The 2025–26 Azerbaijan Premier League , also known as Misli Premyer Liqası[1] due to sponsorship reasons, is the 34th season of the Azerbaijan Premier League, the highest tier football league of Azerbaijan. The season started on 15 August 2025.
| Season | 2025–26 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 15 August 2025 – 2026 |
| Champions | Sabah (1st title) |
| Relegated | Karvan |
| UEFA Champions League | Sabah |
| UEFA Europa League | Qarabag |
| UEFA Conference League | Neftçi Zira |
| Matches | 95 |
| Goals | 238 (2.51 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Joy-Lance Mickels (18 goals) |
← 2024–25 2026–27 →
All statistics correct as of 24 May 2026. | |
Starting from the 2025–26 season, the foreign player quota has been abolished. A mandatory fee will be applied to all foreign players. At the same time, teams that include local players in their line-ups will receive financial bonuses. These bonuses will be funded by the revenues collected from the foreign player fees.[2]
Beginning this season, the number of teams has been increased from 10 to 12.[3] At the end of 2025–26 season, the team that finishes in 11th place in the Premier League will face the runner-up of the First League in a play-off match held at a neutral venue. The winner of this match will earn a spot in the next season’s Premier League. The team that finishes last will be relegated to the First League, while the First League champion will be promoted to the Premier League, automatically.[4] Ahead of the new season, AFFA's Licensing Commission granted licenses to the following teams: Baku Sporting, Difai, İmişli, Karvan, Kəpəz, Qəbələ, Səbail, and Şamaxı.[5] The official draw ceremony for the 2025–26 season took place on 18 July at the Flame Towers complex.[6]
Teams
editTeam changes
edit| Promoted from 2024–25 Azerbaijan First Division |
Relegated to 2025–26 Azerbaijan First Division |
|---|---|
| Gabala, Karvan, Imishli | Sabail |
Sabail relegated to First Division after eight years in top tier.
Gabala return to top tier after one year absence, Imishli return to top tier after eighteen years absence and Karvan return to top tier after sixteen years absence.
Stadia and locations
edit- Note: Table lists in alphabetical order.
| Team | Year Established | Location | Venue | Capacity[7] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Araz Naxçıvan | 1967 | Nakhchivan, Baku | Dalga Arena | 6,502 |
| Gabala | 2005 | Qabala | Gabala City Stadium | 3,748 |
| Imishli | 2022 | Imishli | Heydar Aliyev Stadium | 8,500 |
| Kapaz | 1959 | Ganja | Ganja City Stadium | 15,343 |
| Karvan Yevlakh | 2022 | Yevlakh | Yevlakh City Stadium | 6,000 |
| Neftchi | 1937 | Baku | Neftchi Arena | 10,289 |
| Qarabağ | 1987 | Aghdam, Baku | Tofiq Bahramov Stadium | 31,200 |
| Sabah | 2017 | Absheron | Bank Respublika Arena | 8,969 |
| Shamakhi | 1997 | Shamakhi | Shamakhi City Stadium | 2,176 |
| Sumgayit | 2010 | Sumgait | Mehdi Huseynzade Stadium | 9,502 |
| Turan Tovuz | 2014 | Tovuz | Tovuz City Stadium | 6,500 |
| Zira | 2014 | Zira, Baku | Zira Sport Complex | 1,256 |
Managerial changes
edit| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Neftçi |  Samir Abbasov |
Fired | 24 November 2025[8] | 7th | Sanan Gurbanov (Acting) |
24 November 2025[8] |
| Sanan Gurbanov (Acting) |
End of contract | 9 December 2025[9] | 8th |  Yuriy Vernydub |
9 December 2025[9] | |
| Araz-Naxçıvan | Elmar Bakhshiyev |
Mutual Termination | 25 December 2025[10] | 5th | Andriy Demchenko |
4 January 2026[11] |
Foreign players
edit
In italics:' Players that are on loan from another APL side.
In bold: Players that have been capped for their national team.
League table
edit| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sabah (C) | 33 | 24 | 6 | 3 | 75 | 25 | +50 | 78 | Qualification for the Champions League first qualifying round |
| 2 | Qarabağ | 33 | 21 | 6 | 6 | 71 | 27 | +44 | 69 | Qualification for the Europa League first qualifying round[a] |
| 3 | Turan Tovuz[b] | 33 | 17 | 8 | 8 | 44 | 27 | +17 | 59[c] | |
| 4 | Neftçi | 33 | 16 | 11 | 6 | 57 | 32 | +25 | 59[c] | Qualification for the Conference League second qualifying round |
| 5 | Zira | 33 | 13 | 14 | 6 | 43 | 36 | +7 | 53 | Qualification for the Conference League first qualifying round |
| 6 | Araz-Naxçıvan | 33 | 13 | 7 | 13 | 44 | 58 | −14 | 46 | |
| 7 | Sumgayit | 33 | 12 | 5 | 16 | 45 | 49 | −4 | 41 | |
| 8 | Shamakhi | 33 | 9 | 11 | 13 | 31 | 40 | −9 | 38 | |
| 9 | Imishli | 33 | 7 | 13 | 13 | 23 | 43 | −20 | 34 | |
| 10 | Kapaz | 33 | 8 | 3 | 22 | 25 | 61 | −36 | 27[d] | |
| 11 | Gabala (O) | 33 | 7 | 6 | 20 | 32 | 49 | −17 | 27[d] | Qualification to Relegation Play-off |
| 12 | Karvan (R) | 33 | 3 | 6 | 24 | 23 | 66 | −43 | 15 | Relegation to Azerbaijan First Division |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Matches won; 3) Goal difference; 4) Goals scored; 5) Head-to-head points; 6) Head-to-head goal difference; 7) Lower number of points based on yellow and red cards; 8) Draw.[12]
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (R) Relegated
Notes:
- ↑ The 2025–26 Azerbaijan Cup winner (Sabah) qualified for the Europa League first qualifying round. Since Sabah also won the league, the berth was passed to the second place team and the Conference League berths go to the third and fourth placed teams.
- ↑ UEFA removed Turan Tovuz for a past match-fixing case.
- 1 2 Matches won: Turan-Tovuz 17, Neftçi 16.
- 1 2 Matches won: Kapaz 8, Gabala 7.
Results
editClubs play each other three times for a total of 33 matches each.
Promotion/relegation play-off
edit
Season statistics
editTop scorers
edit- As of match played 5 May 2026
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals[13] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Joy-Lance Mickels |
Sabah | 19 |
| 2 |  Veljko Simić |
Sabah | 11 |
| 3 |  Bassala Sambou |
Neftçi | 10 |
| Emin Mahmudov |
Neftçi | ||
| 5 |  Karim Rossi |
Şamaxı | 9 |
| 6 |  Ba-Muaka Simakala |
Araz-Naxçıvan | 8 |
 Camilo Durán |
Qarabağ | ||
 Jô |
Turan Tovuz | ||
 Domi Massoumou |
Qabala | ||
| 10 | Toral Bayramov |
Qarabağ | 7 |
 Diogo Dos Santos |
İmişli | ||
 Vincent Aboubakar |
Neftçi | ||
 Leandro Andrade |
Qarabağ | ||
 Aaron Malouda |
Sabah | ||
 Kaheem Parris |
Sabah | ||
Clean sheets
edit- As of match played 22 December 2025
| Rank | Player | Club | Clean sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Stas Pokatilov |
Sabah | 8 |
 Oleg Baklov |
Turan Tovuz | ||
| 3 | Ricardo Fernandes |
Şamaxı | 6 |
| 4 |  Kenan Pirić |
Neftçi | 5 |
| Shakhruddin Magomedaliyev |
Qarabağ | ||
 Cristian Avram |
Araz-Naxçıvan | ||
| Tiago Silva |
Zira | ||
 Andrey Sinenko |
İmişli | ||
| 9 | Mekhti Dzhenetov |
Sumgayit | 4 |
| 10 |  Mateusz Kochalski |
Qarabağ | 2 |
See also
editReferences
edit- ↑
- ↑ "Azərbaycan Premyer Liqasında legioner limiti ləğv olunub". Report İnformasiya Agentliyi (in Azerbaijani). 2025-02-03. Archived from the original on 2025-02-09. Retrieved 2025-02-04.
- ↑ "Azərbaycan Premyer Liqasında komanda sayı artırılacaq". Report İnformasiya Agentliyi (in Azerbaijani). 2025-02-03. Archived from the original on 2025-02-05. Retrieved 2025-02-04.
- ↑ "2025/2026 mövsümündə Azərbaycan Premyer Liqası uğrunda pley-off oyunu olacaq". Report İnformasiya Agentliyi (in Azerbaijani). 2025-02-19. Archived from the original on 2025-02-20. Retrieved 2025-02-19.
- ↑ "AFFA-nın Lisenziya Komissiyası "Qəbələ", "İmişli" və "Karvan"ın Premyer Liqada iştirakına rəsmən icazə verib". Report İnformasiya Agentliyi (in Azerbaijani). 2025-05-08. Retrieved 2025-05-08.
- ↑ "Azərbaycan Premyer Liqası: 2025/2026 mövsümünün püşkatma mərasiminin vaxtı bəlli olub". Report İnformasiya Agentliyi (in Azerbaijani). 2025-07-07. Retrieved 2025-07-07.
- ↑ Azərbaycan Peşəkar Liqası (in Azerbaijani)
- 1 2 ""Neftçi" PFK-nın məlumatı". neftchi.az (in Azerbaijani). Neftçi PFK. 24 November 2025. Retrieved 27 November 2025.
- 1 2 "Yuri Vernidub "Neftçi"nin yeni baş məşqçisidir". neftchi.az (in Azerbaijani). Neftçi PFK. 9 December 2025. Retrieved 9 December 2025.
- ↑ "Elmar Baxşıyevlə müqaviləyə xitam verilib". instagram.com/araznaxcivanpfc/ (in Azerbaijani). Araz-Naxçıvan PFK Instagram. 25 December 2025. Retrieved 30 December 2025.
- ↑ "Andrey Demçenko ilə müqavilə imzalanıb". instagram.com/araznaxcivanpfc/ (in Azerbaijani). Araz-Naxçıvan PFK Instagram. 4 January 2026. Retrieved 5 January 2026.
- ↑ "Regulation". pfl.az. Retrieved 21 April 2025.
- ↑ "Premier League – Top Scorers". soccer24.com. Soccer24.