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]
| Competition: | Premier League 2 |
| Season: | 2020–21 |
| Nextseason: | 2021–22 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
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| Competition: | U23 Professional Development League |
| Season: | 2020–21 |
| League Topscorer: | Louis Britton (16 Goals) |
| Matches: | 228 |
| Matches Footnote: | (225 RS, 3 PO) |
| Total Goals: | 726 |
| Total Goals Footnote: | (717 RS, 9 PO) |
| Nextseason: | 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 dropped down to Category Two status in August 2020 and will join the South division this season,[5] while Burnley, Crystal Palace and Leeds United joined the Premier League 2 for the 2020–21 season after gaining category one status academies.
Semi-finals----
Professional Development League National Final