# 2020–21 Professional U18 Development League
## U18 Premier League

The 2020–21 Professional U18 Development League was the ninth season of the Professional Development League system. A total of 26 teams are split regionally into north and south leagues. Teams face their regional opponents both home and away before the top two face each other to determine the national champion. This results in 24 games played by both teams this season. Burnley U18s, Crystal Palace U18s and Leeds United U18s joined the U18 Premier League for the 2020–21 season after gaining category one status academies. Prior to the start of the season Swansea City left the league after downgrading their academy to category two.

### North

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | |
| 1 | Manchester City U18s (C, Q) | 24 | 19 | 4 | 1 | 76 | 19 | +57 | 61 | Qualification for the National Final |
| 2 | Manchester United U18s | 24 | 20 | 0 | 4 | 79 | 27 | +52 | 60 | |
| 3 | Liverpool U18s | 24 | 17 | 1 | 6 | 75 | 26 | +49 | 52 | |
| 4 | Middlesbrough U18s | 24 | 12 | 3 | 9 | 48 | 48 | 0 | 39 | |
| 5 | Everton U18s | 24 | 11 | 2 | 11 | 42 | 42 | 0 | 35 | |
| 6 | Blackburn Rovers U18s | 24 | 10 | 3 | 11 | 37 | 43 | −6 | 33 | |
| 7 | Derby County U18s | 24 | 10 | 3 | 11 | 43 | 54 | −11 | 33 | |
| 8 | Wolverhampton Wanderers U18s | 24 | 10 | 3 | 11 | 38 | 50 | −12 | 33 | |
| 9 | Burnley U18s | 24 | 8 | 4 | 12 | 34 | 38 | −4 | 28 | |
| 10 | Newcastle United U18s | 24 | 7 | 3 | 14 | 50 | 57 | −7 | 24 | |
| 11 | Stoke City U18s | 24 | 6 | 5 | 13 | 28 | 61 | −33 | 23 | |
| 12 | Leeds United U18s | 24 | 4 | 3 | 17 | 30 | 73 | −43 | 15 | |
| 13 | Sunderland U18s | 24 | 4 | 2 | 18 | 35 | 77 | −42 | 14 | |

### South

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | |
| 1 | Fulham U18s (C, Q) | 24 | 18 | 2 | 4 | 78 | 25 | +53 | 56 | Qualification for the National Final |
| 2 | Crystal Palace U18s | 24 | 18 | 2 | 4 | 67 | 32 | +35 | 56 | |
| 3 | Brighton & Hove Albion U18s | 24 | 14 | 3 | 7 | 63 | 40 | +23 | 45 | |
| 4 | Arsenal U18s | 24 | 12 | 4 | 8 | 52 | 45 | +7 | 40 | |
| 5 | Aston Villa U18s | 24 | 11 | 5 | 8 | 45 | 52 | −7 | 38 | |
| 6 | Tottenham Hotspur U18s | 24 | 10 | 7 | 7 | 52 | 37 | +15 | 37 | |
| 7 | Chelsea U18s | 24 | 11 | 3 | 10 | 57 | 43 | +14 | 36 | |
| 8 | West Bromwich Albion U18s | 24 | 9 | 3 | 12 | 51 | 62 | −11 | 30 | |
| 9 | Norwich City U18s | 24 | 9 | 2 | 13 | 58 | 58 | 0 | 29 | |
| 10 | West Ham United U18s | 24 | 6 | 7 | 11 | 35 | 57 | −22 | 25 | |
| 11 | Reading U18s | 24 | 5 | 4 | 15 | 51 | 83 | −32 | 19 | |
| 12 | Leicester City U18s | 24 | 4 | 6 | 14 | 38 | 73 | −35 | 18 | |
| 13 | Southampton U18s | 24 | 3 | 4 | 17 | 35 | 75 | −40 | 13 | |

### National Final
## Professional Development League 2

The 2020-21 Under-18 League 2, or Under-18s Professional Development League 2 as it is sometimes referred to, is the seventh campaign of post-EPPP Under-18 football's second tier, designed for those academies with Category 2 status. The league is 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 home OR away. This results in 25 games being played in the North Division, and South Division. 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. Wigan Athletic U18s and Millwall U18s are the defending regional champions. Swansea City U18s dropped down to Category Two status in August 2020 and will join the South division this season.

### Tables
#### North Division

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Wigan Athletic U18s | 25 | 17 | 4 | 4 | 68 | 38 | +30 | 55 | Qualification for Knock-out stage |
| 2 | Birmingham City U18s | 25 | 16 | 4 | 5 | 67 | 44 | +23 | 52 | Qualification for Knock-out stage |
| 3 | Sheffield United U18s | 25 | 15 | 5 | 5 | 63 | 36 | +27 | 50 | |
| 4 | Sheffield Wednesday U18s | 25 | 12 | 6 | 7 | 48 | 30 | +18 | 42 | |
| 5 | Barnsley U18s | 25 | 12 | 6 | 7 | 46 | 34 | +12 | 42 | |
| 6 | Crewe Alexandra U18s | 25 | 10 | 4 | 11 | 50 | 47 | +3 | 34 | |
| 7 | Hull City U18s | 25 | 10 | 3 | 12 | 46 | 58 | −12 | 33 | |
| 8 | Coventry City U18s | 25 | 9 | 3 | 13 | 50 | 46 | +4 | 30 | |
| 9 | Nottingham Forest U18s | 25 | 9 | 3 | 13 | 45 | 56 | −11 | 30 | |

#### South Division

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Charlton Athletic U18s | 25 | 16 | 3 | 6 | 65 | 34 | +31 | 51 | Qualification for Knock-out stage |
| 2 | Ipswich Town U18s | 25 | 13 | 2 | 10 | 53 | 54 | −1 | 41 | Qualification for Knock-out stage |
| 3 | Watford U18s | 25 | 9 | 5 | 11 | 40 | 46 | −6 | 32 | |
| 4 | Millwall U18s | 25 | 9 | 4 | 12 | 56 | 58 | −2 | 31 | |
| 5 | Cardiff City U18s | 25 | 10 | 1 | 14 | 54 | 58 | −4 | 31 | |
| 6 | Bristol City U18s | 25 | 9 | 2 | 14 | 44 | 53 | −9 | 29 | |
| 7 | Colchester United U18s | 25 | 9 | 1 | 15 | 52 | 64 | −12 | 28 | |
| 8 | Swansea City U18s | 25 | 5 | 7 | 13 | 37 | 73 | −36 | 22 | |
| 9 | Queens Park Rangers U18s | 25 | 3 | 1 | 21 | 33 | 88 | −55 | 10 | |

### Knock-out stage

Semi-finals
Professional Development League Two Play-Off Final

## EFL Youth Alliance

The EFL Youth Alliance is run by the Football League under the auspices of the Football League Youth Alliance. 45 teams competed this season, 2 teams fewer than the previous season. Barnet U18s did not participate as they lost their EPPP license, alongside Chesterfield U18s, and Hartlepool United U18s. For clubs that get relegated to the National League, they have two years to gain promotion back to the EFL. Otherwise, they lose their license with the League. Bolton Wanderers U18s would join the league this year as their academy was Category 3.

### League stage

    As of match played 15 May 2021

#### North-East Division

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Notts County U18s (C) | 22 | 15 | 2 | 5 | 53 | 32 | +21 | 47 |
| 2 | Scunthorpe United U18s | 22 | 13 | 1 | 8 | 52 | 47 | +5 | 40 |
| 3 | Grimsby Town U18s | 22 | 10 | 6 | 6 | 32 | 24 | +8 | 36 |
| 4 | Mansfield Town U18s | 22 | 11 | 1 | 10 | 34 | 30 | +4 | 34 |
| 5 | Burton Albion U18s | 22 | 10 | 3 | 9 | 36 | 40 | −4 | 33 |
| 6 | Rotherham United U18s | 22 | 10 | 2 | 10 | 46 | 41 | +5 | 32 |
| 7 | Doncaster Rovers U18s | 22 | 8 | 2 | 12 | 38 | 40 | −2 | 26 |
| 8 | Lincoln City U18s | 22 | 8 | 2 | 12 | 36 | 38 | −2 | 26 |
| 9 | Bradford City U18s | 22 | 8 | 1 | 13 | 38 | 50 | −12 | 25 |
| 10 | Huddersfield Town U18s | 22 | 7 | 0 | 15 | 32 | 55 | −23 | 21 |

#### North-West Division

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Fleetwood Town U18s (C) | 26 | 19 | 1 | 6 | 62 | 36 | +26 | 58 |
| 2 | Rochdale U18s | 26 | 17 | 3 | 6 | 64 | 29 | +35 | 54 |
| 3 | Carlisle United U18s | 26 | 17 | 3 | 6 | 55 | 27 | +28 | 54 |
| 4 | Blackpool U18s | 26 | 15 | 4 | 7 | 59 | 43 | +16 | 49 |
| 5 | Preston North End U18s | 26 | 14 | 3 | 9 | 73 | 51 | +22 | 45 |
| 6 | Bolton Wanderers U18s | 26 | 13 | 5 | 8 | 55 | 43 | +12 | 44 |
| 7 | Shrewsbury Town U18s | 26 | 11 | 5 | 10 | 42 | 45 | −3 | 38 |
| 8 | Salford City U18s | 26 | 10 | 1 | 15 | 46 | 59 | −13 | 31 |
| 9 | Walsall U18s | 26 | 9 | 4 | 13 | 31 | 56 | −25 | 31 |
| 10 | Morecambe U18s | 26 | 8 | 5 | 13 | 32 | 49 | −17 | 29 |
| 11 | Tranmere Rovers U18s | 26 | 7 | 5 | 14 | 38 | 51 | −13 | 26 |
| 12 | Accrington Stanley U18s | 26 | 6 | 6 | 14 | 41 | 57 | −16 | 24 |
| 13 | Oldham Athletic U18s | 26 | 6 | 3 | 17 | 41 | 59 | −18 | 21 |
| 14 | Port Vale U18s | 26 | 4 | 4 | 18 | 36 | 70 | −34 | 16 |

#### South-East Division

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Peterborough United U18s (C) | 18 | 11 | 4 | 3 | 39 | 16 | +23 | 37 |
| 2 | Cambridge United U18s | 18 | 10 | 2 | 6 | 37 | 27 | +10 | 32 |
| 3 | Luton Town U18s | 18 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 39 | 25 | +14 | 30 |
| 4 | Southend United U18s | 18 | 9 | 3 | 6 | 35 | 25 | +10 | 30 |
| 5 | Northampton Town U18s | 18 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 32 | 20 | +12 | 29 |
| 6 | Gillingham U18s | 18 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 26 | 27 | −1 | 26 |
| 7 | AFC Wimbledon U18s | 18 | 6 | 4 | 8 | 27 | 34 | −7 | 22 |
| 8 | Milton Keynes Dons U18s | 18 | 5 | 2 | 11 | 26 | 45 | −19 | 17 |
| 9 | Stevenage U18s | 18 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 27 | 45 | −18 | 15 |
| 10 | Leyton Orient U18s | 18 | 2 | 5 | 11 | 23 | 47 | −24 | 11 |

#### South-West Division

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Oxford United U18s (C) | 20 | 15 | 2 | 3 | 58 | 24 | +34 | 47 |
| 2 | AFC Bournemouth U18s | 20 | 13 | 3 | 4 | 62 | 27 | +35 | 42 |
| 3 | Exeter City U18s | 20 | 10 | 4 | 6 | 43 | 36 | +7 | 34 |
| 4 | Portsmouth U18s | 20 | 9 | 5 | 6 | 49 | 40 | +9 | 32 |
| 5 | Forest Green Rovers U18s | 20 | 8 | 5 | 7 | 54 | 48 | +6 | 29 |
| 6 | Plymouth Argyle U18s | 20 | 8 | 4 | 8 | 51 | 40 | +11 | 28 |
| 7 | Swindon Town U18s | 20 | 6 | 4 | 10 | 33 | 43 | −10 | 22 |
| 8 | Bristol Rovers U18s | 20 | 6 | 4 | 10 | 32 | 45 | −13 | 22 |
| 9 | Newport County U18s | 20 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 35 | 44 | −9 | 20 |
| 10 | Cheltenham Town U18s | 20 | 5 | 3 | 12 | 29 | 65 | −36 | 18 |
| 11 | Yeovil Town U18s | 20 | 4 | 3 | 13 | 35 | 69 | −34 | 15 |

### Merit League Stage

The teams in the Southeast and Southwest Divisions played another ten games to determine the champions of Merit League One and Merit League Two and for this season only Merit League 3 as all three leagues would only contain 7 teams. Due to Covid, the Three Merit Leagues were regionalized for this season only.

#### Merit League One

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Plymouth Argyle U18s (C) | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 11 | 4 | +7 | 11 |
| 2 | Exeter City U18s | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 13 | 9 | +4 | 10 |
| 3 | Forest Green Rovers U18s | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 11 | 13 | −2 | 10 |
| 4 | Cheltenham Town U18s | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 8 |
| 5 | Bristol Rovers U18s | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 8 | −2 | 7 |
| 6 | Yeovil Town U18s | 6 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 10 | 14 | −4 | 6 |
| 7 | Newport County U18s | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 9 | 12 | −3 | 5 |

#### Merit League Two

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Southend United U18s (C) | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 15 | 10 | +5 | 13 |
| 2 | Northampton Town U18s | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 20 | 14 | +6 | 10 |
| 3 | Luton Town U18s | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 11 | 14 | −3 | 9 |
| 4 | Cambridge United U18s | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 17 | 13 | +4 | 8 |
| 5 | Stevenage U18s | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 13 | 14 | −1 | 8 |
| 6 | Peterborough United U18s | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 9 | 9 | 0 | 6 |
| 7 | Milton Keynes Dons U18s | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 19 | −11 | 5 |

#### Merit League Three

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | AFC Bournemouth U18s (C) | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 7 | +3 | 13 |
| 2 | Portsmouth U18s | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 20 | 8 | +12 | 12 |
| 3 | Oxford United U18s | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 14 | 12 | +2 | 8 |
| 4 | Swindon Town U18s | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 15 | 14 | +1 | 8 |
| 5 | Leyton Orient U18s | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 12 | 15 | −3 | 7 |
| 6 | AFC Wimbledon U18s | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 12 | 19 | −7 | 7 |
| 7 | Gillingham U18s | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 15 | −8 | 4 |