# 2020–21 Professional U23 Development League

The 2020–21 Professional U23 Development League was the ninth season of the Professional Development League system.
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. Prior to the start of the season Swansea City left the league after downgrading their academy to category two.

## Premier League 2
### Division 1
#### Table

    As of match played 10 May 2021
| 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 |

#### Results

| Home \ Away | ARS | BLA | B&H | CHE | DER | EVE | LEI | LIV | MNC | MNU | SOU | TOT | WHU |
| Arsenal U23s | | 0–3 | 5–0 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 3–3 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 1–2 |
| Blackburn Rovers U23s | 0–6 | | 1–1 | 2–4 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 5–1 | 2–3 | 4–1 |
| Brighton & Hove Albion U23s | 2–2 | 1–2 | | 2–0 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 0–4 | 1–0 | 1–3 | 2–5 | 3–0 | 1–5 | 6–1 |
| Chelsea U23s | 3–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | | 3–2 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2–3 | 2–2 | 6–1 | 3–1 | 3–2 | 1–0 |
| Derby County U23s | 2–3 | 3–5 | 1–1 | 2–1 | | 1–3 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 0–4 | 2–6 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 3–2 |
| Everton U23s | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 4–1 | | 3–0 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 4–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 |
| Leicester City U23s | 1–1 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 2–4 | | 0–2 | 1–6 | 4–2 | 7–1 | 1–3 | 2–1 |
| Liverpool U23s | 4–0 | 1–2 | 3–2 | 3–1 | 1–4 | 1–0 | 2–2 | | 2–7 | 3–6 | 0–0 | 3–4 | 1–1 |
| Manchester City U23s | 4–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 3–3 | 3–1 | 4–0 | 3–2 | | 3–0 | 7–1 | 4–1 | 5–0 |
| Manchester United U23s | 3–0 | 6–4 | 0–0 | 4–2 | 1–3 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 3–5 | 2–2 | | 3–1 | 4–2 | 2–3 |
| Southampton U23s | 2–2 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–4 | 1–0 | 0–5 | 5–2 | 1–2 | 5–2 | 1–2 | | 1–1 | 2–2 |
| Tottenham Hotspur U23s | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–4 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 1–5 | 4–1 | 1–6 | 3–0 | 2–1 | | 3–0 |
| West Ham United U23s | 2–2 | 0–0 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 2–4 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 1–2 | |

### Division 2
#### Table

    As of match played 10 May 2021
| 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 |

#### Results

| Home \ Away | AST | BUR | CRY | FUL | LEE | MID | NEW | NOR | REA | STK | SUN | WBA | WOL |
| Aston Villa U23s | | 2–3 | 4–4 | 2–3 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 1–2 | 3–4 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 4–0 |
| Burnley U23s | 2–2 | | 0–1 | 2–1 | 1–4 | 3–2 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 3–2 | 3–1 | 0–0 |
| Crystal Palace U23s | 0–1 | 1–0 | | 2–3 | 2–0 | 3–2 | 3–0 | 4–0 | 6–0 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 3–3 | 2–1 |
| Fulham U23s | 4–1 | 1–4 | 5–2 | | 1–1 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 0–3 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–2 |
| Leeds United U23s | 3–2 | 5–2 | 4–1 | 7–1 | | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 2–2 |
| Middlesbrough U23s | 4–1 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 2–4 | | 2–1 | 0–3 | 2–3 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 |
| Newcastle United U23s | 1–2 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 4–3 | 2–2 | | 0–2 | 1–2 | 3–2 | 0–4 | 3–2 | 0–3 |
| Norwich City U23s | 2–3 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 1–3 | 0–1 | | 3–0 | 2–1 | 2–3 | 2–2 | 1–2 |
| Reading U23s | 3–1 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 0–4 | 3–2 | 2–4 | 3–2 | 1–3 | | 1–3 | 0–2 | 5–2 | 5–0 |
| Stoke City U23s | 0–2 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 4–0 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 4–1 | | 0–0 | 4–3 | 3–1 |
| Sunderland U23s | 2–3 | 3–0 | 3–4 | 5–3 | 1–3 | 0–6 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | | 2–3 | 2–1 |
| West Bromwich Albion U23s | 3–1 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 0–5 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 3–1 | | 2–4 |
| Wolverhampton Wanderers U23s | 1–3 | 3–2 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 0–2 | 1–4 | 4–0 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | |

##### Play-offs

| Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Final | Final | Final |
| 2 | Stoke City U23s | 0 | | | |
| 5 | Sunderland U23s | 2 | | | |
| 5 | Sunderland U23s | 2 | 3 | Crystal Palace U23s | 0 (5)(p) |
| | | | 5 | Sunderland U23s | 0 (3) |
| 3 | Crystal Palace U23s | 3 | 5 | Sunderland U23s | 0 (3) |
| 4 | Wolverhampton Wanderers U23s | 2 | | | |

#### Final
## Professional Development League

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.
18 Teams competed in the league this season, a record low with 3 fewer teams than last season. Swansea City U23s dropped down to Category Two status in August 2020 and will join the South division this season after 5 years in the Premier League 2, while Burnley U23s, Crystal Palace U23s, and founding member Leeds United U23s joined the Premier League 2 for the 2020–21 season after gaining Category One status Academies after 3 seasons in the league for Burnley U23s, 7 seasons in the league for Crystal Palace U23s and 8 seasons in the league for founding member Leeds United U23s respectively. Bolton Wanderers U23s also left dropping down to Category Three after 5 seasons in the league.

### Tables
#### North Division

| 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 | Qualification for Knock-out stage |
| 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 | |

#### South Division

| 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 | Qualification for Knock-out stage |
| 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 | |

### Knock-out stage

Semi-finals
Professional Development League National Final