2024

Rank	Player	Club	Clean sheets
1	Tiago Silva	Zira	17
2	Mekhti Dzhenetov	Sumgayit	13
3	Rza Jafarov	Neftçi	9
	Aydın Bayramov	Turan Tovuz
5	Yusif Imanov	Sabah	8
6	Cristian Avram	Araz-Naxçıvan	7
7	Səlahət Ağayev	Sabail	6
	Andrey Lunyov	Qarabağ
	Rashad Azizli	Gabala
	Ivan Brkić	Neftçi

Rza Jafarov & Ivan Brkić both played in Neftçi's 2-0 victory over Gabala on 27 August 2023
Nijat Mehbaliyev & Yusif Imanov both played in Sabah's 4-0 victory over Sabail on 10 December 2023

Discipline

Red cards

As of match played 25 May 2024

• Ulvi Isgandarov - Araz-Naxçıvan vs Gabala (12 August 2023)
• Amin Seydiyev - Zira vs Sabah (26 August 2023)
• Rza Jafarov - Neftçi vs Gabala (27 August 2023)
• Pierre Zebli - Zira vs Sumgayit (15 September 2023)
• Mohammed Kadiri - Araz-Naxçıvan vs Neftçi (16 September 2023)
• Kevin Medina - Gabala vs Qarabağ (25 September 2023)
• Bojan Letić - Sabail vs Sabah (30 September 2023)
• Igor Ribeiro - Araz-Naxçıvan vs Zira (1 October 2023)
• Ilkin Qirtimov - Gabala vs Araz-Naxçıvan (22 October 2023)
• Osama Khalaila - Gabala vs Araz-Naxçıvan (22 October 2023)
• Yuri Matias - Neftçi vs Sabah (30 October 2023)
• Emmanuel Apeh - Sabah vs Zira (5 November 2023)
• Emil Safarov - Gabala vs Kapaz (9 December 2023)
• Samuel Tetteh - Sabail vs Gabala (15 December 2023)
• Faig Hajiyev - Kapaz vs Turan Tovuz (22 January 2024)
• Elvin Camalov - Zira vs Sabah (27 January 2024)
• Zurab Ochihava - Neftçi vs Gabala (28 January 2024)
• Ayyoub Allach - Neftçi vs Gabala (28 January 2024)
• Maksim Medvedev - Sabah vs Qarabağ (3 February 2024)
• Fares Abu Akel - Sabah vs Qarabağ (28 February 2024)
• Issa Djibrilla - Zira vs Turan Tovuz (2 March 2024)
• Lucas Áfrico - Gabala vs Sabail (3 March 2024)
• Vusal Shabanov - Turan Tovuz vs Araz-Naxçıvan (10 March 2024)
• Numan Kurdić - Araz-Naxçıvan vs Gabala (16 March 2024)
• Adi Mehremić - Sabail vs Kapaz (14 April 2024)
• Ceyhun Nuriyev - Zira vs Neftçi (20 April 2024)
• Brunão - Neftçi vs Turan Tovuz (28 April 2024)
• Olawale Onanuga - Kapaz vs Sumgayit (4 May 2024)
• Martin Júnior - Kapaz vs Sumgayit (4 May 2024)
• Vugar Mustafayev - Kapaz vs Sumgayit (4 May 2024)
• Yuri Matias - Qarabağ vs Neftçi (4 May 2024)
• Roderick Miller - Turan Tovuz vs Zira (5 May 2024)
• Shakir Seyidov - Neftçi vs Kapaz (10 May 2024)
• Davit Volkovi - Gabala vs Sabah (12 May 2024)
• Mudo Valdez - Neftçi vs Sabah (25 May 2024)
• Jon Irazabal - Neftçi vs Sabah (25 May 2024)
• Kaheem Parris - Neftçi vs Sabah (25 May 2024)
• Abdulakh Khaybulayev - Neftçi vs Sabah (25 May 2024)
• Paná - Zira vs Sabail (25 May 2024)

Attendances

Pos	Team	Total	High	Low	Average	Change
1	Turan Tovuz	73,900	6,000	1,500	4,106	n/a†
2	Sumgayit	51,516	9,300	800	2,862	n/a†
3	Neftçi	31,321	6,900	400	1,740	n/a†
4	Sabah	26,997	4,300	1,100	1,500	n/a†
5	Qarabağ	22,628	4,500	300	1,257	n/a†
6	Zira	20,200	1,200	450	1,122	n/a†
7	Kapaz	14,615	3,000	500	812	n/a†
8	Sabail	14,190	2,400	200	788	n/a†
9	Gabala	10,730	1,500	250	596	n/a†
10	Araz-Naxçıvan	10,390	1,000	120	577	n/a†
	League total	276,487	9,300	120	1,536	n/a†

Updated to games played on 26 May 2024.^[21]
Source: ^[22]

See also

• Azerbaijan Premier League
• Azerbaijan First Division
• Azerbaijan Cup

References

1. Azərbaycan Peşəkar Liqası (in Azerbaijani)
2. "Qəbələ – 10". gabalafc.az (in Azerbaijani). Gabala SC. 1 September 2015. Retrieved 1 September 2015.
3. Establishment of SC Qabala Archived 23 December 2008 at the Wayback Machine
4. "Məşqçilər korpusu ilə müqavilə imzalandı". arazpfk.com/ (in Azerbaijani). Araz-Naxçıvan PFK. 17 July 2023. Retrieved 17 July 2023.
5. "Azər Məmmədovla müqavilə imzalanıb". kepezpfcofficial/ (in Azerbaijani). Kapaz PFK Facebook. 12 June 2023. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
6. "Baş məşqçi və köməkçiləri ilə yollar ayrıldı". neftchi.az (in Azerbaijani). Neftçi PFK. 21 June 2023. Retrieved 21 June 2023.
7. "Adrian Mutu "Neftçi"nin baş məşqçisi təyin olunub". neftchi.az (in Azerbaijani). Neftçi PFK. 11 July 2023. Retrieved 12 July 2023.
8. ""Neftçi" PFK-nın bəyanatı". neftchi.az (in Azerbaijani). Neftçi PFK. 24 December 2023. Retrieved 24 December 2023.
9. ""Neftçi" PFK-ya yeni baş məşqçi təyin olundu". neftchi.az (in Azerbaijani). Neftçi PFK. 24 December 2023. Retrieved 24 December 2023.
10. "Komandamızın baş məşqçisi Murad Musayev və klub rəhbərliyi arasında görüş keçirilib". facebook.com/sabahfc.az/ (in Azerbaijani). Sabah FC Facebook. 1 February 2024. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
11. ""Qəbələ" Elmar Baxşıyevlə yollarını ayırdı". gabalafc.az (in Azerbaijani). Gabala SC. 24 February 2024. Retrieved 28 February 2024.
12. "Kaxaber Tsxadadze "Qəbələ"də". gabalafc.az (in Azerbaijani). Gabala SC. 25 February 2024. Retrieved 28 February 2024.
13. ""Sabah"da yeni baş məşqçi təyinatı rəsmiləşib". facebook.com/sabahfc.az/ (in Azerbaijani). Sabah FC Facebook. 5 March 2024. Retrieved 5 March 2024.
14. "Premyer Liqa: Season rules". Scoresway. Retrieved 1 July 2018.
15. "Premier League – Top Scorers". soccer24.com. Soccer24. Retrieved 5 August 2023.
16. "Qarabağ 7-1 Kapaz". soccerway.com. Soccerway. 4 November 2023. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
17. "Turan Tovuz 2-3 Sabah". soccerway.com. Soccerway. 11 November 2023. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
18. "Gabala 4-0 Turan Tovuz". soccerway.com. Soccerway. 25 November 2023. Retrieved 26 November 2023.
19. "Kapaz 3-3 Neftçi". soccerway.com. Soccerway. 9 March 2024. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
20. "Neftçi 5-1 Kapaz". soccerway.com. Soccerway. 10 May 2024. Retrieved 13 May 2024.
21. "Azərbaycan Premyer Liqası: İlk yarının azarkeş mənzərəsi - ARAŞDIRMA" (in Azerbaijani). report.az. 26 December 2023. Retrieved 8 June 2024.
22. "Canlı nəticələr" (in Azerbaijani). pfl.az. Retrieved 8 June 2024.

External links

• UEFA