# 2018–19 Azerbaijan Premier League

The 2018–19 Azerbaijan Premier League was the 27th season of the Azerbaijan Premier League. It was won by defending champions Qarabağ. The season began on 11 August 2018.
The winner of the league this season earned a spot in the first qualifying round of the 2019–20 Champions League, and the second and third placed clubs earned a place in the first qualifying round of the 2019–20 Europa League.

## Teams

Kapaz was relegated at the conclusion of the previous season. Sabah were promoted and participated in the Premier League this season.

### 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 | 8,125 |
| Neftchi Baku | 1937 | Baku | Bakcell Arena | 10,500 |
| Qarabağ | 1951 | Aghdam | Azersun Arena {Baku} | 5,800 |
| Sabah | 2017 | Baku | Alinja Arena | 13,000 |
| Sabail | 2016 | Səbail | Bayil Arena | 5,000 |
| Sumgayit | 2010 | Sumqayit | Kapital Bank Arena | 1,500 |
| Zira | 2014 | Zira | Zira Olympic Sport Complex Stadium | 1,400 |

### Stadiums

| Gabala | Keşla | Neftchi Baku | Qarabağ |
| Gabala City Stadium | ASK Arena | Bakcell Arena | Azersun Arena |
| Capacity: 4,500 | Capacity: 8,200 | Capacity: 10,500 | Capacity: 5,800 |
| Sabah | Sabail | Sumgayit | Zira |
| Alinja Arena | Bayil Arena | Kapital Bank Arena | Zira Olympic Sport Complex Stadium |
| Capacity: 13,000 | Capacity: 3,200 | Capacity: 1,500 | Capacity: 1,400 |

### 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 | Sanan Gurbanov | Javid Huseynov | Joma | QafqaZ Hotels |
| Keşla | Tarlan Ahmedov | Kamran Aghayev | Joma | Samaya LTD |
| Neftchi Baku | Roberto Bordin | Ruslan Abışov | Nike | |
| Qarabağ | Gurban Gurbanov | Rashad Sadygov | Adidas | Azersun Holding |
| Sabah | Elshad Ahmadov | Javid Imamverdiyev | Macron | Bank Respublika |
| Sabail | Aftandil Hajiyev | Rahid Amirguliyev | Macron | AzTea |
| Sumgayit | Aykhan Abbasov | Vurğun Hüseynov | Macron | Pasha Insurance |
| Zira | Samir Abbasov | Kamal Bayramov | Joma | Santral Electric |

### 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 | Player 11 | Player 12 |
| Gabala | Sabien Lilaj | Steeven Joseph-Monrose | James Adeniyi | Vojislav Stanković | Lalawélé Atakora | Dmytro Bezotosnyi | | | | | | |
| Keşla | Denis Silva | Valeriy Kutsenko | John Kamara | Andre Clennon | Edvinas Girdvainis | Nikola Mitrović | Jonathan Ayite | Angelo Pena | | | | |
| Neftchi | Gianluca Sansone | Goran Paracki | Mamadou Mbodj | Bagaliy Dabo | Vangelis Platellas | Soni Mustivar | Kyrylo Petrov | Petru Racu | | | | |
| Qarabağ | Ansi Agolli | Vagner | Simeon Slavchev | Dzon Delarge | Filip Ozobić | Abdellah Zoubir | Donald Guerrier | Hannes Halldórsson | Jakub Rzeźniczak | Dani Quintana | Míchel | Innocent Emeghara |
| Sabah | Wanderson | Éric Ramos | Filip Ivanović | Saša Stamenković | Marko Dević | Vitaliy Kvashuk | | | | | | |
| Sabail | Imanol Iriberri | Emil Martinov | Kévin Koubemba | Tamaz Tsetskhladze | Maudo Jarjué | Tome Kitanovski | Oleksandr Rybka | Eugeniu Cociuc | Ihor Korotetskyi | Michael Essien | | |
| Sumgayit | Ali Babayev | Atilla Yıldırım | Amir Agayev | Aleksey Isayev | Peyman Babaei | | | | | | | |
| Zira | Bilal Hamdi | Dylan Duventru | Sadio Tounkara | Alexandru Dedov | Adrian Scarlatache | Miloš Radivojević | Robin Ngalande | Mpho Kgaswane | | | | |
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 appointmentr |
| Gabala | Roman Hryhorchuk | End of contract | 29 May 2018 | Pre-season | Sanan Gurbanov | 30 May 2018 |
| Neftchi Baku | Tarlan Ahmedov | End of contract | 31 May 2018 | Pre-season | Roberto Bordin | 8 June 2018 |
| Sabail | Samir Aliyev | Mutual consent | 22 May 2018 | Pre-season | Aftandil Hajiyev | 11 June 2018 |
| Sumgayit | Samir Abbasov | End of contract | 20 May 2018 | Pre-season | Nazim Suleymanov | 7 June 2018 |
| Sabah | Arif Asadov | End of contract | | Pre-season | Elshad Ahmadov | |
| Keşla | Yuriy Maksymov | Sacked | 17 July 2018 | Pre-season | Mladen Milinković | 25 July 2018 |
| Zira | Aykhan Abbasov | Resignation | 29 August 2018 | 8th | Samir Abbasov | 29 August 2018 |
| Keşla | Mladen Milinković | Sacked | 29 October 2018 | 7th | Tarlan Ahmadov | 30 October 2018 |

## League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Qarabağ (C) | 28 | 20 | 6 | 2 | 65 | 21 | +44 | 66 | Qualification for the Champions League first qualifying round |
| 2 | Neftçi Baku | 28 | 17 | 7 | 4 | 52 | 26 | +26 | 58 | Qualification for the Europa League first qualifying round |
| 3 | Sabail | 28 | 12 | 5 | 11 | 34 | 37 | −3 | 41 | Qualification for the Europa League first qualifying round |
| 4 | Gabala | 28 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 31 | 33 | −2 | 36 | Qualification for the Europa League second qualifying round |
| 5 | Zira | 28 | 8 | 7 | 13 | 30 | 40 | −10 | 31 | |
| 6 | Sumgayit | 28 | 8 | 5 | 15 | 24 | 42 | −18 | 29 | |
| 7 | Sabah | 28 | 7 | 6 | 15 | 20 | 41 | −21 | 27 | |
| 8 | Keşla | 28 | 6 | 5 | 17 | 29 | 45 | −16 | 23 | |

### Positions by round

| Team ╲ 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 |
| Qarabağ | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Neftçi Baku | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Sabail | 8 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Gabala | 1 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Zira | 5 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 |
| Sumgayit | 7 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 |
| Sabah | 4 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
| Keşla | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
* Leader and Champions League first qualifying round
* Europa League first qualifying round
* Europa League second qualifying round

## Results

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