# 2019–20 Azerbaijan Premier League

The 2019–20 Azerbaijan Premier League was the 28th season of the Azerbaijan Premier League with Qarabağ being the defending champions. The season began on 16 August 2019, before being prematurely ended on 19 June 2020.

## Season events

On 13 March 2020, the Azerbaijan Premier League was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
On 19 June 2020, the AFFA announced that the Azerbaijan Premier League was officially ended without the resumption of the remaining matches due to the escalating situation of the COVID-19 pandemic in Azerbaijan. As a result, Qarabağ were crowned champions for the seventh season in a row, whilst also qualifying for the 2020–21 UEFA Champions League, with Neftçi, Keşla and Sumgayit qualifying for the 2020–21 UEFA Europa League.

## Teams
### Stadia and locations

    Note: Table lists in alphabetical order.
| Team | Year Established | Location | Venue | Capacity |
| Gabala | 1995 | Qabala | Gabala City Stadium | 4,500 |
| Keşla | 1997 | Keshla | ASK Arena | 5,300 |
| Neftçi Baku | 1937 | Baku | Bakcell Arena | 10,500 |
| Qarabağ | 1987 | Baku | Azersun Arena | 5,800 |
| Sabah | 2017 | Masazır | Bank Respublika Arena | 13,000 |
| Sabail | 2016 | Sabail | ASCO Arena | 3,200 |
| Sumgayit | 2010 | Sumqayit | Kapital Bank Arena | 1,400 |
| Zira | 2014 | Zira | Zira Olympic Sport Complex Stadium | 1,300 |

### Stadiums

| Gabala | Keşla | Qarabağ | Neftçi Baku |
| Gabala City Stadium | ASK Arena | Azersun Arena | Bakcell Arena |
| Capacity: 4,500 | Capacity: 5,300 | Capacity: 5,800 | Capacity: 11,000 |
| 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 may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| Team | Manager | Team captain | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
| Gabala | Elmar Bakhshiyev | Asif Mammadov | Joma | Milla |
| Keşla | Tarlan Ahmadov | Slavik Alkhasov | Joma | Samaya LTD |
| Neftçi Baku | Fizuli Mammedov | Emin Mahmudov | Nike | Turkish Airlines |
| Qarabağ | Gurban Gurbanov | Rashad Sadygov | Adidas | Azersun |
| Sabah | Željko Sopić | Javid Imamverdiyev | Macron | Bank Respublika |
| Sabail | Aftandil Hacıyev | Rahid Amirguliyev | Nike | AzTea |
| Sumgayit | Aykhan Abbasov | Vurğun Hüseynov | Jako | Pasha Insurance, Azərikimya |
| Zira | Zaur Hashimov | Javid Huseynov | Joma | Bakcell, Azfargroup |

### Foreign players

A team could 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 |
| Gabala | Ivica Žunić | Merab Gigauri | Christian Kouakou | Clésio | Fernán Ferreiroa | Abdelrafik Gérard | Nicolas Rajsel | | | |
| Keşla | Franco Flores | Stanislav Namașco | Mijuško Bojović | César Meza | Lorenzo Frutos | John Kamara | Shohrux Gadoyev | Alexander Christovão | | |
| Neftçi Baku | Dário | Bagaliy Dabo | Steeven Joseph-Monrose | Vangelis Platellas | Mamadou Kane | Soni Mustivar | Mamadou Mbodj | Vojislav Stanković | Saman Nariman Jahan | |
| Qarabağ | Ailton | Vagner | Filip Ozobić | Abdellah Zoubir | Faycal Rherras | Magaye Gueye | Míchel | Owusu Kwabena | | |
| Sabah | Kévin Koubemba | Amadou Diallo | Filip Ivanović | Saša Stamenković | Dmytro Bezruk | Ulysse Diallo | Mario Marina | Marko Dević | Julio Rodríguez | Eugeniu Cociuc |
| Sabail | Erico | Michael Essien | Oleksandr Rybka | Hendrick Ekstein | Peyman Keshavarzi Nazarloo | | | | | |
| Sumgayit | Amir Agayev | Peyman Babaei | Mehdi Sharifi | Dzhamaldin Khodzhaniyazov | | | | | | |
| Zira | Mpho Kgaswane | Chafik Tigroudja | Richard Gadze | Miloš Bakrač | Bojan Zogović | Álvaro Ampuero | Adrian Scarlatache | Alie Sesay | Davit Volkovi | Gheorghe Anton |
In bold: Players that capped for their national team.

### Managerial changes

| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
| Gabala | Sanan Gurbanov | Resigned | 31 August 2019 | 8th | Elmar Bakhshiyev (interim) | 2 September 2019 |
| Sabah | Elshad Ahmadov | Resigned | 16 September 2019 | 7th | Igor Ponomaryov (interim) | 19 September 2019 |
| Zira | Samir Abbasov | Resigned | 8 October 2019 | 6th | Zaur Hashimov | 9 October 2019 |
| Sabah | Igor Ponomaryov (interim) | End of interim role | 26 November 2019 | 6th | Željko Sopić | 26 November 2019 |
| Neftçi | Roberto Bordin | Resigned | 18 January 2020 | 3rd | Fizuli Mammedov | 18 January 2020 |

## League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Qarabağ (C) | 20 | 13 | 6 | 1 | 34 | 7 | +27 | 45 | Qualification for the Champions League first qualifying round |
| 2 | Neftçi Baku | 20 | 10 | 7 | 3 | 33 | 14 | +19 | 37 | Qualification for the Europa League first qualifying round |
| 3 | Keşla | 20 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 27 | 21 | +6 | 30 | Qualification for the Europa League first qualifying round |
| 4 | Sumgayit | 20 | 6 | 5 | 9 | 24 | 32 | −8 | 23 | Qualification for the Europa League first qualifying round |
| 5 | Zira | 20 | 6 | 5 | 9 | 25 | 37 | −12 | 23 | |
| 6 | Sabah | 20 | 5 | 6 | 9 | 19 | 27 | −8 | 21 | |
| 7 | Sabail | 20 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 16 | 30 | −14 | 20 | |
| 8 | Gabala | 20 | 5 | 4 | 11 | 25 | 35 | −10 | 19 | |

## Results

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

## Season statistics
### Top scorers

    As of matches played 9 March 2020
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Peyman Babaei | Sumgayit | 7 |
| 1 | Steeven Joseph-Monrose | Neftçi Baku | 7 |
| 1 | Bagaliy Dabo | Neftçi Baku | 7 |
| 1 | Mahir Emreli | Qarabağ | 7 |
| 5 | Lorenzo Frutos | Keşla | 6 |
| 5 | Aghabala Ramazanov | Zira | 6 |
| 5 | Davit Volkovi | Zira | 6 |
| 8 | Mehdi Sharifi | Sumgayit | 5 |
| 8 | Magaye Gueye | Qarabağ | 5 |
| 8 | Hendrick Ekstein | Sabail | 5 |
| 8 | Abdellah Zoubir | Qarabağ | 5 |

### Clean sheets

    As of match played 9 March 2020
| Rank | Player | Club | Clean sheets |
| 1 | Shahruddin Mahammadaliyev | Qarabağ | 9 |
| 2 | Salahat Aghayev | Neftçi | 7 |
| 2 | Stanislav Namașco | Keşla | 7 |
| 4 | Asmir Begović | Qarabağ | 6 |
| 5 | Mehdi Jannatov | Sumgayit | 4 |
| 5 | Anar Nazirov | Gabala | 4 |

### Scoring

* First goal of the season: Ismayil Ibrahimli for Qarabağ against Keşla on 16 August 2019.