# 2022–23 Sabah FC season

The Sabah FC 2022–23 season was Sabah's fifth Azerbaijan Premier League season, and their sixth season in existence.

## Season events

On 25 May 2022, Sabah announced the signing of Tellur Mutallimov to a two-year contract from Sumgayit.
On 9 June, Anatoliy Nuriyev joined Sabah on a three-year contract from Kolos Kovalivka. Three days later, 12 June, Davit Volkovi joined from Zira on a two-year contract.
On 17 June, Namiq Alesgerov signed on a three-year contract from Bursaspor.
On 10 July, Spanish defender Jon Irazabal arrived from Amorebieta, signing a two-year contract. Five days later, 15 July, Abdoulaye Ba signed a one-year contract with Sabah, with the option of an additional year, from Arouca. Three days after that, 18 July, Emmanuel Apeh signed a two-year contract with Sabah from Tenerife.
On 29 December, Alyaksandr Nyachayew left Sabah after his contract was terminated by mutual agreement.
On 3 January, Abdulla Rzayev was recalled from his loan deal at Shamakhi, and joined Kapaz on loan for the remainder of the season, along with Idris Ingilabli.
On 28 January, Abdulla Khaybulayev was loaned to Samtredia until December 2023.
On 4 February, Higor Gabriel was loaned to Lviv until June 2023.

## Squad

    As of match played 28 May 2023
| No. | Name | Position | Date of birth (Age) | Signed from | Signed in | Contract ends | Apps. | Goals |
| Goalkeepers ||||||||||
| 12 | Yusif Imanov | GK | (2002-09-27)27 September 2002 (aged 20) | Academy | 2020 | | 43 | 0 |
| 16 | Rustam Samiqullin | GK | (2002-12-23)23 December 2002 (aged 20) | Academy | 2020 | | 2 | 0 |
| 94 | Nijat Mehbaliyev | GK | (2000-09-11)11 September 2000 (aged 22) | Qarabağ | 2020 | 2023 | 5 | 0 |
| Defenders ||||||||||
| 2 | Amin Seydiyev | DF | (1998-11-15)15 November 1998 (aged 24) | Gabala | 2020 | 2023 | 88 | 2 |
| 3 | Zurab Ochihava | DF | (1995-05-18)18 May 1995 (aged 28) | FCI Levadia | 2021 | 2022 | 36 | 2 |
| 7 | Bojan Letić | DF | (1992-12-21)21 December 1992 (aged 30) | Unattached | 2022 | | 48 | 1 |
| 13 | Abdoulaye Ba | DF | (1991-01-01)1 January 1991 (aged 32) | Arouca | 2022 | 2023 (+1) | 23 | 2 |
| 14 | Bakhtiyar Hasanalizade | DF | (1992-12-29)29 December 1992 (aged 30) | Zira | 2020 | 2022 | 58 | 2 |
| 17 | Tellur Mutallimov | DF | (1995-04-08)8 April 1995 (aged 28) | Sumgayit | 2022 | 2024 | 31 | 0 |
| 19 | Jon Irazabal | DF | (1996-11-28)28 November 1996 (aged 26) | SD Amorebieta | 2022 | 2022 (+2) | 31 | 2 |
| Midfielders ||||||||||
| 4 | Elvin Jamalov | MF | (1995-02-04)4 February 1995 (aged 28) | Zira | 2021 | 2023 | 64 | 2 |
| 8 | Oleksiy Kashchuk | MF | (2000-06-29)29 June 2000 (aged 22) | on loan from Shakhtar Donetsk | 2022 | | 41 | 18 |
| 9 | Anatoliy Nuriyev | MF | (1996-05-20)20 May 1996 (aged 27) | Kolos Kovalivka | 2022 | 2025 | 34 | 4 |
| 10 | Aleksey Isayev | MF | (1995-11-09)9 November 1995 (aged 27) | Sumgayit | 2020 | 2023 | 86 | 10 |
| 11 | Cristian Ceballos | MF | (1992-12-03)3 December 1992 (aged 30) | Qatar | 2021 | 2024 | 31 | 5 |
| 15 | Christian | MF | (1989-06-14)14 June 1989 (aged 33) | Académica de Coimbra | 2022 | 2023 | 34 | 2 |
| 20 | Joy-Lance Mickels | MF | (1994-03-29)29 March 1994 (aged 29) | MVV Maastricht | 2021 | 2023 | 66 | 31 |
| 21 | Ildar Alekperov | MF | (2001-04-07)7 April 2001 (aged 22) | Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk | 2021 | 2024 | 29 | 0 |
| 22 | Seymur Mammadov | MF | (2003-05-29)29 May 2003 (aged 19) | Academy | 2022 | | 3 | 1 |
| 29 | Jeyhun Nuriyev | MF | (2001-03-30)30 March 2001 (aged 22) | Academy | 2020 | | 49 | 4 |
| 77 | Namiq Ələsgərov | MF | (1995-02-03)3 February 1995 (aged 28) | Bursaspor | 2022 | 2025 | 24 | 2 |
| Forwards ||||||||||
| 18 | Davit Volkovi | FW | (1995-06-03)3 June 1995 (aged 27) | Zira | 2022 | 2024 | 38 | 12 |
| 33 | Jamal Jafarov | FW | (2002-02-25)25 February 2002 (aged 21) | Anzhi Makhachkala | 2020 | 2025 | 22 | 0 |
| 99 | Emmanuel Apeh | FW | (1996-10-25)25 October 1996 (aged 26) | Tenerife | 2022 | 2024 | 37 | 11 |
| Out on loan ||||||||||
| 5 | Idris Ingilabli | MF | (2001-10-06)6 October 2001 (aged 21) | Gabala | 2020 | 2024 | 1 | 0 |
| 6 | Abdulla Khaybulayev | MF | (2001-08-19)19 August 2001 (aged 21) | Academy | 2021 | | 19 | 0 |
| | Abdulla Rzayev | DF | (2002-03-12)12 March 2002 (aged 21) | Academy | 2020 | | 17 | 0 |
| | Higor Gabriel | DF | (1999-04-28)28 April 1999 (aged 24) | Unattached | 2022 | 2024 | 2 | 0 |
| | Veysal Rzayev | MF | (2002-10-24)24 October 2002 (aged 20) | Academy | 2020 | | 17 | 0 |
| | Shakir Seyidov | MF | (2000-12-31)31 December 2000 (aged 22) | Academy | 2018 | 2023 | 49 | 2 |
| | Kamran Guliyev | FW | (2000-03-11)11 March 2000 (aged 23) | Jonava | 2021 | | 5 | 1 |
| Left during the season ||||||||||
| 1 | Alyaksandr Nyachayew | GK | (1994-04-21)21 April 1994 (aged 29) | Rukh Brest | 2022 | 2023 | 1 | 0 |
| 26 | Tiemoko Fofana | FW | (1999-10-22)22 October 1999 (aged 23) | Ilves | 2021 | | 35 | 5 |

## Transfers
### In

| Date | Position | Name | From | Fee |
| 25 May 2022 | DF | Tellur Mutallimov | Sumgayit | Undisclosed |
| 9 June 2022 | FW | Anatoliy Nuriyev | Kolos Kovalivka | Undisclosed |
| 12 June 2022 | FW | Davit Volkovi | Zira | Undisclosed |
| 17 June 2022 | MF | Namiq Alesgerov | Bursaspor | Undisclosed |
| 10 July 2022 | DF | Jon Irazabal | Amorebieta | Undisclosed |
| 15 July 2022 | DF | Abdoulaye Ba | Arouca | Undisclosed |
| 18 July 2022 | FW | Emmanuel Apeh | Tenerife | Undisclosed |

### Loans in

| Date from | Position | Nationality | Name | From | Date to | Ref. |
| 1 July 2022 | MF | | Oleksiy Kashchuk | Shakhtar Donetsk | | |

### Loans out

| Date from | Position | Name | To | Date to |
| 29 June 2022 | MF | Shakir Seyidov | Turan Tovuz | End of season |
| 29 June 2022 | MF | Veysal Rzayev | Turan Tovuz | End of season |
| 20 July 2022 | DF | Abdulla Rzayev | Shamakhi | 3 January 2023 |
| 20 July 2022 | FW | Kamran Guliyev | Shamakhi | End of season |
| 21 July 2022 | DF | Higor Gabriel | Dinamo Minsk | 31 December 2022 |
| 3 January 2023 | DF | Abdulla Rzayev | Kapaz | End of season |
| 3 January 2023 | MF | Idris Ingilabli | Kapaz | End of season |
| 28 January 2023 | MF | Abdulla Khaybulayev | Samtredia | December 2023 |
| 4 February 2023 | DF | Higor Gabriel | Lviv | End of season |

### Released

| Date | Position | Name | Joined | Date |
| 4 June 2022 | GK | Səlahət Ağayev | Gabala | 4 June 2022 |
| 8 July 2022 | FW | Mikheil Ergemlidze | Kapaz | |
| 29 December 2022 | GK | Alyaksandr Nyachayew | Minsk | 13 February 2023 |
| 31 December 2022 | FW | Tiemoko Fofana | Haka | 17 May 2023 |

## Competitions
### Overview

| Competition | First match | Last match | Starting round | Final position | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record |
| Competition | First match | Last match | Starting round | Final position | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % |
| Premier League | 7 August 2022 | 28 May 2023 | Matchday 1 | 2nd | 36 | 25 | 6 | 5 | 75 | 24 | +51 | 069.44 |
| Azerbaijan Cup | 23 November 2022 | 19 December 2022 | First Round | Quarterfinal | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 4 | +3 | 033.33 |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | Total | 39 | 26 | 6 | 7 | 82 | 28 | +54 | 066.67 |
Last updated: 28 May 2023 Source: Competitions

### Premier League
#### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Last updated: 28 May 2023. Source: See Results

#### Results by round

| Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 |
| Ground | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | A |
| Result | W | W | W | W | D | L | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | D | W | D | D | W | W | W | W | D | L | L | W | W | W | W | L | W | W | W | W | W | D | L |
| Position | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |

#### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Qarabağ (C) | 36 | 28 | 6 | 2 | 91 | 25 | +66 | 90 | Qualification for the Champions League first qualifying round |
| 2 | Sabah | 36 | 25 | 6 | 5 | 75 | 24 | +51 | 81 | Qualification to Europa Conference League second qualifying round |
| 3 | Neftçi | 36 | 20 | 8 | 8 | 63 | 38 | +25 | 68 | Qualification to Europa Conference League second qualifying round |
| 4 | Gabala | 36 | 13 | 11 | 12 | 47 | 47 | 0 | 50 | Qualification to Europa Conference League second qualifying round |
| 5 | Zira | 36 | 13 | 11 | 12 | 45 | 46 | −1 | 50 | |

### Azerbaijan Cup
## Squad statistics

    As of match played 28 May 2023

### Appearances and goals

| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | Premier League | Premier League | Azerbaijan Cup | Azerbaijan Cup |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| 2 | DF | AZE | Amin Seydiyev | 35 | 0 | 33+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | UKR | Zurab Ochihava | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | MF | AZE | Elvin Camalov | 35 | 2 | 31+2 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| 7 | DF | BIH | Bojan Letić | 37 | 0 | 33+1 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | UKR | Oleksiy Kashchuk | 33 | 16 | 30+1 | 16 | 2 | 0 |
| 9 | MF | AZE | Anatoliy Nuriyev | 34 | 4 | 21+11 | 4 | 1+1 | 0 |
| 10 | MF | AZE | Aleksey Isayev | 36 | 3 | 34 | 3 | 1+1 | 0 |
| 11 | MF | ESP | Cristian Ceballos | 21 | 4 | 3+16 | 3 | 1+1 | 1 |
| 12 | GK | AZE | Yusif Imanov | 35 | 0 | 33 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 |
| 13 | DF | SEN | Abdoulaye Ba | 23 | 2 | 22 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| 14 | DF | AZE | Bəxtiyar Həsənalızadə | 22 | 2 | 16+3 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
| 15 | MF | BRA | Christian | 21 | 1 | 14+5 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 16 | GK | AZE | Rustam Samiqullin | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | DF | AZE | Tellur Mutallimov | 31 | 0 | 6+22 | 0 | 2+1 | 0 |
| 18 | FW | GEO | Davit Volkovi | 38 | 12 | 23+12 | 10 | 1+2 | 2 |
| 19 | DF | ESP | Jon Irazabal | 31 | 2 | 29+1 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| 20 | MF | GER | Joy-Lance Mickels | 38 | 17 | 35 | 17 | 3 | 0 |
| 21 | MF | AZE | Ildar Alekperov | 21 | 0 | 0+18 | 0 | 1+2 | 0 |
| 22 | MF | AZE | Seymur Mammadov | 3 | 1 | 0+2 | 1 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 29 | MF | AZE | Jeyhun Nuriyev | 26 | 2 | 3+20 | 2 | 2+1 | 0 |
| 33 | FW | AZE | Jamal Jafarov | 5 | 0 | 0+4 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 77 | MF | AZE | Namiq Ələsgərov | 24 | 2 | 9+14 | 2 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 94 | GK | AZE | Nijat Mehbaliyev | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 99 | FW | NGA | Emmanuel Apeh | 37 | 11 | 13+21 | 8 | 2+1 | 3 |
| Players away on loan: ||||||||||
| 5 | DF | AZE | Idris Ingilabli | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 6 | MF | AZE | Abdulla Khaybulayev | 5 | 0 | 0+4 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Players who left Sabah during the season: ||||||||||

### Goal scorers

| Place | Position | Number | Name | Premier League | Azerbaijan Cup | Total |
| 1 | MF | 20 | Joy-Lance Mickels | 17 | 0 | 17 |
| 2 | MF | 8 | Oleksiy Kashchuk | 15 | 0 | 16 |
| 3 | FW | 18 | Davit Volkovi | 10 | 2 | 12 |
| 4 | FW | 99 | Emmanuel Apeh | 8 | 3 | 11 |
| 5 | FW | 9 | Anatoliy Nuriyev | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| 5 | MF | 11 | Cristian Ceballos | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| 7 | MF | 10 | Aleksey Isayev | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| 8 | DF | 13 | Abdoulaye Ba | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 8 | MF | 77 | Namiq Ələsgərov | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 8 | MF | 4 | Elvin Camalov | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 8 | FW | 29 | Jeyhun Nuriyev | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 8 | DF | 19 | Jon Irazabal | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 8 | DF | 14 | Bəxtiyar Həsənalızadə | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 14 | MF | 22 | Seymur Mammadov | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 14 | MF | 15 | Christian | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 14 | | | Own goal | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| | | | TOTALS | 73 | 7 | 80 |

### Clean sheets

| Place | Position | Number | Name | Premier League | Azerbaijan Cup | Total |
| 1 | GK | 12 | Yusif Imanov | 19 | 0 | 19 |
| 2 | GK | 94 | Nijat Mehbaliyev | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 3 | GK | 16 | Rustam Samiqullin | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| | | | TOTALS | 21 | 1 | 22 |

### Disciplinary record

| Number | Position | Name | Premier League | Premier League | Azerbaijan Cup | Azerbaijan Cup | Total | Total |
| 2 | DF | Amin Seydiyev | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 |
| 4 | MF | Elvin Camalov | 10 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 12 | 0 |
| 7 | DF | Bojan Letić | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | Oleksiy Kashchuk | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | Anatoliy Nuriyev | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 |
| 10 | MF | Aleksey Isayev | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 |
| 11 | MF | Cristian Ceballos | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
| 13 | DF | Abdoulaye Ba | 9 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 1 |
| 14 | DF | Bəxtiyar Həsənalızadə | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 17 | DF | Tellur Mutallimov | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 18 | FW | Davit Volkovi | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 19 | DF | Jon Irazabal | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 |
| 20 | MF | Joy-Lance Mickels | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 21 | MF | Ildar Alekperov | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 22 | MF | Seymur Mammadov | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 29 | MF | Jeyhun Nuriyev | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
| 77 | MF | Namiq Ələsgərov | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 94 | GK | Nijat Mehbaliyev | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 99 | FW | Emmanuel Apeh | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Players away from Sabah on loan: ||||||||||
| 6 | MF | Abdulla Khaybulayev | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Players who left Sabah during the season: ||||||||||
| | | TOTALS | 84 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 90 | 7 |