# 2021–22 Azerbaijan Premier League

The 2021–22 Azerbaijan Premier League was the 30th season of the Azerbaijan Premier League, the highest tier football league of Azerbaijan. The season began on 14 August 2021 and finished on 22 May 2022.

## Teams

On 6 April 2022, the Azerbaijan Premier League approved the name change of Keşla FK to Shamakhi FK.

### Stadia and locations

    Note: Table lists in alphabetical order.
| Team | Year Established | Location | Venue | Capacity |
| Gabala | 1995 | Qabala | Gabala City Stadium | 4,500 |
| Shamakhi | 1997 | Shamakhi | Shamakhi City Stadium | 2,200 |
| Neftchi Baku | 1937 | Baku | Bakcell Arena | 11,000 |
| Qarabağ | 1951 | Aghdam | Azersun Arena | 5,200 |
| Sabah | 2017 | Absheron | Bank Respublika Arena | 13,000 |
| Sabail | 2016 | Səbail | Bayil Arena | 3,200 |
| Sumgayit | 2010 | Sumqayit | Kapital Bank Arena | 1,400 |
| Zira | 2014 | Zira | Zira Olympic Sport Complex Stadium | 1,300 |

### Stadiums

| Gabala | Shamakhi | Qarabağ | Neftçi Baku |
| Gabala City Stadium | Shamakhi City Stadium | Azersun Arena | Bakcell Arena |
| Capacity: 4,500 | Capacity: 2,200 | Capacity: 5,200 | Capacity: 10,200 |
| Sabah | Sabail | Sumgayit | Zira |
| Bank Respublika Arena | ASCO Arena | Kapital Bank Arena | Zira Olympic Sport Complex Stadium |
| Capacity: 13,000 | Capacity: 3,200 | Capacity: 1,400 | 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 |
| Gabala | Fariz Najafov | Elmar Bakhshiyev | Asif Mammadov | Joma | Gilan & Knauf |
| Shamakhi | Zaur Akhundov | Sanan Gurbanov | Ilkin Qirtimov | Joma | Samaya LTD |
| Neftçi Baku | Kamran Guliyev | Samir Abbasov | Emin Mahmudov | Nike | Turkish Airlines |
| Qarabağ | Abdolbari Gozal | Gurban Gurbanov | Maksim Medvedev | Adidas | Azersun |
| Sabah | Magsud Adigozalov | Murad Musayev | Ruslan Abışov | Nike | Bank Respublika |
| Sabail | Rashad Abdullayev | Aftandil Hacıyev | Rahid Amirguliyev | Nike | AzTea |
| Sumgayit | Riad Rafiyev | Alyaksey Baha | Vurğun Hüseynov | Jako | Pasha Insurance, Azərikimya |
| Zira | Taleh Nasibov | Rashad Sadygov | Aghabala Ramazanov | Joma | Bakcell, Azfargroup |

### Managerial changes

| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
| Sabah | Ramin Guliyev (Acting Head Coach) | End of role | 26 May 2021 | Pre-season | Ramin Guliyev | 26 May 2021 |
| Sabah | Ramin Guliyev | Resigned | 21 October 2021 | 8th | Murad Musayev | 30 October 2021 |
| Sumgayit | Aykhan Abbasov | Sacked | 16 December 2021 | 7th | Alyaksey Baha | 30 December 2021 |

### Foreign players

Each team can use only six foreign players on the field in each game.
| 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 | Left during the season |
| Gabala | Isnik Alimi | Patrick | Ruan | Raphael Alemão | Christophe Atangana | Omar Hani | Stefan Vukčević | Fernán López | Yaovi Akakpo | | | | | | |
| Shamakhi | Aldair Neto | Franco Flores | Felipe Santos | Merab Gigauri | Sadio Tounkara | Stanislav Namașco | Nathan Oduwa | | | | | | | | Anatole Abang Mijuško Bojović Oumar Goudiaby John Kamara |
| Neftçi | Tiago Bezerra | Ramon Machado | Guilherme Pato | Ivan Brkić | Yusuf Lawal | César Meza | Hugo Basto | Azer Aliyev | Mamadou Mbodj | Vojislav Stanković | | | | | Jorge Correa Romain Basque Mamadou Kane Sabir Bougrine Harramiz |
| Qarabağ | Kady | Leandro Andrade | Patrick Andrade | Kevin Medina | Abdellah Zoubir | Luka Gugeshashvili | Marko Vešović | Ibrahima Wadji | Jaime Romero | | | | | | Gaspar Panadero |
| Sabah | Alyaksandr Nyachayew | Bojan Letić | Christian | Higor Gabriel | Lucas Rangel | Špiro Peričić | Mikheil Ergemlidze | Joy-Lance Mickels | Tiemoko Fofana | Julio Rodríguez | Juan Cámara | Cristian Ceballos | Zurab Ochihava | Oleksiy Kashchuk | Petar Škuletić Saša Stamenković |
| Sabail | Jurgen Goxha | Jamal Arago | Domantas Šimkus | Nicolas Rajsel | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Sumgayit | Dzhamaldin Khodzhaniyazov | Ilnur Valiev | | | | | | | | | | | | | Saeid Bagherpasand |
| Zira | Loris Brogno | Filipe Pachtmann | Hamidou Keyta | Davit Volkovi | Dimitrios Chantakias | Bryan Alceus | Mo Hamdaoui | Nemanja Anđelković | Ahmed Isaiah | | | | | | Welves Gjorgi Stoilov |
In bold: Players that capped for their national team.

## League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Qarabağ (C) | 28 | 21 | 6 | 1 | 72 | 13 | +59 | 69 | Qualification for the Champions League first qualifying round |
| 2 | Neftçi Baku | 28 | 15 | 5 | 8 | 42 | 31 | +11 | 50 | Qualification to Europa Conference League second qualifying round |
| 3 | Zira | 28 | 13 | 8 | 7 | 33 | 27 | +6 | 47 | Qualification to Europa Conference League second qualifying round |
| 4 | Gabala | 28 | 12 | 9 | 7 | 38 | 34 | +4 | 45 | Qualification to Europa Conference League second qualifying round |
| 5 | Sabah | 28 | 12 | 5 | 11 | 42 | 34 | +8 | 41 | |
| 6 | Sumgayit | 28 | 5 | 7 | 16 | 22 | 46 | −24 | 22 | |
| 7 | Shamakhi | 28 | 5 | 7 | 16 | 25 | 49 | −24 | 22 | |
| 8 | Sabail | 28 | 4 | 3 | 21 | 17 | 57 | −40 | 15 | |
* 1 2 Head-to-head points: Sumgayit 7, Shamakhi 4.

## Fixtures and results

Clubs played each other four times for a total of 28 matches each.

## Season statistics
### Top scorers

    As of match played 15 May 2022
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Joy-Lance Mickels | Sabah | 11 |
| 1 | Davit Volkovi | Zira | 11 |
| 1 | Kady | Qarabağ | 11 |
| 1 | Filip Ozobić | Qarabağ | 11 |
| 1 | Ibrahima Wadji | Qarabağ | 11 |
| 6 | Tiago Bezerra | Neftçi | 10 |
| 7 | Abdellah Zoubir | Qarabağ | 8 |
| 7 | Isnik Alimi | Gabala | 8 |
| 7 | Musa Gurbanli | Qarabağ | 8 |
| 10 | Ramil Sheydayev | Qarabağ | 7 |

### Hat-tricks

| Player | For | Against | Result | Date | Ref |
| Davit Volkovi | Zira | Sabah | 3-3 (A) | 6 November 2021 | |

### Clean sheets

    As of matches played 15 May 2022
| Rank | Player | Club | Clean sheets |
| 1 | Nijat Mehbaliyev | Gabala | 11 |
| 2 | Mehdi Jannatov | Zira | 10 |
| 2 | Şahruddin Mahammadaliyev | Qarabağ | 10 |
| 4 | Ivan Brkić | Neftçi | 5 |
| 5 | Salahat Aghayev | Sabah | 4 |
| 5 | Stanislav Namașco | Shamakhi | 4 |
| 5 | Aydin Bayramov | Sumgayit | 4 |
| 8 | Kamran Ibrahimov | Neftçi | 3 |
| 8 | Emil Balayev | Qarabağ | 3 |
| 8 | Yusif İmanov | Sabah | 3 |