2020–21 Azerbaijan Premier League
Football league season
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The 2020–21 Azerbaijan Premier League was the 29th season of the Azerbaijan Premier League, the highest tier football league of Azerbaijan. The season began on 21 August 2020 and ended on 19 May 2021.[1]
| Season | 2020–21 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 21 August 2020 – 19 May 2021 |
| Champions | Neftçi Baku |
| Relegated | None |
| Champions League | Neftçi Baku |
| Europa League | Qarabağ Sumgayit Keşla |
| Matches | 112 |
| Goals | 266 (2.38 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Namik Alaskarov (19 goals) |
| Biggest home win | Qarabağ 6–1 Keşla (1 November 2020) Qarabağ 6–1 Sumgayit (21 November 2020) |
| Biggest away win | Neftçi Baku 0–6 Qarabağ (8 November 2020) |
| Highest scoring | Qarabağ 6–1 Keşla (1 November 2020) Qarabağ 6–1 Sumgayit (21 November 2020) |
| Longest winning run | 5 matches Neftçi Baku |
| Longest unbeaten run | 11 matches Qarabağ |
| Longest winless run | 14 matches Keşla |
| Longest losing run | 6 matches Sabah |
← 2019–20 2021–22 →
All statistics correct as of 4 May 2021. | |
Neftçi Baku were the champions, winning the league for the 9th time in their history and ending Qarabağ FK’s 7-year winning streak. They qualified for the first qualifying round of the 2021–22 Champions League. Qarabağ and Sumgayit earned places in the second qualifying round of the UEFA Europa Conference League.
Teams
Locations of the 2020–21 Azerbaijan Premier League teams.
Team in italics is from a zone of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and is playing its home games in Baku.
Team in italics is from a zone of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and is playing its home games in Baku.
Stadia and locations
- Note: Table lists in alphabetical order.
| Team | Year Established | Location | Venue | Capacity[2] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gabala | 1995[3][4] | Qabala | Gabala City Stadium | 4,500 |
| Keşla | 1997[5] | Keshla | ASK Arena | 5,800 |
| Neftchi Baku | 1906/1937 | Baku | Bakcell Arena | 10,200 |
| Qarabağ | 1951/1987 | Aghdam | Azersun Arena | 5,200 |
| Sabah | 2017 | Absheron | Bank Respublika Arena | 13,000 |
| Sabail | 2016 | Səbail | Bayil 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: 5,800 | Capacity: 5,200 | Capacity: 10,200 |
 |
![](#/media/File:"ASK_Arena"_after_replacement_of_a_covering.jpg) |
 |
 |
| 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 and managers may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| Team | President | Manager | Captain | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gabala |  Fariz Najafov |
Elmar Bakhshiyev |
Asif Mammadov |
 Joma |
Milla |
| Keşla | Zaur Akhundov |
Yunis Huseynov |
Ilkin Qirtimov |
Joma |
Samaya LTD |
| Neftçi Baku | Kamran Guliyev |
Samir Abbasov |
Emin Mahmudov |
 Nike |
Turkish Airlines |
| Qarabağ |  Abdolbari Gozal |
Gurban Gurbanov |
Maksim Medvedev |
 Adidas |
Azersun |
| Sabah | Magsud Adigozalov |
Ramin Guliyev (Acting Head Coach) |
Ruslan Abışov |
Nike |
Bank Respublika |
| Sabail | Rashad Abdullayev |
Aftandil Hacıyev |
Rahid Amirguliyev |
Nike |
AzTea |
| Sumgayit | Riad Rafiyev |
Aykhan Abbasov |
Vurğun Hüseynov |
Jako |
Pasha Insurance, Azərikimya |
| Zira | Taleh Nasibov |
Rashad Sadygov |
Aghabala Ramazanov |
Joma |
Bakcell, Azfargroup |
Managerial changes
| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sabah |  Željko Sopić |
Resigned | 3 July 2020[6] | Pre-season | Vicente Gómez |
10 July 2020.[7] |
| Zira | Zaur Hashimov |
End of contract | 17 July 2020 | Pre-season | Rashad Sadygov |
17 July 2020[8] |
| Keşla | Tarlan Ahmedov |
End of contract | 8 August 2020[9] | Pre-season | Yunis Huseynov |
16 August 2020[10] |
| Neftchi | Fizuli Mammedov |
Resigned | 11 November 2020[11] | 4th | Samir Abbasov |
11 November 2020[11] |
| Keşla | Yunis Huseynov |
Resigned | 24 January 2021[12] | 7th | Sanan Gurbanov |
25 January 2021[13] |
| Sabah | Vicente Gómez |
Mutual termination | 11 March 2021[14] | Pre-season | Ramin Guliyev (Acting Head Coach) |
11 March 2021[14] |
Foreign players
A team could use only six foreign players on the field in each game.
In bold: Players that join the club mid-season
In Italic: Players that left the club mid-season
League table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Neftçi Baku (C) | 28 | 18 | 5 | 5 | 47 | 25 | +22 | 59 | Qualification for the Champions League first qualifying round |
| 2 | Qarabağ | 28 | 16 | 9 | 3 | 64 | 18 | +46 | 57 | Qualification to Europa Conference League second qualifying round |
| 3 | Sumgayit | 28 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 30 | 31 | −1 | 39 | |
| 4 | Zira | 28 | 8 | 14 | 6 | 28 | 28 | 0 | 38 | |
| 5 | Sabah | 28 | 7 | 8 | 13 | 28 | 38 | −10 | 29 | |
| 6 | Keşla | 28 | 5 | 11 | 12 | 25 | 40 | −15 | 26 | Qualification to Europa Conference League second qualifying round |
| 7 | Gabala | 28 | 5 | 11 | 12 | 23 | 44 | −21 | 26 | |
| 8 | Sabail | 28 | 5 | 9 | 14 | 21 | 42 | −21 | 24 |
Fixtures and results
Clubs played each other four times for a total of 28 matches each.
Matches 1–14 |
Matches 15–28
|
Season statistics
Top scorers
- As of matches played 19 May 2021
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Namik Alaskarov |
Neftçi | 19 |
| 2 | Mahir Emreli |
Qarabağ | 18 |
| 3 | Filip Ozobić |
Qarabağ | 11 |
| 4 | Ali Ghorbani |
Sumgayit | 9 |
| 5 |  Davit Volkovi |
Zira | 8 |
| Rahim Sadikhov |
Sumgayit | ||
| 7 | Mirabdulla Abbasov |
Neftçi | 7 |
 Owusu Kwabena |
Qarabağ | ||
| 9 | Amil Yunanov |
Sabail | 6 |
 Abdellah Zoubir |
Qarabağ |
Clean sheets
- As of matches played 25 February 2021
| Rank | Player | Club | Clean sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Matheus Albino |
Zira | 7 |
| 2 | Shahrudin Mahammadaliyev |
Qarabağ | 6 |
| 3 | Agil Mammadov |
Neftçi | 5 |
| 4 | Anar Nazirov |
Gabala | 4 |
 Mehdi Jannatov |
Sumgayit | ||
| 6 |  Stanislav Namașco |
Keşla | 3 |
 Nicholas Hagen |
Sabail | ||
| 8 |  Saša Stamenković |
Sabah | 2 |
| Aydin Bayramov |
Sumgayit | ||