The 2020–21 season was

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

's 142nd season in their history and the third consecutive season in

EFL League One The English Football League One, known as Sky Bet League One for sponsorship reasons, or simply League One, is a professional association football league in England. EFL League One is the second-highest division of the English Football League an ...

. Along with League One, the club also participated in the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

EFL Cup The English Football League Cup, often referred to as the League Cup and currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout competition in men's domestic football in England. Orga ...

and

EFL Trophy The English Football League Trophy, officially known as the Vertu Motors, Vertu Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual English association football, football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL League Two and ...

. The season covered the period from 1 July 2020 to 30 June 2021. 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

, beating

Tranmere Rovers Tranmere Rovers Football Club are a professional association football club based in Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. The team competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1884 as Belmont Football Club, they ...

1–0 in the final, in the club's first win at Wembley since 1973.

First team squad

Transfers

Transfers in

Loans in

Loans out

Transfers out

Pre-season friendlies

Competitions

EFL League One

League table

Results summary

Results by matchday

Matches

The 2020–21 season fixtures were released on 21 August.

Play-offs

FA Cup

The draw for the first round was made on Monday 26, October.

EFL Cup

The first round draw was made on 18 August, live on

Sky Sports Sky Sports is a group of British broadcasting of sports events, subscription sports channels operated by the satellite television, satellite pay television company Sky Group (a division of Comcast), and is the dominant subscription television ...

, by

Paul Merson Paul Charles Merson (born 20 March 1968) is an English former professional footballer, manager, commentator and sports television pundit for Sky Sports. Originally a forward, Merson found success as an attacking midfielder and playmaker late ...

EFL Trophy

The regional group stage draw was confirmed on 18 August. The second round draw was made by Matt Murray on 20 November, at St Andrew's. The third round draw was made on 10 December 2020 by

Jon Parkin Jonathan Parkin (born 30 December 1981) is an English former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Striker (association football), striker. He came through the youth academy at hometown club Barnsley F.C., Barnsley sign ...

. The Quarter Final draw was made on 23 January 2021 by

Sam Parkin Samuel Parkin (born 14 March 1981) is an English former footballer; a radio presenter for BBC Wiltshire, regularly involved with Swindon Town's coverage; and commentator for Chelsea TV. Throughout his career Parkin has played as a forward for ...

. The Semi Final draw was made on 5 February 2021 by

Adebayo Akinfenwa Saheed Adebayo Akinfenwa (born 10 May 1982) is an English former professional footballer who played as a striker. Nicknamed " the Beast", he was renowned for his physical prowess and goalscoring ability, in a career where he amassed more than 2 ...

Appearances and goals

, -

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2020-21 Sunderland A.F.C. season

Sunderland A.F.C. seasons