# 2018–19 Serbian First League

The Serbian First League (Serbian: Prva liga Srbije) is the second-highest football league in Serbia. The league is operated by the Serbian FA. 16 teams compete in the league for the 2018–19 season.

## Format 2018–19

As of the 2018-19 season, the league reverted to its previous playoff system, whereby the top 8 placed teams compete in the promoted round at the end of the season and the 8 lowest placed teams play in the relegation playoff round. The four bottom placed teams are relegated to the Serbian League. The Fourteenth team from Super League is then sent to a playoff against the winner of the First League play off. At the end of the season, the top two teams and the winner of the play-offs are promoted to the Super League. The First League play-offs is a knock-out competition for the teams finishing the season in third to sixth place with the winner being promoted to the Super League. In the play-offs, the third-placed team plays against the sixth-placed team and the fourth-placed team plays against the fifth-placed team.

## Team changes

The following teams have changed division since the 2017–18 season.

### To First League

Promoted from Serbian League
* Žarkovo
* Trayal Kruševac
* Bečej
* Zlatibor
Relegated from Serbian SuperLiga
* Borac Čačak
* Javor

### From First League

Relegated to Serbian League
* ČSK
* Jagodina
* Radnički Pirot
* Temnić 1924
Promoted to Serbian SuperLiga
* Dinamo Vranje
* Proleter Novi Sad

## 2018–19 teams

| Team | City | Stadium | Capacity | Kit manufacturer | Shirt Sponsor |
| Bečej | Bečej | Gradski stadion kraj Tise | 1,296 | NAAI | Gebrüder Weiss |
| Bežanija | Belgrade | Stadion FK Bežanija | 4,000 | Macron | BIOeliksir |
| Borac | Čačak | Čačak Stadium | 8,000 | NAAI | Škoda Auto |
| Budućnost Dobanovci | Belgrade | Stadion FK Budućnost | 1,000 | Legea | |
| Inđija | Inđija | Stadion FK Inđija | 4,500 | NAAI | ZUTI Market |
| Javor | Ivanjica | Javor Stadium | 4,000 | Miteks | Matis |
| Metalac | Gornji Milanovac | Stadion Metalac | 4,400 | NAAI | Metalac a.d. |
| Novi Pazar | Novi Pazar | Novi Pazar City Stadium | 13,000 | Givova | |
| Radnički 1923 | Kragujevac | Čika Dača Stadium | 15,100 | NAAI | Grad Kragujevac |
| Sinđelić | Belgrade | Stadion FK Sinđelić | 1,500 | NAAI | AMS Osiguranje |
| Sloboda | Užice | Užice City Stadium | 12,000 | NAAI | UNITRAG |
| Teleoptik | Zemun | SC Partizan-Teleoptik | 5,000 | Nike | |
| Trayal | Kruševac | Stadion FK Trayal | 1,500 | Hummel | Trayal Corporation |
| TSC | Bačka Topola | Bačka Topola City Stadium | 5,000 | Adidas | SAT-TRAKT Communications |
| Žarkovo | Belgrade | Stadion FK Žarkovo | 610 | NAAI | Rubikon Shipping Company |
| Zlatibor | Čajetina | Stadion Švajcarija | 1,040 | Ardu Sport | Galens Invest |

## Transfers

For the list of transfers involving First League clubs during 2018–19 season, please see: List of Serbian football transfers summer 2018 and List of Serbian football transfers winter 2018–19.

## Regular season
### League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | TSC | 30 | 20 | 8 | 2 | 64 | 19 | +45 | 68 | Qualification for the Championship round |
| 2 | Javor Matis | 30 | 19 | 6 | 5 | 61 | 27 | +34 | 63 | Qualification for the Championship round |
| 3 | Inđija | 30 | 17 | 6 | 7 | 48 | 21 | +27 | 57 | Qualification for the Championship round |
| 4 | Zlatibor | 30 | 16 | 2 | 12 | 41 | 30 | +11 | 50 | Qualification for the Championship round |
| 5 | Radnički 1923 | 30 | 14 | 7 | 9 | 36 | 32 | +4 | 49 | Qualification for the Championship round |
| 6 | Metalac Gornji Milanovac | 30 | 13 | 9 | 8 | 45 | 32 | +13 | 48 | Qualification for the Championship round |
| 7 | Bežanija | 30 | 14 | 3 | 13 | 40 | 38 | +2 | 45 | Qualification for the Championship round |
| 8 | Sinđelić | 30 | 11 | 11 | 8 | 28 | 24 | +4 | 44 | Qualification for the Championship round |
| 9 | Žarkovo | 30 | 11 | 8 | 11 | 37 | 38 | −1 | 41 | Qualification for the Relegation round |
| 10 | Trayal Kruševac | 30 | 12 | 5 | 13 | 27 | 32 | −5 | 41 | Qualification for the Relegation round |
| 11 | Bečej | 30 | 10 | 6 | 14 | 33 | 37 | −4 | 36 | Qualification for the Relegation round |
| 12 | Budućnost Dobanovci | 30 | 8 | 9 | 13 | 26 | 35 | −9 | 33 | Qualification for the Relegation round |
| 13 | Teleoptik | 30 | 6 | 9 | 15 | 26 | 44 | −18 | 27 | Qualification for the Relegation round |
| 14 | Borac Čačak | 30 | 6 | 7 | 17 | 23 | 44 | −21 | 25 | Qualification for the Relegation round |
| 15 | Sloboda Užice | 30 | 5 | 6 | 19 | 16 | 56 | −40 | 21 | Qualification for the Relegation round |
| 16 | Novi Pazar | 30 | 3 | 8 | 19 | 13 | 55 | −42 | 17 | Qualification for the Relegation round |

### Results

| Home \ Away | BEČ | BEŽ | BOR | BDO | INĐ | JAV | MET | NPZ | RDK | SIN | SLO | TLO | TRA | TSC | ŽAR | ZLA |
| Bečej | | 1–2 | 0–0 | 5–1 | 1–0 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–5 | 0–2 |
| Bežanija | 1–0 | | 1–2 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 4–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 3–2 | 1–3 |
| Borac Čačak | 1–1 | 0–3 | | 1–2 | 0–4 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 0–3 | 3–1 | 2–0 |
| Budućnost Dobanovci | 0–1 | 3–0 | 1–1 | | 0–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 1–0 |
| Inđija | 3–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–2 | | 1–1 | 0–0 | 5–0 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 4–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 |
| Javor Matis | 1–2 | 4–1 | 4–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | | 1–1 | 6–3 | 4–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 7–1 | 2–1 |
| Metalac Gornji Milanovac | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 4–1 | | 2–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 7–0 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 2–5 | 0–0 | 2–0 |
| Novi Pazar | 0–4 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 0–3 | 2–0 | | 0–5 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 |
| Radnički 1923 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 |
| Sinđelić Beograd | 0–0 | 3–0 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 2–0 | | 3–2 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–3 | 1–0 |
| Sloboda Užice | 1–0 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 2–1 | | 3–3 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 0–3 |
| Teleoptik | 3–0 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 1–4 | 0–4 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | | 1–1 | 0–4 | 2–1 | 0–1 |
| Trayal Kruševac | 1–1 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 3–0 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 | | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 |
| TSC | 2–1 | 4–1 | 0–0 | 4–1 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 6–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 3–0 | 2–0 | | 2–0 | 1–2 |
| Žarkovo | 2–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | | 2–2 |
| Zlatibor | 1–2 | 0–3 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–3 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–3 | 3–0 | |

## Play-offs
### Promotion round

The top eight teams advanced from the regular season. Points from the regular season were halved with half points rounded up. Teams played each other once.

#### League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | TSC (C, P) | 37 | 26 | 9 | 2 | 80 | 27 | +53 | 53 | Promotion to the Serbian SuperLiga |
| 2 | Javor Matis (P) | 37 | 23 | 8 | 6 | 78 | 37 | +41 | 46 | Promotion to the Serbian SuperLiga |
| 3 | Inđija (P) | 37 | 20 | 7 | 10 | 57 | 29 | +28 | 39 | Qualification for promotion play-off |
| 4 | Radnički 1923 | 37 | 16 | 11 | 10 | 42 | 36 | +6 | 35 | Qualification for promotion play-off |
| 5 | Metalac Gornji Milanovac | 37 | 15 | 12 | 10 | 51 | 35 | +16 | 33 | Qualification for promotion play-off |
| 6 | Zlatibor | 37 | 18 | 3 | 16 | 48 | 42 | +6 | 32 | Qualification for promotion play-off |
| 7 | Bežanija (R) | 37 | 15 | 5 | 17 | 48 | 50 | −2 | 28 | Relegation to Serbian League |
| 8 | Sinđelić | 37 | 11 | 13 | 13 | 35 | 43 | −8 | 24 | |

#### Results

| Home \ Away | BEŽ | INĐ | JAV | MET | RDK | SIN | TSC | ZLA |
| Bežanija | | 3–1 | | | | 2–2 | 2–3 | |
| Inđija | | | | 1–0 | 0–0 | 3–1 | | 3–0 |
| Javor Matis | 3–1 | 3–1 | | | 1–1 | | | 4–1 |
| Metalac Gornji Milanovac | 2–0 | | 1–1 | | | 3–0 | | |
| Radnički 1923 | 0–0 | | | 0–0 | | | | 2–0 |
| Sinđelić Beograd | | | 1–3 | | 1–2 | | 2–2 | |
| TSC | | 1–0 | 4–2 | 1–0 | 2–1 | | | |
| Zlatibor | 1–0 | | | 0–0 | | 4–0 | 1–3 | |

### Relegation round

The bottom eight teams from the regular season play in the relegation round. Points from the regular season are halved with half points rounded up. Teams play each other once.

#### League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 9 | Trayal | 37 | 15 | 7 | 15 | 38 | 40 | −2 | 32 | |
| 10 | Budućnost Dobanovci | 37 | 13 | 9 | 15 | 35 | 41 | −6 | 32 | |
| 11 | Žarkovo | 37 | 14 | 9 | 14 | 42 | 44 | −2 | 31 | |
| 12 | Borac Čačak (R) | 37 | 10 | 9 | 18 | 34 | 49 | −15 | 27 | Relegation to Serbian League |
| 13 | Bečej (R) | 37 | 12 | 8 | 17 | 39 | 44 | −5 | 26 | Relegation to Serbian League |
| 14 | Novi Pazar | 37 | 7 | 8 | 22 | 28 | 63 | −35 | 21 | |
| 15 | Teleoptik (R) | 37 | 7 | 10 | 20 | 31 | 58 | −27 | 18 | Relegation to Serbian League |
| 16 | Sloboda Užice (R) | 37 | 6 | 8 | 23 | 22 | 70 | −48 | 16 | Relegation to Serbian League |
* 1 2

#### Results

| Home \ Away | BEČ | BOR | BDO | NPZ | SLO | TLO | TRA | ŽAR |
| Bečej | | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–2 | | 1–0 | | |
| Borac Čačak | | | | 3–1 | 2–0 | | | 1–0 |
| Budućnost Dobanovci | | 0–2 | | 1–0 | 2–0 | | 3–2 | |
| Novi Pazar | | | | | | 5–0 | 0–2 | 3–0 |
| Sloboda Užice | 1–1 | | | 1–4 | | | 2–1 | |
| Teleoptik | | 2–1 | 0–1 | | 2–2 | | | |
| Trayal | 1–0 | 1–1 | | | | 3–1 | | 1–1 |
| Žarkovo | 1–0 | | 0–1 | | 2–0 | 1–0 | | |

## Promotion play-off

Promotions round final position :
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 3 | Inđija | 37 | 20 | 7 | 10 | 57 | 29 | +28 | 39 |
| 4 | Radnički 1923 | 37 | 16 | 11 | 10 | 42 | 36 | +6 | 35 |
| 5 | Metalac Gornji Milanovac | 37 | 15 | 12 | 10 | 51 | 35 | +16 | 33 |
| 6 | Zlatibor | 37 | 18 | 3 | 16 | 48 | 42 | +6 | 32 |

### Final
## Individual statistics
### Top scorers

As of matches played on 5 May 2019.
| Pos | Scorer | Teams | Goals |
| 1 | Ivan Marković | Javor Matis | 29 |
| 2 | Nenad Lukić | Inđija / TSC | 22 |
| 2 | Nikola Petković | Javor Matis | 22 |
| 4 | Vladimir Silađi | TSC | 19 |
| 5 | Lazar Milošev | Budućnost Dobanovci | 15 |

### Hat-tricks

| Player | For | Against | Result | Date |
| Ivan Marković | Javor Matis | Teleoptik | 4–0 | 8 September 2018 |
| Marko Rajić | Žarkovo | Bečej | 5–1 | 9 September 2018 |
| Nikola Tripković | Borac Čačak | Žarkovo | 3–1 | 8 October 2018 |
| Mladen Kovačević | Bečej | Sloboda Užice | 3–0 | 13 October 2018 |
| Mladen Kovačević | Bečej | Budućnost Dobanovci | 5–1 | 9 November 2018 |
| Ivan Marković | Javor Matis | Žarkovo | 7–1 | 18 November 2018 |
| Nikola Petković | Javor Matis | Novi Pazar | 6–3 | 6 March 2019 |
| Ivan Marković | Javor Matis | Zlatibor | 4–1 | 14 April 2019 |