Surprise results may be recorded in the first 3-4 rounds of the Azerbaijan Premier League.
This was stated to "Report" by Arif Asadov, the former coach of the Azerbaijani national team.
The expert evaluated the results recorded in the first round of the 2025/2026 season of the Misli Premier League:
"The championship has just started. It is not possible to see the main performance of the teams. However, expectations were high from some teams. We should not be surprised by the performance of some clubs in the first 3-4 rounds. They need time to recover. In other words, surprise results may be recorded in the first 3-4 rounds. After that period, the list of favorites and outsiders will be clear."
He said that expectations from "Neftchi" will be high this season:
"Everyone's eyes were on "Neftchi". However, the team still failed to achieve the desired result. It should be taken into account that they spent the summer training camp abroad and had enough time. More than half of the squad has been updated. But let's not rush, everything will be known in the coming weeks. "Shamakhi" also did not perform badly against "Neftchi", they played willingly. But "Neftchi" could not beat its opponent."
A. Asadov stated that the championship debutants will try to keep their places in the Premier League this season:
"I think that the teams newly joining the championship - "Gabala", "Imishli" and "Karvan-Yevlakh" will fight to stay in the Premier League. Even "Kapaz" will be on this list. "Gabala" is in the best condition among the teams I mentioned. Of course, this is my personal opinion. It will be clear in a few rounds what each team is capable of."
It should be noted that in the first round of the 2025/2026 season of the Misli Premier League, "Sumgayit" defeated "Kapaz" 3:0, and "Turan Tovuz" defeated "Imishli" 1:0. Draws (1:1) were recorded in the matches "Neftchi" - "Shamakhi", "Karvan-Yevlakh" - "Gabala" and "Zira" - "Araz-Nakhchivan". The match "Sabah" - "Garabagh" was postponed.