2018 Latvian Higher League

The 2018 Latvian Higher League was the 27th season of top-tier football in Latvia. Spartaks Jūrmala were the defending champions, having won their second title in the previous season.

Latvian Higher League
Season2018
ChampionsRiga
Champions LeagueRiga
Europa LeagueVentspils
RFS
Liepāja
Matches played112
Goals scored315 (2.81 per match)
← 2017
2019 →

Teams
Locations of the 2018 Latvian Higher League teams

At the end of the 2017 season, Babīte were excluded from the league due to match-fixing. This resulted in METTA/LU ending up as the bottom-placed team. They were sent to the relegation playoffs against FK Progress/AFA Olaine. METTA/LU won, keeping them in the Latvian Higher League.

Babīte were replaced by the champions of the 2017 Latvian First League, Valmieras FK.

Club Location Stadium Capacity
Valmieras Valmiera J. Daliņa stadions 2,000
Jelgava Jelgava Olympic Sports Center of Zemgale 1,560
Liepāja Liepāja Daugava Stadium 5,008
Metta/LU Riga Hanzas vidusskolas laukums 2,000
RFS Riga Stadions Arkādija 1,000
Riga Riga Skonto Stadium 8,207
Spartaks Jūrmala Jūrmala Slokas Stadium 2,800
Ventspils Ventspils Ventspils Olimpiskais Stadions 3,044

Source: Scoresway

Kits manufacturer and sponsors
Club Kit manufacturer Sponsor
FK Jelgava Nike Igate
FK Liepāja Adidas Mogo
FS Metta/LU Nike
Riga FC Jako
Rīgas Futbola skola Nike LNK Group
FK Spartaks Jūrmala Nike Hanseatisches Fußball Kontor
FK Ventspils Adidas VK Tranzīts
Valmiera Glass ViA Nike Valmiera Glass

League table
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Riga (C) 28 20 4 4 45 16 +29 64 Qualification for the Champions League first qualifying round
2 Ventspils 28 18 6 4 54 22 +32 60 Qualification for the Europa League first qualifying round
3 RFS 28 18 1 9 57 23 +34 55
4 Liepāja 28 15 6 7 46 25 +21 51
5 Spartaks Jūrmala 28 12 6 10 48 37 +11 42
6 Jelgava 28 6 3 19 19 48 −29 21
7 METTA/LU (O) 28 5 4 19 24 52 −28 19 Qualification for the relegation play-offs
8 Valmiera Glass ViA 28 2 2 24 22 92 −70 8
Source: Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head points; 3) Head-to-head goal difference; 4) Goal difference; 5) Goals scored; 6) Fair-play ranking; 7) Play-off.[1][2]
(C) Champion; (O) Play-off winner.

Results

Each team played the other seven teams home-and-away twice, for a total of 28 games each.

Relegation play-offs

The seventh-placed team from the 2018 Higher League faced the runners-up of the 2018 Latvian First League in a two-legged play-off. The winner, METTA/LU, earned the right to participate in the 2019 Higher League.

14 November 2018 1st leg METTA/LU 7–2 SK Super Nova
17 November 2018 2nd leg SK Super Nova 0–3
(2–10 agg.)		 METTA/LU

Top scorers
As of 13 November 2018[3]
Rank Player Club Goals
1 Darko Lemajić Riga 15
2 Maksym Marusych RFS 14
3 Aleksejs Višņakovs Spartaks Jūrmala 13
Adeleke Akinyemi Ventspils 13
Tosin Aiyegun Ventspils 13
4 Ģirts Karlsons Liepāja 10
5 Jānis Ikaunieks Liepāja 9
6 Roberts Uldriķis RFS 7
Tamirlan Dzhamalutdinov METTA/LU 7

References
  1. "2017. GADA LATVIJAS VIRSLĪGAS FUTBOLA ČEMPIONĀTA REGLAMENTS" (PDF) (in Latvian). Latvian Football Federation. 29 November 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 July 2017. Retrieved 23 February 2017.
  2. "Virslīga 2017 - Season rules". Scoresway. Archived from the original on 28 March 2017. Retrieved 23 February 2017.
  3. "Latvian First Division - Top scorers". uefa.com. UEFA. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
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