# 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.

## Teams
### Team changes

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

### Stadia and locations

    Note: Table lists in alphabetical order.
| Team | Year Established | Location | Venue | Capacity |
| Araz-Naxçıvan | 1967 | Nakhchivan, Baku | Dalga Arena | 6,500 |
| Gabala | 1995 | 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, 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 |
| Kapaz | Tarlan Ahmadov | | | Pre-season | Azer Mammadov | 12 June 2023 |
| Neftçi | Laurențiu Reghecampf | Mutual Agreement | 21 June 2023 | Pre-season | Adrian Mutu | 11 July 2023 |
| Neftçi | Adrian Mutu | Mutual Agreement | 24 December 2023 | 3rd | Miodrag Božović | 24 December 2023 |
| Sabah | Murad Musayev | Resignation | 1 February 2024 | 7th | Ruslan Qafitullin (Acting) | 1 February 2024 |
| Gabala | Elmar Bakhshiyev | Resignation | 24 February 2024 | 10th | Kakhaber Tskhadadze | 25 February 2024 |
| Sabah | Ruslan Qafitullin (Acting) | End of contract | 5 March 2024 | 6th | Krunoslav Rendulić | 5 March 2024 |

### Foreign players

Each team can use only seven 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 | 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 | 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 | Qualification for the Europa League first qualifying round |
| 3 | Sabah | 36 | 17 | 7 | 12 | 50 | 40 | +10 | 58 | Qualification for the Conference League second qualifying round |
| 4 | Sumgayit | 36 | 15 | 12 | 9 | 37 | 38 | −1 | 57 | Qualification for the Conference League second qualifying round |
| 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 |
* 1 2 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
* ↑ 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 | |

## Season statistics

    As of match played 26 May 2024

### Top scorers

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

### Hat-tricks

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

### 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 |
| 3 | Aydın Bayramov | Turan Tovuz | 9 |
| 5 | Yusif Imanov | Sabah | 8 |
| 6 | Cristian Avram | Araz-Naxçıvan | 7 |
| 7 | Səlahət Ağayev | Sabail | 6 |
| 7 | Andrey Lunyov | Qarabağ | 6 |
| 7 | Rashad Azizli | Gabala | 6 |
| 7 | Ivan Brkić | Neftçi | 6 |
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. Source: