# 2019–20 Sunderland A.F.C. season

The 2019–20 Sunderland A.F.C. season was the club's 141st season in existence, and their second consecutive season in the third tier of English football, after relegation from the Championship in the 2017–18 season. Along with competing in League One, the club participated in the FA Cup and EFL Cup as well as the EFL Trophy. The season covers the period from 1 July 2019 to 30 June 2020. On 3 April, the English Football League decided to postpone all football until safe to do so due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and on 9 June, clubs voted to curtail the season, meaning the final table would be calculated by a points-per-game method with the play-offs being played behind closed doors.

## First team squad

| Squad No. | Name | Position(s) | Age | Ends | Signed from | Apps | Goals |
| Goalkeepers |||||||||
| 1 | Jon McLaughlin | GK | 37 | 2020 | Heart of Midlothian | 65 | 0 |
| 16 | Lee Burge | GK | 31 | 2021 | Coventry City | 3 | 0 |
| 43 | Anthony Patterson | GK | 24 | 2020 | Academy | 0 | 0 |
| Defenders |||||||||
| 2 | Conor McLaughlin | RB | 33 | 2021 | Millwall | 11 | 0 |
| 3 | Joel Lynch | CB | 37 | 2020 | Queens Park Rangers | 2 | 0 |
| 4 | Jordan Willis | CB | 30 | 2021 | Coventry City | 11 | 1 |
| 5 | Alim Öztürk | CB | 32 | 2020 | Boluspor | 28 | 0 |
| 12 | Tom Flanagan | CB | 33 | 2020 | Burton Albion | 47 | 2 |
| 20 | Declan John | LB | 29 | 2020 | Swansea City (loan) | 0 | 0 |
| 26 | Bailey Wright | CB | 32 | 2020 | Bristol City (loan) | 0 | 0 |
| 33 | Denver Hume | LB | 26 | 2021 | Academy | 21 | 0 |
| Midfielders |||||||||
| 6 | Max Power | CM | 31 | 2021 | Wigan Athletic | 52 | 6 |
| 7 | Chris Maguire | RW | 35 | 2020 | Bury | 54 | 13 |
| 11 | Lynden Gooch | AM | 28 | 2022 | Academy | 100 | 12 |
| 13 | Luke O'Nien | CM | 30 | 2020 | Wycombe Wanderers | 62 | 6 |
| 14 | Duncan Watmore | RW | 30 | 2020 | Altrincham | 66 | 6 |
| 17 | Elliot Embleton | CM | 25 | 2021 | Academy | 8 | 0 |
| 18 | George Dobson | CM | 27 | 2022 | Walsall | 11 | 0 |
| 21 | Ethan Robson | CM | 28 | 2020 | Academy | 14 | 1 |
| 23 | Grant Leadbitter | CM | 38 | 2021 | Middlesbrough | 149 | 11 |
| 28 | Josh Scowen | CM | 31 | 2022 | Queens Park Rangers | 0 | 0 |
| 35 | Ruben Sammut | DM | 27 | 2020 | Chelsea | 0 | 0 |
| 37 | Bali Mumba | CM | 23 | 2021 | Academy | 9 | 0 |
| Forwards |||||||||
| 8 | Kyle Lafferty | ST | 37 | 2020 | Sarpsborg 08 | 0 | 0 |
| 9 | Charlie Wyke | ST | 32 | 2021 | Bradford City | 39 | 7 |
| 22 | Will Grigg | ST | 33 | 2022 | Wigan Athletic | 33 | 5 |
| 31 | Benjamin Mbunga-Kimpioka | ST | 24 | 2020 | IK Sirius | 9 | 2 |
| 42 | Antoine Semenyo | ST | 24 | 2020 | Bristol City (loan) | 0 | 0 |

## Pre-season friendlies

As of 12 June 2019 Sunderland has announced three preseason friendlies against South Shields, Benfica B, and Belenenses.

## Competitions
### League One
#### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | PPG | Promotion, qualification or relegation |
| 4 | Oxford United | 35 | 17 | 9 | 9 | 61 | 37 | +24 | 60 | 1.71 | Qualification for League One play-offs |
| 5 | Portsmouth | 35 | 17 | 9 | 9 | 53 | 36 | +17 | 60 | 1.71 | Qualification for League One play-offs |
| 6 | Fleetwood Town | 35 | 16 | 12 | 7 | 51 | 38 | +13 | 60 | 1.71 | Qualification for League One play-offs |
| 7 | Peterborough United | 35 | 17 | 8 | 10 | 68 | 40 | +28 | 59 | 1.69 | |
| 8 | Sunderland | 36 | 16 | 11 | 9 | 48 | 32 | +16 | 59 | 1.64 | |
| 9 | Doncaster Rovers | 34 | 15 | 9 | 10 | 51 | 33 | +18 | 54 | 1.59 | |
| 10 | Gillingham | 35 | 12 | 15 | 8 | 42 | 34 | +8 | 51 | 1.46 | |
| 11 | Ipswich Town | 36 | 14 | 10 | 12 | 46 | 36 | +10 | 52 | 1.44 | |
| 12 | Burton Albion | 35 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 50 | 50 | 0 | 48 | 1.37 | |
* ↑ Four teams play for one spot and promotion to the EFL Championship.

#### Result summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Last updated: 10 March 2020. Source:

#### Results by matchday

| Matchday | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 |
| Ground | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | H | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | H | A | H | A | A | H | H | A | H | H | A | H | A |
| Result | D | D | W | W | W | L | W | D | D | W | L | L | W | L | W | D | L | L | D | D | W | D | W | W | W | D | W | L | W | W | W | W | D | L | D | L |
| Position | 13 | 15 | 9 | 6 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 15 | 13 | 13 | 9 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 7 |
| Points | 1 | 2 | 5 | 8 | 11 | 11 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 22 | 22 | 25 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 31 | 32 | 35 | 38 | 41 | 42 | 45 | 45 | 48 | 51 | 54 | 57 | 58 | 58 | 59 | 59 |

#### Matches

On Thursday, 20 June 2019, the EFL League One fixtures were revealed.

### FA Cup

The first round draw was made on 21 October 2019.

### EFL Cup

The first round draw was made on 20 June. The second round draw was made on 13 August 2019 following the conclusion of all but one first-round matches. The third round draw was confirmed on 28 August 2019, live on Sky Sports. The draw for the fourth round was made on 25 September 2019.

### EFL Trophy

On 9 July 2019, the pre-determined group stage draw was announced with Invited clubs to be drawn on 12 July 2019.

#### Group A

| Pos | Div | Teamvte | Pld | W | PW | PL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | ACA | Leicester City U21 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 3 | +2 | 8 | Advance to Round 2 |
| 2 | L2 | Scunthorpe United | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 2 | +4 | 7 | Advance to Round 2 |
| 3 | L1 | Sunderland | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 7 | −3 | 3 | |
| 4 | L2 | Grimsby Town | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 7 | −3 | 0 | |

## Squad statistics
### Top scorers

    As of 16 February 2020
| Rnk | Pos | No. | Player | League One | FA Cup | EFL Cup | EFL Trophy | Total |
| 1 | MF | 7 | Chris Maguire | 10 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 11 |
| 2 | MF | 11 | Lynden Gooch | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 |
| 3 | MF | 19 | Aiden McGeady | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 |
| 4 | FW | 9 | Charlie Wyke | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| 4 | FW | 10 | Marc McNulty | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 5 |
| 5 | MF | 13 | Luke O'Nien | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 5 | FW | 22 | Will Grigg | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 6 | MF | 6 | Max Power | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 6 | DF | 12 | Tom Flanagan | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 6 | MF | 14 | Duncan Watmore | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 7 | DF | 4 | Jordan Willis | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 7 | MF | 18 | George Dobson | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 7 | FW | 31 | Benjamin Mbunga-Kimpioka | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 7 | DF | 33 | Denver Hume | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | 37 | 1 | 8 | 5 | 51 |

### Appearances and goals

    As of 5 February 2020
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | League One | League One | FA Cup | FA Cup | EFL Cup | EFL Cup | EFL Trophy | EFL Trophy |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| 1 | GK | SCO | Jon McLaughlin | 27 | 0 | 23+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2 | DF | NIR | Conor McLaughlin | 20 | 0 | 12+2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | WAL | Joel Lynch | 20 | 0 | 14+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 4 | DF | ENG | Jordan Willis | 32 | 1 | 27 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | TUR | Alim Öztürk | 19 | 0 | 15+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 6 | MF | ENG | Max Power | 30 | 2 | 22+1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3+1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 7 | MF | SCO | Chris Maguire | 33 | 10 | 20+7 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1+1 | 1 |
| 8 | FW | NIR | Kyle Lafferty | 3 | 0 | 0+3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | ENG | Charlie Wyke | 23 | 5 | 16+4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1+2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | MF | USA | Lynden Gooch | 25 | 8 | 21+1 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 12 | DF | NIR | Tom Flanagan | 14 | 2 | 8+2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 13 | MF | ENG | Luke O'Nien | 35 | 3 | 27 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 3+1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 14 | MF | ENG | Duncan Watmore | 19 | 2 | 6+8 | 1 | 1+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
| 16 | GK | ENG | Lee Burge | 11 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 17 | MF | ENG | Elliot Embleton | 5 | 0 | 1+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | MF | ENG | George Dobson | 29 | 1 | 19+3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2+2 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 20 | DF | WAL | Declan John | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 21 | MF | ENG | Ethan Robson | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 22 | FW | NIR | Will Grigg | 26 | 3 | 8+11 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2+1 | 1 | 1+1 | 1 |
| 23 | MF | ENG | Grant Leadbitter | 20 | 0 | 11+3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 26 | DF | AUS | Bailey Wright | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 28 | MF | ENG | Josh Scowen | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 29 | MF | SCO | Cieran Dunne | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 30 | DF | ENG | Jack Bainbridge | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 31 | FW | SWE | Benjamin Mbunga-Kimpioka | 5 | 1 | 0+4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 32 | GK | ALG | Ahmed Abdelkader | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 33 | DF | ENG | Denver Hume | 30 | 1 | 22+2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2+1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 35 | MF | SCO | Ruben Sammut | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 37 | MF | ENG | Bali Mumba | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 39 | FW | ENG | Jack Diamond | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 40 | DF | ENG | Brandon Taylor | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 41 | FW | SCO | Lee Connelly | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 42 | FW | ENG | Antoine Semenyo | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 43 | GK | ENG | Anthony Patterson | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 44 | FW | ENG | Cole Kiernan | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 45 | MF | ENG | Daniel Neil | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Players who have played for Sunderland this season but are currently out on loan: ||||||||||||||
| 15 | DF | ENG | Jack Baldwin | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 19 | MF | IRL | Aiden McGeady | 21 | 6 | 13+2 | 4 | 1+1 | 1 | 1+1 | 1 | 1+1 | 0 |
| Players who have played for Sunderland this season but have left the club: ||||||||||||||
| 8 | MF | SCO | Dylan McGeouch | 12 | 0 | 5+3 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 10 | FW | SCO | Marc McNulty | 21 | 4 | 7+8 | 2 | 0+1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| 28 | DF | BEL | Laurens De Bock | 10 | 0 | 4+1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 |

### Disciplinary record

    As of 5 February 2020
| No. | Pos. | Name | League One | League One | League One | FA Cup | FA Cup | FA Cup | EFL Cup | EFL Cup | EFL Cup | EFL Trophy | EFL Trophy | EFL Trophy | Total | Total | Total |
| 2 | DF | Conor McLaughlin | 5 | | | | | | | | | 1 | | | 6 | | |
| 3 | DF | Joel Lynch | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | | 4 | | |
| 4 | DF | Jordan Willis | 1 | | | 1 | | | | | | 1 | | | 3 | | |
| 5 | DF | Alim Öztürk | 4 | | | | | | | | | | | | 2 | | |
| 6 | MF | Max Power | 5 | | | | | | | | | 1 | | | 6 | | |
| 7 | MF | Chris Maguire | 7 | | | | | | 2 | | | | | | 7 | | |
| 9 | FW | Charlie Wyke | 4 | | | | | | | | | | | | 3 | | |
| 11 | MF | Lynden Gooch | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | | 3 | | |
| 12 | DF | Tom Flanagan | 4 | | | | | | | | | | | | 4 | | |
| 13 | MF | Luke O'Nien | 4 | | 1 | | | | | | | | | 1 | 4 | | 2 |
| 18 | MF | George Dobson | 9 | | | | | | | | | 1 | | | 7 | | |
| 19 | MF | Aiden McGeady | 6 | | | | | | | | | | | | 6 | | |
| 23 | MF | Grant Leadbitter | 3 | | | | | | | | | 1 | | | 4 | | |
| 28 | DF | Laurens De Bock | | | | 1 | | | | | | | | | 1 | | |
| 33 | DF | Denver Hume | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | 2 | | |
| 41 | FW | Lee Connelly | | | | 1 | | | | | | | | | 1 | | |
| 42 | FW | Antoine Semenyo | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | 1 | | |
| Total | Total | Total | 65 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 75 | 0 | 2 |

## Transfers
### Transfers in

| Date from | Position | Name | From | Fee |
| 1 July 2019 | RB | Conor McLaughlin | Millwall | Free |
| 2 July 2019 | GK | Ahmed Abdelkader | ENAD Polis Chrysochous | Free |
| 3 July 2019 | GK | Lee Burge | Coventry City | Free |
| 4 July 2019 | CM | Ruben Sammut | Chelsea | Free |
| 4 July 2019 | CB | Michael Collins | Everton | Free |
| 13 July 2019 | CB | Jordan Willis | Coventry City | Free |
| 25 July 2019 | CM | George Dobson | Walsall | Undisclosed |
| 23 August 2019 | LM | Cieran Dunne | Falkirk | Free |
| 26 August 2019 | CB | Joel Lynch | Queens Park Rangers | Free |
| 2 September 2019 | CM | Nathan Greenwood | Seaham Red Star | Free |
| 10 January 2020 | CF | Kyle Lafferty | Sarpsborg 08 | Free |
| 27 January 2020 | CM | Josh Scowen | Queens Park Rangers | Undisclosed |
| 21 February 2020 | CB | Tommy Smith | Colorado Rapids | Free |

### Loans in

| Date from | Position | Name | From | Date until |
| 24 July 2019 | ST | Marc McNulty | Reading | 31 January 2020 |
| 2 September 2019 | LB | Laurens De Bock | Leeds United | 1 January 2020 |
| 21 January 2020 | CB | Bailey Wright | Bristol City | 30 June 2020 |
| 31 January 2020 | LB | Declan John | Swansea City | 30 June 2020 |
| 31 January 2020 | LW | Antoine Semenyo | Bristol City | 30 June 2020 |

### Loans out

| Date from | Position | Name | To | Date until |
| 20 August 2019 | DM | Jordan Hunter | South Shields | 30 June 2020 |
| 22 August 2019 | CF | Lee Connelly | South Shields | September 2019 |
| 2 September 2019 | CB | Jack Baldwin | Salford City | June 2020 |
| 2 September 2019 | CF | Jack Diamond | Harrogate Town | 30 June 2020 |
| 2 September 2019 | CM | Ethan Robson | Grimsby Town | January 2020 |
| 18 October 2019 | CM | Jake Hackett | Whitby Town | 4 January 2020 |
| 10 January 2020 | CF | Lee Connelly | Alloa Athletic | 30 June 2020 |
| 31 January 2020 | LW | Aiden McGeady | Charlton Athletic | 30 June 2020 |
| 5 March 2020 | DM | Bali Mumba | South Shields | 30 June 2020 |

### Transfers out

| Date from | Position | Name | To | Fee |
| 1 July 2019 | DM | Lee Cattermole | VVV-Venlo | Mutual consent |
| 1 July 2019 | LB | Reece James | Doncaster Rovers | Undisclosed |
| 1 July 2019 | GK | Max Johnstone | St Johnstone | Released |
| 1 July 2019 | CB | Lamine Koné | Strasbourg | Undisclosed |
| 1 July 2019 | RB | Adam Matthews | Charlton Athletic | Released |
| 1 July 2019 | AM | Luke Molyneux | Hartlepool United | Released |
| 1 July 2019 | GK | Robbin Ruiter | PSV Eindhoven | Released |
| 1 July 2019 | CF | Connor Shields | Aldershot Town | Released |
| 1 July 2019 | CB | Alex Storey | Sunderland RCA | Released |
| 1 July 2019 | GK | Max Stryjek | Eastleigh | Released |
| 1 July 2019 | CB | Jacob Young | Hoffenheim | Undisclosed |
| 11 July 2019 | RB | Donald Love | Shrewsbury Town | Mutual consent |
| 29 July 2019 | LB | Bryan Oviedo | FC Copenhagen | Undisclosed |
| 2 August 2019 | AM | George Honeyman | Hull City | Undisclosed |
| 17 August 2019 | CB | Rayed Derbali | CA Bizertin | Undisclosed |
| 22 August 2019 | CB | Glenn Loovens | Free agent | Released |
| 7 January 2020 | CM | Dylan McGeouch | Aberdeen | Undisclosed |
| 11 March 2020 | LB | Williams Kokolo | Middlesbrough | Free transfer |