2020–21 Professional U23 Development League
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The 2020–21 Professional U23 Development League was the ninth season of the Professional Development League system.
Burnley, Crystal Palace and Leeds United joined the Premier League 2 for the 2020–21 season after gaining category one status academies.[1] Prior to the start of the season Swansea City left the league after downgrading their academy to category two.[2]
| Season | 2020–21 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Division 1 Manchester City U23s Division 2 Leeds United U23s |
| Promoted | Leeds United U23s Crystal Palace U23s |
| Relegated | Southampton U23s |
| Matches played | 341 (338 RS, 3 PO) |
| Goals scored | 1,134 (3.33 per match) (1,127 RS, 7 PO) |
| Top goalscorer | Liam Delap (24 goals) |
| Biggest home win | Crystal Palace U23s 6–0 Reading U23s (9 November 2020) Leeds United U23s 7–1 Fulham U23s (21 December 2020) Manchester City U23s 7–1 Southampton U23s (15 March 2021) Leicester City U23s 7–1 Southampton U23s (19 April 2021) |
| Biggest away win | Sunderland U23s 0–6 Middlesbrough U23s (19 October 2020) Blackburn Rovers U23s 0–6 Manchester United U23s (6 November 2020) |
| Highest scoring | Manchester United U23s 6–4 Blackburn Rovers U23s (5 February 2021) |
| Longest winless run | 10 Southampton U23s |
| Longest losing run | 8 Southampton U23s |
← 2019–20 2021–22 → | |
- As of match played 10 May 2021[3]
| Pos | Club | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manchester City U23s (C) | 24 | 17 | 5 | 2 | 79 | 30 | +49 | 56 |
| 2 | Chelsea U23s | 24 | 12 | 6 | 6 | 50 | 36 | +14 | 42 |
| 3 | Tottenham Hotspur U23s | 24 | 11 | 5 | 8 | 45 | 44 | +1 | 38 |
| 4 | Blackburn Rovers U23s | 24 | 10 | 7 | 7 | 48 | 41 | +7 | 37 |
| 5 | Everton U23s | 24 | 10 | 6 | 8 | 44 | 28 | +16 | 36 |
| 6 | Derby County U23s | 24 | 11 | 3 | 10 | 43 | 49 | –6 | 36 |
| 7 | Liverpool U23s | 24 | 10 | 5 | 9 | 48 | 50 | –2 | 35 |
| 8 | Manchester United U23s | 24 | 10 | 4 | 10 | 58 | 59 | –1 | 34 |
| 9 | Brighton & Hove Albion U23s | 24 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 36 | 42 | –6 | 30 |
| 10 | Arsenal U23s | 24 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 37 | 43 | –6 | 26 |
| 11 | West Ham United U23s | 24 | 6 | 6 | 12 | 32 | 48 | –16 | 24 |
| 12 | Leicester City U23s | 24 | 6 | 4 | 14 | 41 | 55 | –14 | 22 |
| 13 | Southampton U23s (R) | 24 | 4 | 4 | 16 | 29 | 65 | –36 | 16 |
- As of match played 10 May 2021[4]
| Pos | Club | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Leeds United U23s (P) | 24 | 18 | 2 | 4 | 62 | 29 | +33 | 56 |
| 2 | Stoke City U23s | 24 | 14 | 3 | 7 | 41 | 30 | +11 | 45 |
| 3 | Crystal Palace U23s (P) | 24 | 11 | 3 | 10 | 45 | 41 | +4 | 36 |
| 4 | Wolverhampton Wanderers U23s | 24 | 10 | 6 | 8 | 40 | 36 | +4 | 36 |
| 5 | Sunderland U23s | 24 | 10 | 5 | 9 | 42 | 41 | +1 | 35 |
| 6 | Middlesbrough U23s | 24 | 10 | 4 | 10 | 44 | 35 | +9 | 34 |
| 7 | Burnley U23s | 24 | 10 | 4 | 10 | 38 | 41 | –3 | 34 |
| 8 | Reading U23s | 24 | 10 | 2 | 12 | 41 | 54 | –13 | 32 |
| 9 | Aston Villa U23s | 24 | 9 | 4 | 11 | 46 | 48 | -2 | 31 |
| 10 | Fulham U23s | 24 | 9 | 3 | 12 | 38 | 46 | –8 | 30 |
| 11 | Norwich City U23s | 24 | 7 | 4 | 13 | 32 | 40 | –8 | 25 |
| 12 | West Bromwich Albion U23s | 24 | 7 | 4 | 13 | 37 | 49 | –12 | 25 |
| 13 | Newcastle United U23s | 24 | 7 | 4 | 13 | 31 | 47 | –16 | 25 |
Updated to match(es) played on 16 April 2021. Source: [1]
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
For upcoming matches, an "a" indicates there is an article about the rivalry between the two participants.
| Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||
| 2 | Stoke City U23s | 0 | |||||||
| 5 | Sunderland U23s | 2 | |||||||
| 3 | Crystal Palace U23s | 0 (5)(p) | |||||||
| 5 | Sunderland U23s | 0 (3) | |||||||
| 3 | Crystal Palace U23s | 3 | |||||||
| 4 | Wolverhampton Wanderers U23s | 2 | |||||||
Professional Development League
| Season | 2020–21 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Birmingham City U23s |
| Matches played | 228 (225 RS, 3 PO) |
| Goals scored | 726 (3.18 per match) (717 RS, 9 PO) |
| Top goalscorer | Louis Britton (16 Goals) |
← 2019–20 2021–22 → | |
The 2020-2021 Professional Development League season is the ninth campaign of post-EPPP Under-23 football's second tier, designed for those academies with Category 2 status. A total of 18 teams are split regionally into north and south divisions, with each team facing opponents in their own region twice both home and away and opponents in the other region once for a total of 25 games. The sides finishing in the top two positions in both regions at the end of the season will progress to a knockout stage to determine the overall league champion. Nottingham Forest and Millwall are the defending regional champions. Swansea City U23s dropped down to Category Two status in August 2020 and will join the South division this season,[5] while Burnley U23s, Crystal Palace U23s and Leeds United U23s joined the Premier League 2 for the 2020–21 season after gaining category one status academies. Bolton Wanderers U23s[6] also left dropping down to Category 3.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sheffield United U23s | 25 | 17 | 4 | 4 | 60 | 22 | +38 | 55 | Qualification for Knock-out stage |
| 2 | Birmingham City U23s | 25 | 15 | 2 | 8 | 67 | 42 | +25 | 47 | |
| 3 | Nottingham Forest U23s | 25 | 12 | 6 | 7 | 46 | 30 | +16 | 42 | |
| 4 | Barnsley U23s | 25 | 11 | 8 | 6 | 36 | 28 | +8 | 41 | |
| 5 | Hull City U23s | 25 | 12 | 3 | 10 | 36 | 32 | +4 | 39 | |
| 6 | Wigan Athletic U23s | 25 | 11 | 3 | 11 | 32 | 54 | −22 | 36 | |
| 7 | Coventry City U23s | 25 | 9 | 7 | 9 | 43 | 31 | +12 | 34 | |
| 8 | Sheffield Wednesday U23s | 25 | 8 | 5 | 12 | 32 | 41 | −9 | 29 | |
| 9 | Crewe Alexandra U23s | 25 | 6 | 7 | 12 | 27 | 45 | −18 | 25 |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bristol City U23s | 25 | 16 | 2 | 7 | 51 | 35 | +16 | 50 | Qualification for Knock-out stage |
| 2 | Ipswich Town U23s | 25 | 12 | 6 | 7 | 44 | 41 | +3 | 42 | |
| 3 | Cardiff City U23s | 25 | 10 | 2 | 13 | 43 | 42 | +1 | 32 | |
| 4 | Watford U23s | 25 | 9 | 5 | 11 | 37 | 50 | −13 | 32 | |
| 5 | Charlton Athletic U23s | 25 | 9 | 4 | 12 | 46 | 48 | −2 | 31 | |
| 6 | Millwall U23s | 25 | 8 | 6 | 11 | 31 | 35 | −4 | 30 | |
| 7 | Swansea City U23s | 25 | 6 | 8 | 11 | 33 | 47 | −14 | 26 | |
| 8 | Queens Park Rangers U23s | 25 | 6 | 5 | 14 | 27 | 42 | −15 | 23 | |
| 9 | Colchester United U23s | 25 | 3 | 7 | 15 | 26 | 52 | −26 | 16 |
Semi-finals
Professional Development League National Final
- ^ "Chelsea confirmed as 2019/20 PL2 champions". Premier League. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
- ^ "Swansea City's academy blow and what the future holds as pathway that brought through glut of stars is downgraded". Wales Online. 2 September 2020. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
- ^ "PREMIER LEAGUE 2 DIVISION ONE". Soccerway. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
- ^ "PREMIER LEAGUE 2 DIVISION TWO". Soccerway. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
- ^ "Swansea City's academy blow and what the future holds as pathway that brought through glut of stars is downgraded". Wales Online. 2 September 2020. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
- ^ "Bolton announce plans to step down to category three academy". Bolton News. 3 March 2020. Retrieved 30 September 2024.