2020–21 Sunderland A.F.C. season

The 2020–21 season was Sunderland's 142nd season in their history and the third consecutive season in EFL League One. Along with League One, the club also participated in the FA Cup, EFL Cup and EFL Trophy. The season covered the period from 1 July 2020 to 30 June 2021.

Sunderland A.F.C.

2020–21 season
Owner	Stewart Donald (until 18 February) Kyril Louis-Dreyfus (from 18 February)[1]
Head Coach	Phil Parkinson (until 29 November)[2] Lee Johnson (from 5 December)[3]
Stadium	Stadium of Light
League One	4th
FA Cup	First round
EFL Cup	First round
EFL Trophy	Winners
Top goalscorer	League: Charlie Wyke (26) All: Charlie Wyke (31)
Average home league attendance	0
Home colours Away colours
← 2019–20 2021–22 →

The club finished fourth in the league and would miss out on promotion after losing 3–2 on aggregate to Lincoln City in the play-off semi final. They were winners of the EFL Trophy, beating Tranmere Rovers 1–0 in the final, in the club's first win at Wembley since 1973.

First team squad

Squad No.	Name	Nationality	Position(s)	Age	Ends	Signed from	Apps	Goals
Goalkeepers
1	Lee Burge		GK	32	2021	Coventry City	22	0
20	Remi Matthews		GK	31	2021	Bolton Wanderers	6	0
43	Anthony Patterson		GK	25	2021	Academy	1	0
51	Adam Richardson		GK	21	2024	Academy	0	0
Defenders
2	Conor McLaughlin		RB	33	2021	Millwall	30	0
3	Tom Flanagan		CB	33	2022	Burton Albion	76	4
4	Jordan Willis		CB	30	2021	Coventry City	50	2
5	Bailey Wright		CB	32	2022	Bristol City	20	1
16	Dion Sanderson		CB	25	2021	Wolves (loan)	3	0
19	Arbenit Xhemajli		CB	27	2022	Neuchâtel Xamax	1	0
25	Callum McFadzean		LB	31	2021	Plymouth Argyle	3	0
33	Denver Hume		LB	26	2021	Academy	64	2
35	Ollie Younger		CB	25	2021	Burnley	1	0
40	Brandon Taylor		CB	26	2021	Academy	6	0
54	Patrick Almond		CB	17	2021	Academy	0	0
Midfielders
6	Max Power		CM	31	2021	Wigan Athletic	98	9
7	Chris Maguire		AM	36	2021	Bury	98	25
8	George Dobson		CM	27	2022	Walsall	44	2
11	Lynden Gooch		AM	29	2022	Academy	136	21
13	Luke O'Nien		CM	30	2021	Wycombe Wanderers	109	10
14	Josh Scowen		CM	32	2022	Queens Park Rangers	17	1
17	Elliot Embleton		AM	26	2021	Academy	12	0
21	Jack Diamond		RW	25	2024	Academy	9	1
23	Grant Leadbitter		CM	39	2021	Middlesbrough	165	14
24	Dan Neil		CM	23	2022	Academy	4	0
26	Carl Winchester		CM	32	2023	Forest Green Rovers	1	0
28	Aiden McGeady		LW	39	2020	Everton	86	22
29	Cieran Dunne		LW	25	2021	Falkirk	1	0
34	Jake Hackett		CM	25	2022	Academy	3	0
36	Sam Wilding		DM	25	2021	West Bromwich Albion	1	0
38	Vinnie Steels		LW	23	2021	Burnley	1	0
39	Stephen Wearne		AM	24	2021	Middlesbrough	0	0
42	Josh Hawkes		AM	26	2022	Hartlepool United	1	0
Forwards
9	Charlie Wyke		ST	32	2021	Bradford City	77	19
10	Aiden O'Brien		ST	31	2022	Millwall	12	1
12	Benjamin Mbunga-Kimpioka		ST	25	2021	IK Sirius	14	3
22	Will Grigg		ST	33	2022	Wigan Athletic	56	8
27	Jordan Jones		LW	30	2021	Rangers (loan)	10	2
31	Ross Stewart		ST	28	2023	Ross County	1	1
46	Mitchell Curry		ST	25	2021	Middlesbrough	0	0

Transfers

Main articles: List of English football transfers summer 2020 and List of English football transfers winter 2020–21

Transfers in

Date	Pos.	Nat.	Name	From	Fee	Ref.
30 July 2020	LW		Aiden O'Brien	Millwall	Free transfer	[4]
2 August 2020	CB		Bailey Wright	Bristol City	Free transfer	[5]
15 August 2020	DF		Bobby Beaumont	Wrexham	Free transfer	[6]
15 August 2020	DM		Sam Wilding	West Bromwich Albion	Free transfer	[6]
15 August 2020	LW		Vinnie Steels	Burnley	Free transfer	[6]
21 August 2020	CB		Morgan Feeney	Everton	Free transfer	[7]
21 August 2020	GK		Remi Matthews	Bolton Wanderers	Free transfer	[8]
28 August 2020	RB		Kenton Richardson	Hartlepool United	Free transfer	[9]
1 September 2020	CF		Will Harris	Burnley	Free transfer	[10]
4 September 2020	CB		Arbenit Xhemajli	Neuchâtel Xamax	Free transfer	[11]
7 September 2020	CF		Danny Graham	Blackburn Rovers	Free transfer	[12]
9 September 2020	AM		Stephen Wearne	Middlesbrough	Free transfer	[13]
15 September 2020	AM		Josh Hawkes	Hartlepool United	Undisclosed	[14]
16 September 2020	CF		Mitchell Curry	Middlesbrough	Free transfer	[15]
16 September 2020	CB		Ollie Younger	Burnley	Free transfer	[15]
21 October 2020	LM		Callum McFadzean	Plymouth Argyle	Free transfer	[16]
10 January 2021	CM		Carl Winchester	Forest Green Rovers	Undisclosed	[17]
31 January 2021	CF		Ross Stewart	Ross County	Undisclosed	[18]

Loans in

Date from	Pos.	Nat.	Name	From	Date until	Ref.
16 October 2020	CB		Dion Sanderson	Wolverhampton Wanderers	End of season	[19]
29 January 2021	LW		Jordan Jones	Rangers	End of season	[20]
29 January 2021	LB		Jake Vokins	Southampton	End of season	[21]

Loans out

Date from	Pos.	Nat.	Nam	To	Date until	Ref.
29 September 2020	CF		Lee Connelly	Alloa Athletic	End of season	[22]
22 January 2021	DM		George Dobson	AFC Wimbledon	End of season	[23]
1 February 2021	CM		Elliot Embleton	Blackpool	End of season	[24]
2 February 2021	CF		Will Grigg	Milton Keynes Dons	End of season	[25]
27 March 2021	CF		Benjamin Mbunga-Kimpioka	Torquay United	End of season	[26]

Transfers out

Date	Pos.	Nat.	Name	To	Fee	Ref.
1 July 2020	GK		Ahmed Abdelkader	Unattached	Released	[27]
1 July 2020	CB		Jack Bainbridge	Southport	Released	[27][28]
1 July 2020	CB		Jack Baldwin	Bristol Rovers	Released	[29][30]
1 July 2020	GK		Adam Cameron	Whickham F.C.	Released	[27]
1 July 2020	CB		Michael Collins	Unattached	Released	[27]
1 July 2020	FW		Lilyan Compper	Unattached	Released	[27]
1 July 2020	CM		Jack Connolly	Cabinteely	Released	[27][31]
1 July 2020	CB		Andrias Edmundsson	Águilas	Released	[27][32]
1 July 2020	DM		Kane Evans	Newcastle Benfield F.C.	Released	[27]
1 July 2020	RB		Owen Gamble	York City	Released	[27][33]
1 July 2020	MF		Nathan Greenwood	Unattached	Released	[27]
1 July 2020	RW		Ryan Leonard	Sunderland RCA	Released	[27]
1 July 2020	CB		Joel Lynch	Unattached	Released	[29]
1 July 2020	CF		Kyle Lafferty	Reggina	Released	[34][35]
1 July 2020	GK		Jon McLaughlin	Rangers	Free transfer	[36]
1 July 2020	LB		Liam Miller	Unattached	Released	[27]
1 July 2020	GK		Jack Newman	Dundee United	Released	[27][37]
1 July 2020	CB		Harry Ord	Pickering Town	Released	[27][38]
1 July 2020	CM		Ethan Robson	Blackpool	Released	[29][39]
1 July 2020	DM		Ruben Sammut	Dulwich Hamlet F.C.	Released	[27]
1 July 2020	CF		Connor Slack	Esh Winning F.C.	Released	[27]
1 July 2020	CB		Tommy Smith	Colchester United	Released	[40][41]
1 July 2020	RB		Tom Smith	Whitley Bay F.C.	Released	[27]
1 July 2020	RW		Duncan Watmore	Middlesbrough	Released	[29][42]
1 July 2020	CB		Alim Öztürk	Ümraniyespor	Released	[29][43]
3 July 2020	CF		Cole Kiernan	Middlesbrough	Free transfer	[44]
18 July 2020	CF		Joe Hugill	Manchester United	Undisclosed	[45]
18 July 2020	LB		Logan Pye	Manchester United	Undisclosed	[45]
27 July 2020	RB		Jordan Hunter	South Shields	Free transfer	[46]
27 July 2020	DM		Bali Mumba	Norwich City	Undisclosed	[47]
8 January 2021	MF		Jay Turner-Cooke	Newcastle United	Undisclosed	[48]
20 January 2021	CB		Morgan Feeney	Carlisle United	Free transfer	[49]
1 February 2021	ST		Danny Graham	Retired	Retired	[50]

Pre-season friendlies

Gateshead v Sunderland

22 August 2020 Friendly	Gateshead	1–3	Sunderland	Gateshead
15:00 BST	Preston 24'	Report	Maguire 17' Grigg 70' Scowen 72'	Stadium: Gateshead International Stadium

Sunderland v Carlisle United

25 August 2020 Friendly	Sunderland	3–1	Carlisle United	Sunderland
15:00 BST	Wyke 64', 80' Maguire 70'	Report	Alessandra 52'	Stadium: Stadium of Light

Sunderland v Harrogate Town

29 August 2020 Friendly	Sunderland	1–0	Harrogate Town	Sunderland
15:00 BST	Grigg 84'	Report		Stadium: Stadium of Light

Competitions

EFL League One

Main article: 2020–21 EFL League One

League table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Promotion, qualification or relegation
1	Hull City (C, P)	46	27	8	11	80	38	+42	89	Promotion to the EFL Championship
2	Peterborough United (P)	46	26	9	11	83	46	+37	87
3	Blackpool (O, P)	46	23	11	12	60	37	+23	80	Qualification for League One play-offs
4	Sunderland	46	20	17	9	70	42	+28	77
5	Lincoln City	46	22	11	13	69	50	+19	77
6	Oxford United	46	22	8	16	77	56	+21	74
7	Charlton Athletic	46	20	14	12	70	56	+14	74
8	Portsmouth	46	21	9	16	65	51	+14	72

Source: EFL Official Website
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Number of goals scored; 4) Head-to-head results; 5) Wins; 6) Away goals; 7) Penalty points (sec 9.5); 8) 12-point sending off offences^[51]
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (P) Promoted

Results summary

Overall								Home						Away
Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
46	20	17	9	70	42	+28	77	9	8	6	32	25	+7	11	9	3	38	17	+21

Last updated: 1 May 2021.
Source: BBC

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	37	38	39	40	41	42	43	44	45	46
Ground	H	A	H	A	A	H	H	A	A	H	H	A	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	A	H	H	A	H
Result	D	W	W	D	W	W	L	D	W	W	L	D	D	D	L	W	D	D	D	W	L	W	W	D	D	L	W	W	W	D	W	W	W	W	D	W	W	D	L	L	L	D	D	L	W	D
Position	14	5	5	4	5	5	6	7	6	6	6	8	8	7	9	8	9	11	10	8	9	7	7	6	7	7	6	6	5	5	4	4	4	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	4	3	4
Points	1	4	7	8	11	14	14	15	18	21	21	22	23	24	24	27	28	29	30	33	33	36	39	40	41	41	44	47	50	51	54	57	60	63	64	67	70	71	71	71	71	72	73	73	76	77

Updated to match(es) played on 9 May 2021. Source: 11v11 for league tables and fixtures
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Matches

  Win   Draw   Loss   Postponed

The 2020–21 season fixtures were released on 21 August.^[52]

Sunderland v Bristol Rovers

12 September 2020 1	Sunderland	1–1	Bristol Rovers	Sunderland
15:00 GMT	Maguire 82'	Report	Leahy 3' (pen.)	Stadium: Stadium of Light Referee: Anthony Backhouse

Oxford United v Sunderland

19 September 2020 2	Oxford United	0–2	Sunderland	Oxford
15:00 GMT		Report	O'Nien 47' Gooch 82'	Stadium: Kassam Stadium Attendance: 0 Referee: Darren Drysdale

Sunderland v Peterborough United

26 September 2020 3	Sunderland	1–0	Peterborough United	Sunderland
15:00 GMT	Leadbitter 81' (pen.)	Report		Stadium: Stadium of Light Attendance: 0 Referee: Scott Oldham

Charlton Athletic v Sunderland

4 October 2020 4	Charlton Athletic	0–0	Sunderland	Charlton
15:00 GMT		Report		Stadium: The Valley Attendance: 0 Referee: Andy Davies

Swindon Town v Sunderland

17 October 2020 5	Swindon Town	0–2	Sunderland	Swindon
15:00 GMT		Report	Wyke 37' Maguire 57' (pen.)	Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 0 Referee: Ben Toner

Sunderland v Crewe Alexandra

20 October 2020 6	Sunderland	1–0	Crewe Alexandra	Sunderland
19:00 GMT	Offord 45+1' (o.g.)	Report		Stadium: Stadium of Light Referee: Neil Hair

Sunderland v Portsmouth

24 October 2020 7	Sunderland	1–3	Portsmouth	Sunderland
15:00 GMT	Wyke 10'	Report	Harness 7' Marquis 25', 85' (pen.)	Stadium: Stadium of Light Attendance: 0 Referee: Robert Lewis

Rochdale v Sunderland

27 October 2020 8	Rochdale	2–2	Sunderland	Rochdale
19:45 GMT	Lund 25', 44'	Report	Wyke 15' Wright 40'	Stadium: Spotland Stadium Referee: James Bell

Gillingham v Sunderland

31 October 2020 9	Gillingham	0–2	Sunderland	Gillingham
13:00 GMT		Report	Maguire 84' (pen.) Gooch 90+4'	Stadium: Priestfield Stadium Attendance: 0 Referee: Sam Purkiss

Sunderland v Ipswich Town

3 November 2020 10	Sunderland	2–1	Ipswich Town	Sunderland
19:00 GMT	Wyke 8' Leadbitter 84' (pen.)	Report	Lankester 38'	Stadium: Stadium of Light Attendance: 0 Referee: Peter Wright

Sunderland v Milton Keynes Dons

14 November 2020 11	Sunderland	1–2	Milton Keynes Dons	Sunderland
15:00 GMT	Power 12'	Report	Jerome 16' Fraser 47' (pen.)	Stadium: Stadium of Light Attendance: 0 Referee: Steve Martin

Doncaster Rovers v Sunderland

21 November 2020 12	Doncaster Rovers	1–1	Sunderland	Doncaster
15:00 GMT	Okenabirhie 90+3'	Report	Leadbitter 43'	Stadium: Keepmoat Stadium Referee: John Busby

Fleetwood Town v Sunderland

27 November 2020 13	Fleetwood Town	1–1	Sunderland	Fleetwood
19:45 GMT	Connolly 74'	Report	Wyke 59'	Stadium: Highbury Stadium Attendance: 0 Referee: Bobby Madley

Sunderland v Burton Albion

1 December 2020 14	Sunderland	1–1	Burton Albion	Sunderland
19:00 GMT	Power 85'	Report	Edwards  31' Vernam 60' Gallacher  90+2'	Stadium: Stadium of Light Attendance: 0 Referee: Chris Sarginson

Sunderland v Wigan Athletic

5 December 2020 15	Sunderland	0–1	Wigan Athletic	Sunderland
15:00 GMT	Maguire  90+1'	Report	Joseph 16'	Stadium: Stadium of Light Attendance: 0 Referee: Trevor Kettle

Lincoln City v Sunderland

12 December 2020 16	Lincoln City	0–4	Sunderland	Lincoln
15:00 GMT	Montsma  19'	Report	Leadbitter 16 (pen)'  90' Wyke 25', 72' Diamond  27' 42' McLaughlin  51'	Stadium: Sincil Bank Attendance: 0 Referee: Charles Breakspeare

Sunderland v AFC Wimbledon

15 December 2020 17	Sunderland	1–1	AFC Wimbledon	Sunderland
19:00 GMT	Wright 62'	Report	Pigott 42 (pen)' Reilly  49' Longman  70'	Stadium: Stadium of Light Attendance: 0 Referee: James Oldham

Northampton Town v Sunderland

2 January 2021 18	Northampton Town	0–0	Sunderland	Northampton
15:00 GMT	Watson  40'	Report	Wyke  13' Scowen  44' Maguire  74'	Stadium: PTS Academy Stadium Attendance: 0 Referee: Leigh Doughty

Sunderland v Hull City

9 January 2021 19	Sunderland	1–1	Hull City	Sunderland
19:45 GMT	Wright  14' McGeady 21'	Report	Burke 13' Honeyman  45+3'	Stadium: Stadium of Light Attendance: 0 Referee: Scott Oldham

AFC Wimbledon v Sunderland

16 January 2021 20	AFC Wimbledon	0–3	Sunderland	Wimbledon
15:00 GMT	Rudoni  27'	Report	Wyke 7', 87', 90+1'	Stadium: Plough Lane Attendance: 0 Referee: Antony Coggins

Sunderland v Plymouth Argyle

19 January 2021 21	Sunderland	1–2	Plymouth Argyle	Sunderland
19:00 GMT	Winchester  28' O'Brien 51',  54'	Report	Lewis 11',  46' Edwards 56' Cooper  83'	Stadium: Stadium of Light Attendance: 0 Referee: Robert Lewis

Sunderland v Shrewsbury

23 January 2021 22	Sunderland	1–0	Shrewsbury	Sunderland
15:00 GMT	Wyke 18' McGeady  28' Leadbitter  76'	Report	Pierre  74' Vela  90+2'	Stadium: Stadium of Light Attendance: 0 Referee: Samuel Barrott

Ipswich Town v Sunderland

26 January 2021 23	Ipswich Town	0–1	Sunderland	Ipswich
19:45 GMT	Jackson  10' Ward  70' Dozzell  82'	Report	Winchester  40' Wyke 45+1'	Stadium: Portman Road Attendance: 0 Referee: Charles Breakspear

Sunderland v Gillingham

30 January 2021 24	Sunderland	2–2	Gillingham	Sunderland
13:00 GMT	McGeady 6' Leadbitter 43' 43'	Report	MacDonald 28' Slattery  87' Graham 90'	Stadium: Stadium of Light Attendance: 0 Referee: Oliver Langford

Milton Keynes Dons v Sunderland

6 February 2021 25	Milton Keynes Dons	2–2	Sunderland	Milton Keynes
15:00 GMT	Mason 9' Jerome 19',  53' Laird  62' Surman  83'	Report	Wyke 5' O'Nien  49', 56' Leadbitter  67' Power  72' Scowen  90+4'	Stadium: Stadium MK Attendance: 0 Referee: Tom Nield

Shrewsbury v Sunderland

9 February 2021 26	Shrewsbury	2–1	Sunderland	Shrewsbury
19:00 GMT	Ebanks-Landell 52' Chapman 67' Love  78'	Report	O'Brien 21'	Stadium: Montgomery Waters Meadow Attendance: 0 Referee: Will Finnie

Sunderland v Doncaster Rovers

13 February 2021 27	Sunderland	4–1	Doncaster Rovers	Sunderland
15:00 GMT	Wyke 7', 12', 31', 54' O'Nien  59'	Report	Burge 53' (o.g.) Taylor 57' Lokilo 88'	Stadium: Stadium of Light Referee: Neil Hair

Burton Albion v Sunderland

20 February 2021 28	Burton Albion	0–3	Sunderland	Burton
15:00 GMT	Earl  5'  56' Clare  52' Carter  65' Mike Fondop-Talum  89'	Report	Leadbitter 6' McGeady  18' Gooch 32'  38' O'Brien  56' Wyke 76'	Stadium: Pirelli Stadium Attendance: 0 Referee: Craig Hicks

Sunderland v Fleetwood Town

23 February 2021 29	Sunderland	2–0	Fleetwood Town	Sunderland
19:00 GMT	Sanderson  38' O'Brien 61' Power 82' McLaughlin  90'	Report		Stadium: Stadium of Light Attendance: 0 Referee: James Bell

Crewe Alexandra v Sunderland

27 February 2021 30	Crewe Alexandra	2–2	Sunderland	Crewe
15:00 GMT	Porter 30' Lowery 38'	Report	McFadzean  36' Jones 76' Maguire 90+7'	Stadium: Alexandra Stadium Attendance: 0 Referee: Chris Sarginson

Sunderland v Swindon Town

2 March 2021 31	Sunderland	1–0	Swindon Town	Sunderland
19:45 GMT	Wyke 70'	Report		Stadium: Stadium of Light Referee: Peter Wright

Sunderland v Rochdale

6 March 2021 32	Sunderland	2–0	Rochdale	Sunderland
15:00 GMT	Sanderson 7' McFadzean  14' Wyke 35' Jones  45'	Report	McLaughlin  6' Baah  58' Newby  90+9'	Stadium: Stadium of Light Referee: Ross Joyce

Portsmouth v Sunderland

9 March 2021 33	Portsmouth	0–2	Sunderland	Milton
19:45 GMT		Report	Wyke 13' Jones 58' Sanderson  66'	Stadium: Fratton Park Attendance: 0 Referee: David Rock

Accrington Stanley v Sunderland

17 March 2021 34	Accrington Stanley	0–2	Sunderland	Accrington
19:00 GMT	Nottingham  20' Smyth  53'	Report	Gooch  45+1' McGeady  58' Stewart 62' Wyke 86'	Stadium: Wham Stadium Attendance: 0 Referee: John Busby

Sunderland v Lincoln City

20 March 2021 35	Sunderland	1–1	Lincoln City	Sunderland
15:00 GMT	Wyke  34' McFadzean 40' Power  42' McLaughlin  87'	Report	Morton 63' Bridcutt  77'	Stadium: Stadium of Light Attendance: 0 Referee: Carl Boyeson

Bristol Rovers v Sunderland

27 March 2021 36	Bristol Rovers	0–1	Sunderland	Bristol
15:00 GMT	Leahy  36'	Report	O'Brien 39' Scowen  50' Sanderson  53' O'Nien  85'	Stadium: Memorial Stadium Attendance: 0 Referee: Ollie Yates

Sunderland v Oxford United

2 April 2021 37	Sunderland	3–1	Oxford United	Sunderland
15:00 GMT	McLaughlin  19' Gooch 45+2' McGeady 81' McGeady  89' Power 90+4'  90+5'	Report	Henry 21' Sykes  25'  61' Barker  25' Henry  54' Moore  81'	Stadium: Stadium of Light Attendance: 0 Referee: Trevor Kettle

Peterborough v Sunderland

5 April 2021 38	Peterborough	1–1	Sunderland	Peterborough
15:00 GMT	Reed  18' Butler  38' Dembélé 66'	Report	McGeady 81'	Stadium: London Road Stadium Attendance: 0 Referee: Craig Hicks

Sunderland v Charlton Athletic

10 April 2021 39	Sunderland	1–2	Charlton Athletic	Sunderland
15:00 GMT	Scowen 77'	Report	Scowen 31' (o.g.) Forster-Caskey  49' Gilbey  57', 61'	Stadium: Stadium of Light Attendance: 0 Referee: Anthony Backhouse

Wigan Athletic v Sunderland

13 April 2021 40	Wigan Athletic	2–1	Sunderland	Wigan
18:00 BST	Keane  38', 42' Lang  50', 58' Robinson  90'	Report	Wyke 32' O'Nien  46'	Stadium: DW Stadium Attendance: 0 Referee: Gavin Ward

Blackpool v Sunderland

17 April 2021 41	Blackpool	1–0	Sunderland	Blackpool
12:30 GMT	Dougall  27' Garbutt 58'	Report	McFadzean  18' Leadbitter  37'	Stadium: Bloomfield Road Attendance: 0 Referee: Tom Nield

Hull City v Sunderland

20 April 2021 42	Hull City	2–2	Sunderland	Kingston upon Hull
19:45 GMT	Magennis 28', 64' Lewis-Potter  50' Wilks  61'	Report	Jones 10' Wright  16' Wyke  20' Leadbitter 34' (pen.) O'Nien  89'	Stadium: KCOM Stadium Attendance: 0 Referee: Ollie Yates

Sunderland v Accrington Stanley

24 April 2021 43	Sunderland	3–3	Accrington Stanley	Sunderland
15:00 BST	Wyke 6', 11' Winchester  43' Leadbitter  62' Power 83'	Report	Bishop 51' O'Nien 68' (o.g.) Nottingham  80' McConville 85' Smyth  87'	Stadium: Stadium of Light Attendance: 0 Referee: Darren Drysdale

Sunderland v Blackpool

27 April 2021 44	Sunderland	0–1	Blackpool	Sunderland
19:00 BST	McGeady  64'	Report	Kaikai 56' Ballard  87'	Stadium: Stadium of Light Attendance: 0 Referee: Will Finnie

Plymouth Argyle v Sunderland

1 May 2021 45	Plymouth Argyle	1–3	Sunderland	Plymouth
15:00 GMT	Camará  42' Law  49' Opoku  54'  64' Edwards 63'  76'	Report	Stewart 21' Maguire 84' (pen.) Hume 84'	Stadium: Home Park Attendance: 0 Referee: James Bell

Sunderland v Northampton Town

9 May 2021 46	Sunderland	1–1	Northampton Town	Sunderland
15:00 GMT	O'Nien  59' Wright  83' Winchester 87'	Report	Miller  21' Hoskins 84'	Stadium: Stadium of Light Attendance: 0 Referee: Samuel Barrott

Play-offs

Lincoln City v Sunderland

19 May 2021 Semi Final First Leg	Lincoln City	2–0	Sunderland	Lincoln
18:00 BST	Hopper 51' Bridcutt  71' Johnson 76' Grant  86'	Report	O'Nien  61'	Stadium: Sincil Bank Attendance: 3,000 Referee: Craig Hicks

Sunderland v Lincoln City

22 May 2021 Semi Final Second Leg	Sunderland	2–1 (2–3 agg.)	Lincoln City	Sunderland
15:30 BST	Stewart 13' Wyke 33' Scowen  36' Leadbitter  67'	Report	Johnson  52' Hopper 56' Grant 63' Edun  83'	Stadium: Stadium of Light Referee: Michael Salisbury

FA Cup

Main article: 2020–21 FA Cup

  Win   Draw   Loss

The draw for the first round was made on Monday 26, October.^[53]

Sunderland v Mansfield Town

8 November 2020 First round	Sunderland	0–1	Mansfield Town	Sunderland
15:00 GMT		Report	Lapslie 49'	Stadium: Stadium of Light Attendance: 0 Referee: Anthony Backhouse

EFL Cup

Main article: 2020–21 EFL Cup

  Win   Draw   Loss

The first round draw was made on 18 August, live on Sky Sports, by Paul Merson.^[54]

Sunderland v Hull City

5 September 2020 First round	Sunderland	0–0 (4–5 p)	Hull City	Sunderland
15:00 BST		Report		Stadium: Stadium of Light Attendance: 0 Referee: Thomas Bramall
	Penalties
	Grigg Power O'Nien Gooch Wyke		Wilks Smallwood Samuelsen Honeyman Lewis-Potter

EFL Trophy

Main article: 2020–21 EFL Trophy

See also: 2021 EFL Trophy Final

  Win   Draw   Loss

The regional group stage draw was confirmed on 18 August.^[55] The second round draw was made by Matt Murray on 20 November, at St Andrew's.^[56] The third round draw was made on 10 December 2020 by Jon Parkin.^[57] The Quarter Final draw was made on 23 January 2021 by Sam Parkin.^[58] The Semi Final draw was made on 5 February 2021 by Adebayo Akinfenwa.^[59]

Pos	Div	Team v t e	Pld	W	PW	PL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	L1	Fleetwood Town	3	3	0	0	0	8	2	+6	9	Advance to Round 2
2	L1	Sunderland	3	2	0	0	1	14	6	+8	6
3	L2	Carlisle United	3	1	0	0	2	7	9	−2	3
4	ACA	Aston Villa U21	3	0	0	0	3	2	14	−12	0

Source: EFL.com

Sunderland v Aston Villa U21

8 September 2020 Group Game 1	Sunderland	8–1	Aston Villa U21	Sunderland
19:00 BST	Wyke 15', 50' Feeney 21' Scowen 75' Power 77' Graham 82' Dobson 84' O'Brien 90'	Report	Vassilev 47' (pen.)	Stadium: Stadium of Light

Sunderland v Carlisle United

6 October 2020 Group Game 2	Sunderland	5–3	Carlisle United	Sunderland
19:00 BST	Maguire 26', 54' Hume 37' Wyke 69' Diamond 90+1'	Report	Alessandra 6' (pen.) Mellish 72', 82'	Stadium: Stadium of Light Attendance: 0 Referee: Bobby Madley

Fleetwood Town v Sunderland

10 November 2020 Group Game 3	Fleetwood Town	2–1	Sunderland	Fleetwood
19:45 BST	McKay 51' Duffy 59'	Report	Hill 15' (o.g.)	Stadium: Highbury Stadium Referee: Graham Salisbury

Oldham Athletic v Sunderland

8 December 2020 Second round	Oldham Athletic	1–2	Sunderland	Oldham
18:00 GMT	Grant 13'  83' Diarra  64'	Report	Maguire 30' Scowen 64' Wright  83'	Stadium: Boundary Park Attendance: 0 Referee: Samuel Barrott

Sunderland v Port Vale

12 January 2021 Third round	Sunderland	2–0	Port Vale	Sunderland
18:00 GMT	O'Brien 21' McFadzean  54' Wright  56' McGeady 90+7' (pen.)	Report	Conlon  8'	Stadium: Stadium of Light Attendance: 0 Referee: Declan Bourne

Milton Keynes Dons v Sunderland

2 February 2021 Quarter Final	Milton Keynes Dons	0–3	Sunderland	Milton Keynes
18:30 GMT	Harvie  56' Gladwin  69'	Report	Lewington 12' (o.g.) McGeady 76' Wyke 82'	Stadium: Stadium MK Attendance: 0 Referee: Thomas Bramall

Sunderland v Lincoln City

17 February 2021 Semi Final	Sunderland	1–1 (5–3 p)	Lincoln City	Sunderland
18:00 GMT	Scowen  54' McLaughlin  67' Wyke 75'	Report	Edun  24' Scully 64' Johnson  77'	Stadium: Stadium of Light Attendance: 0 Referee: Ben Toner
	Penalties
	Power O'Nien Maguire McGeady Leadbitter		Scully McGrandles Howarth Johnson

Sunderland v Tranmere Rovers

14 March 2021 Final	Sunderland	1–0	Tranmere Rovers	London
15:00 GMT	Gooch 57'	Report		Stadium: Wembley Stadium Attendance: 0 Referee: Charles Breakspear

Appearances and goals

As of 22 May 2021

No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Total		League One		FA Cup		EFL Cup		EFL Trophy		Play-offs
				Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
1	GK	ENG	Lee Burge	46	0	41	0	0	0	1	0	2	0	2	0
2	DF	NIR	Conor McLaughlin	29	0	22+3	0	1	0	0	0	1+2	0	0	0
3	DF	NIR	Tom Flanagan	23	0	14+2	0	1	0	1	0	3	0	1+1	0
4	DF	ENG	Jordan Willis	20	0	14+1	0	0	0	1	0	3+1	0	0	0
5	DF	AUS	Bailey Wright	40	2	33	2	0	0	1	0	4	0	2	0
6	MF	ENG	Max Power	53	6	38+4	5	1	0	1	0	7	1	1+1	0
7	MF	SCO	Chris Maguire	41	8	11+22	5	1	0	1	0	4+1	3	1	0
8	MF	ENG	George Dobson	11	1	3+2	0	1	0	1	0	2+2	1	0	0
9	FW	ENG	Charlie Wyke	54	31	40+3	25	0+1	0	0+1	0	4+3	5	2	1
10	FW	IRL	Aiden O'Brien	41	6	22+10	4	0+1	0	1	0	3+3	2	0+1	0
11	MF	USA	Lynden Gooch	46	5	26+12	4	0	0	0+1	0	5	1	2	0
13	MF	ENG	Luke O'Nien	45	2	34+4	2	0	0	1	0	4	0	2	0
14	MF	ENG	Josh Scowen	51	3	35+8	1	0	0	0	0	6	2	2	0
15	DF	ENG	Morgan Feeney	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	0
16	DF	ENG	Dion Sanderson	27	1	19+7	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
17	MF	ENG	Elliot Embleton	12	0	3+6	0	0+1	0	0	0	2	0	0	0
18	FW	ENG	Danny Graham	17	1	3+11	0	1	0	0	0	0+2	1	0	0
19	DF	KOS	Arbenit Xhemajli	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0
20	GK	ENG	Remi Matthews	11	0	5+1	0	1	0	0	0	4	0	0	0
21	MF	ENG	Jack Diamond	35	2	11+13	1	1	0	0	0	5+3	1	0+2	0
22	FW	ENG	Will Grigg	12	0	4+5	0	1	0	1	0	1	0	0	0
23	MF	ENG	Grant Leadbitter	48	7	30+10	7	0	0	0	0	4+2	0	1+1	0
24	MF	ENG	Daniel Neil	8	0	0+2	0	0	0	0	0	5+1	0	0	0
25	DF	SCO	Callum McFadzean	34	2	21+4	1	1	0	0	0	6	1	1+1	0
26	MF	NIR	Carl Winchester	21	1	12+8	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0+1	0
27	FW	NIR	Jordan Jones	21	3	11+8	3	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0
28	MF	IRL	Aiden McGeady	36	6	28+1	4	0	0	0	0	2+3	2	2	0
29	MF	SCO	Cieran Dunne	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0+1	0	0	0
30	DF	ENG	Jake Vokins	4	0	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
31	FW	SCO	Ross Stewart	13	3	2+9	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	1+1	1
33	DF	ENG	Denver Hume	26	2	19+4	1	0	0	1	0	1	1	1	0
35	DF	ENG	Ollie Younger	4	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1+2	0	0	0
36	MF	ENG	Sam Wilding	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0+1	0	0	0
38	MF	ENG	Vinnie Steels	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0+1	0	0	0
40	DF	ENG	Brandon Taylor	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0	0	0
42	MF	ENG	Josh Hawkes	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0
43	GK	ENG	Anthony Patterson	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	0
46	FW	ENG	Mitchell Curry	1	0	0+1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0