# 2012–13 Professional U21 Development League

The 2012–13 Professional U21 Development League (League 1 referred to as the Barclays Under 21 Premier League for sponsorship reasons ) was the inaugural season of the Professional Development League's U21 competition.
There were 45 participating teams in the 2012–13 Professional U21 Development Leagues; 22 in League 1 and 23 in League 2 (12 in the North Division, 11 in the South Division).

## League 1
### First Group Stage

The top three teams in Groups 1, the top two teams in Group 2 and 3, and the best third-placed team from Group 2 and 3 will go forward to the Elite Group Stage.
The remaining third-placed team, and the fourth and fifth-placed teams from all three groups, will go forward to Qualification Group Tier One Stage. The sixth and seventh-placed teams, and the eighth-placed team from Group 1, will go forward to the Qualification Group Tier Two Stage.

#### Group 1
##### Table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | West Ham United U21s | 14 | 9 | 1 | 4 | 23 | 14 | +9 | 28 | Elite Group Stage |
| 2 | Arsenal U21s | 14 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 25 | 17 | +8 | 24 | Elite Group Stage |
| 3 | West Bromwich Albion U21s | 14 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 21 | 21 | 0 | 21 | Elite Group Stage |
| 4 | Everton U21s | 14 | 6 | 2 | 6 | 20 | 22 | −2 | 20 | Qualification Group Tier 1 |
| 5 | Blackburn Rovers U21s | 14 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 16 | 17 | −1 | 19 | Qualification Group Tier 1 |
| 6 | Norwich City U21s | 14 | 6 | 1 | 7 | 17 | 26 | −9 | 19 | Qualification Group Tier 2 |
| 7 | Reading U21s | 14 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 26 | 20 | +6 | 18 | Qualification Group Tier 2 |
| 8 | Bolton Wanderers U21s | 14 | 1 | 4 | 9 | 11 | 22 | −11 | 7 | Qualification Group Tier 2 |

##### Results

| Home \ Away | ARS | BLB | BOL | EVE | NOR | REA | WBA | WHU |
| Arsenal U21s | | 3–0 | 3–1 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 1–2 |
| Blackburn Rovers U21s | 0–0 | | 0–0 | 0–1 | 2–3 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 0–2 |
| Bolton Wanderers U21s | 1–2 | 0–0 | | 1–3 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 0–1 |
| Everton U21s | 1–2 | 1–2 | 5–2 | | 2–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 1–5 |
| Norwich City U21s | 2–4 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 0–2 | | 0–3 | 1–0 | 3–1 |
| Reading U21s | 2–2 | 2–4 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 3–0 | | 6–1 | 3–0 |
| West Bromwich Albion U21s | 1–0 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 4–0 | 3–3 | | 1–1 |
| West Ham United U21s | 4–1 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 1–0 | |

#### Group 2
##### Table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Tottenham Hotspur U21s | 12 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 43 | 22 | +21 | 23 | Elite Group Stage |
| 2 | Manchester United U21s | 12 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 20 | 16 | +4 | 20 | Elite Group Stage |
| 3 | Southampton U21s | 12 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 24 | 22 | +2 | 19 | Elite Group Stage |
| 4 | Aston Villa U21s | 12 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 21 | 22 | −1 | 18 | Qualification Group Tier 1 |
| 5 | Sunderland U21s | 12 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 20 | 16 | +4 | 17 | Qualification Group Tier 1 |
| 6 | Newcastle United U21s | 12 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 28 | 32 | −4 | 14 | Qualification Group Tier 2 |
| 7 | Stoke City U21s | 12 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 11 | 37 | −26 | 4 | Qualification Group Tier 2 |

##### Results

| Home \ Away | AST | MNU | NEW | SOT | STO | SUN | TOT |
| Aston Villa U21s | | 0–2 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 0–3 |
| Manchester United U21s | 0–1 | | 4–2 | 3–3 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 2–1 |
| Newcastle United U21s | 2–3 | 1–2 | | 0–1 | 5–1 | 2–2 | 6–4 |
| Southampton U21s | 3–3 | 1–1 | 5–1 | | 0–1 | 3–2 | 2–4 |
| Stoke City U21s | 2–3 | 0–1 | 1–5 | 1–3 | | 0–1 | 1–4 |
| Sunderland U21s | 2–0 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 4–1 | | 2–1 |
| Tottenham Hotspur U21s | 3–3 | 4–2 | 6–0 | 4–0 | 7–2 | 2–2 | |

#### Group 3
##### Table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Liverpool U21s | 12 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 31 | 12 | +19 | 30 | Elite Group Stage |
| 2 | Wolverhampton Wanderers U21s | 12 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 19 | 21 | −2 | 19 | Elite Group Stage |
| 3 | Chelsea U21s | 12 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 28 | 23 | +5 | 18 | Qualification Group Tier 1 |
| 4 | Middlesbrough U21s | 12 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 17 | 18 | −1 | 15 | Qualification Group Tier 1 |
| 5 | Fulham U21s | 12 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 10 | 20 | −10 | 11 | Qualification Group Tier 1 |
| 6 | Manchester City EDS | 12 | 1 | 7 | 4 | 15 | 16 | −1 | 10 | Qualification Group Tier 2 |
| 7 | Crystal Palace U21s | 12 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 15 | 25 | −10 | 10 | Qualification Group Tier 2 |

##### Results

| Home \ Away | CHE | CPA | FUL | LIV | MNC | MID | WOL |
| Chelsea U21s | | 4–1 | 3–0 | 1–4 | 0–0 | 1–3 | 5–0 |
| Crystal Palace U21s | 2–2 | | 1–0 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 1–1 |
| Fulham U21s | 3–1 | 1–4 | | 1–2 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–2 |
| Liverpool U21s | 3–3 | 3–1 | 3–0 | | 2–2 | 1–0 | 1–1 |
| Manchester City EDS | 2–3 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–3 | | 4–0 | 1–1 |
| Middlesbrough U21s | 2–3 | 4–0 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 2–2 | | 1–4 |
| Wolverhampton Wanderers U21s | 3–2 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 1–5 | 2–1 | 0–0 | |

#### Best-placed third-place team

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Southampton U21s | 12 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 24 | 22 | +2 | 19 | Elite Group Stage |
| 2 | Chelsea U21s | 12 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 28 | 23 | +5 | 18 | Qualification Group Tier 1 |

### Second phase
#### Elite Group
##### Table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Tottenham Hotspur U21s (Q) | 14 | 9 | 3 | 2 | 34 | 15 | +19 | 30 | Knockout Stage Semi-final |
| 2 | Manchester United U21s (Q) | 14 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 16 | 10 | +6 | 25 | Knockout Stage Semi-final |
| 3 | Liverpool U21s (Q) | 14 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 21 | 19 | +2 | 22 | Knockout Stage Semi-final |
| 4 | Southampton U21s | 14 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 21 | 18 | +3 | 20 | |
| 5 | Arsenal U21s | 14 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 21 | 23 | −2 | 17 | |
| 6 | West Ham United U21s | 14 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 19 | 22 | −3 | 16 | |
| 7 | Wolverhampton Wanderers U21s | 14 | 3 | 3 | 8 | 19 | 28 | −9 | 12 | |
| 8 | West Bromwich Albion U21s | 14 | 2 | 4 | 8 | 10 | 26 | −16 | 10 | |

##### Results

| Home \ Away | ARS | MNU | LIV | SOT | TOT | WHU | WBA | WOL |
| Arsenal U21s | | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–1 |
| Manchester United U21s | 2–2 | | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 |
| Liverpool U21s | 3–2 | 0–1 | | 1–0 | 1–3 | 3–3 | 2–0 | 3–2 |
| Southampton U21s | 2–1 | 1–3 | 1–1 | | 0–0 | 5–2 | 2–0 | 2–0 |
| Tottenham Hotspur U21s | 4–2 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 2–2 | | 3–2 | 4–0 | 5–1 |
| West Ham United U21s | 1–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | | 2–0 | 3–2 |
| West Bromwich Albion U21s | 2–2 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 3–3 | 0–4 | 1–0 | | 1–0 |
| Wolverhampton Wanderers U21s | 2–3 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 4–3 | 2–1 | 1–1 | |

#### Qualification Group Tier 1
##### Table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Everton U21s (Q) | 12 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 17 | 8 | +9 | 24 | Knockout Stage Play-off |
| 2 | Aston Villa U21s | 12 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 17 | 12 | +5 | 19 | |
| 3 | Fulham U21s | 12 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 16 | 12 | +4 | 19 | |
| 4 | Chelsea U21s | 12 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 11 | 11 | 0 | 17 | |
| 5 | Middlesbrough U21s | 12 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 15 | 13 | +2 | 16 | |
| 6 | Blackburn Rovers U21s | 12 | 4 | 0 | 8 | 11 | 20 | −9 | 12 | |
| 7 | Sunderland U21s | 12 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 9 | 20 | −11 | 6 | |

##### Results

| Home \ Away | AST | BLB | CHE | EVE | FUL | MID | SUN |
| Aston Villa U21s | | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 1–3 | 3–1 |
| Blackburn Rovers U21s | 0–2 | | 2–1 | 0–3 | 1–3 | 0–1 | 2–1 |
| Chelsea U21s | 1–2 | 1–0 | | 0–1 | 2–0 | 3–2 | 1–0 |
| Everton U21s | 2–2 | 3–2 | 0–0 | | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–0 |
| Fulham U21s | 2–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | | 1–0 | 2–2 |
| Middlesbrough U21s | 0–0 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 2–2 | | 0–0 |
| Sunderland U21s | 0–4 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 1–1 | |

#### Qualification Group Tier 2
##### Table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Newcastle United U21s (Q) | 12 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 21 | 13 | +8 | 22 | Knockout Stage Play-off |
| 2 | Bolton Wanderers U21s | 12 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 18 | 14 | +4 | 22 | |
| 3 | Reading U21s | 12 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 15 | 11 | +4 | 20 | |
| 4 | Norwich City U21s | 12 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 18 | 14 | +4 | 17 | |
| 5 | Manchester City EDS | 12 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 24 | 22 | +2 | 16 | |
| 6 | Crystal Palace U21s | 12 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 21 | 29 | −8 | 11 | |
| 7 | Stoke City U21s | 12 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 14 | 28 | −14 | 7 | |

##### Results

| Home \ Away | BOL | CPA | MNC | NEW | NOR | REA | STO |
| Bolton Wanderers U21s | | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–2 |
| Crystal Palace U21s | 0–1 | | 1–1 | 2–2 | 1–5 | 2–0 | 1–2 |
| Manchester City EDS | 3–3 | 3–4 | | 1–2 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 4–1 |
| Newcastle United U21s | 1–2 | 4–0 | 1–1 | | 2–0 | 0–3 | 3–0 |
| Norwich City U21s | 0–2 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 1–2 | | 0–1 | 1–0 |
| Reading U21s | 1–2 | 3–2 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | | 1–0 |
| Stoke City U21s | 2–3 | 5–5 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 0–5 | 0–1 | |

### Knockout stage

The teams finishing first in the two Qualification Groups played each other to decide who makes the semi-final against the winner of the Elite Group Stage.
The teams finishing second and third in the Elite Group Stage played in the other semi-final.
| Play-off | Play-off | Semi-final | Semi-final | Final | Final |
| May 7 | May 7 | | |
| Everton U21s | 3 (5) | | |
| Newcastle United U21s | 3 (3) | | |
| Newcastle United U21s | 3 (3) | Tottenham Hotspur U21s | 3 |
| | | Everton U21s | 2 |
| | | | | Tottenham Hotspur U21s | 2 |
| | | | | Manchester United U21s | 3 |
| | | Manchester United U21s | 3 | | |
| | | Liverpool U21s | 0 |

#### Final
## League 2
### Group stage
#### North division

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Leicester City U21s | 22 | 14 | 5 | 3 | 52 | 28 | +24 | 47 | Knockout stage |
| 2 | Huddersfield Town U21s | 22 | 12 | 4 | 6 | 36 | 28 | +8 | 40 | Knockout stage |
| 3 | Derby County U21s | 22 | 11 | 4 | 7 | 32 | 31 | +1 | 37 | |
| 4 | Nottingham Forest U21s | 22 | 10 | 5 | 7 | 24 | 25 | −1 | 35 | |
| 5 | Birmingham City U21s | 22 | 9 | 5 | 8 | 36 | 30 | +6 | 32 | |
| 6 | Leeds United U21s | 22 | 8 | 6 | 8 | 39 | 35 | +4 | 30 | |
| 7 | Crewe Alexandra U21s | 22 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 40 | 36 | +4 | 28 | |
| 8 | Sheffield United U21s | 22 | 7 | 6 | 9 | 28 | 30 | −2 | 27 | |
| 9 | Coventry City U21s | 22 | 8 | 3 | 11 | 30 | 37 | −7 | 27 | |
| 10 | Wigan Athletic U21s | 22 | 6 | 7 | 9 | 34 | 37 | −3 | 25 | |
| 11 | Sheffield Wednesday U21s | 22 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 35 | 42 | −7 | 23 | |
| 12 | Barnsley U21s | 22 | 3 | 5 | 14 | 27 | 54 | −27 | 14 | |

#### South division

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Charlton Athletic U21s | 20 | 13 | 3 | 4 | 47 | 24 | +23 | 42 | Knockout stage |
| 2 | Cardiff City U21s | 20 | 14 | 0 | 6 | 41 | 29 | +12 | 42 | Knockout stage |
| 3 | Brighton & Hove Albion U21s | 20 | 12 | 4 | 4 | 38 | 22 | +16 | 40 | |
| 4 | Brentford U21s | 20 | 12 | 2 | 6 | 45 | 34 | +11 | 38 | |
| 5 | Queens Park Rangers U21s | 20 | 11 | 3 | 6 | 44 | 30 | +14 | 36 | |
| 6 | Bristol City U21s | 20 | 10 | 0 | 10 | 36 | 35 | +1 | 30 | |
| 7 | Ipswich Town U21s | 20 | 9 | 2 | 9 | 35 | 35 | 0 | 29 | |
| 8 | Swansea City U21s | 20 | 7 | 1 | 12 | 27 | 33 | −6 | 22 | |
| 9 | Colchester United U21s | 20 | 5 | 2 | 13 | 36 | 62 | −26 | 17 | |
| 10 | Millwall U21s | 20 | 4 | 2 | 14 | 27 | 42 | −15 | 14 | |
| 11 | Barnet U21s | 20 | 2 | 3 | 15 | 22 | 52 | −30 | 9 | |

### Knockout stage

The teams finishing first in each division will play a semi-final against the runners-up of the opposite division, with the winners of each semi-final contesting a final to crown the overall champions of the combined League.
| Semi-final | Semi-final | Final | Final |
| Leicester City | 2 |
| Cardiff City | 3 | | |