The 2021–22 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 143rd year in their history and fourth consecutive season in League One. Along with the league, the club competed 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 ...

, the

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 the

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 covers the period from 1 July 2021 to 30 June 2022. Sunderland finished fifth in the regular season, entering the

EFL League One play-offs The EFL League One play-offs are a series of play-off matches contested by the association football teams finishing from third to sixth in the EFL League One table and are part of the English Football League play-offs. , the play-offs comprise tw ...

. They beat

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an off ...

over two legs in the semi-final and

Wycombe Wanderers Wycombe Wanderers Football Club () is a professional association football club based in the town of High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 188 ...

in the final at

Wembley Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in the London Borou ...

to secure a return to the

EFL Championship The English Football League Championship, known simply as the Championship and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Bet Championship, is a professional association football league in England and Wales. Contested by 24 clubs, it is the highest divi ...

First team squad

Pre-season friendlies

Sunderland announced they will play

friendlies An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, scrimmage, demonstration, training match, pre-season game, warmup match, or preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the playe ...

against Spennymoor Town, Heart of Midlothian,

York City York City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of York, North Yorkshire, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system, as of the 2024–25 seas ...

, Harrogate Town,

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 ...

and

Hull City Hull City Association Football Club is a professional association football club based in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. They compete in the , the second level of the English football league system. They play their home ...

as part of the club's pre season preparations.

Competitions

League One

League table

Results summary

Results by matchday

Matches

''The Black Cats'' fixtures were released on 24 June 2021.

Play-offs

Sunderland finished 5th in the regular

2021–22 EFL League One The 2021–22 EFL League One (referred to as the Sky Bet League One for sponsorship reasons) was the 18th season of the Football League One under its current title and the 30th season under its current league division format. Team changes The fo ...

season, so were drawn against 4th placed

in the Play-off Semi Final. The first leg took place at the

Stadium of Light The Stadium of Light is an all-seater football stadium in Sunderland, England, and the eighth and current home to Sunderland. With space for 49,000 spectators, the Stadium of Light is the ninth largest football stadium in England. The ...

and the second leg took place at Hillsborough.

FA Cup

Sunderland were drawn at home to

Mansfield Town Mansfield Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the third level of the English football league system. The club was formed in 1897 as Mans ...

in the first round.

EFL Cup

Sunderland were drawn away to

Port Vale Port Vale Football Club are a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which compete in , the third tier of the English football league system. Vale are named after the valley of ports on the Trent and Mersey Canal ...

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...

Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, they have p ...

Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional association football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English f ...

and

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

in the first, second, third and fourth rounds and quarter final respectively.

EFL Trophy

Sunderland were drawn into Northern Group F alongside

Bradford City Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The club competes in , the third tier of English football, and is managed by Graham Alexander. The club was founded in 1903 and ...

, Lincoln City and Manchester United U21s. Two of the three group games were confirmed on July 22.

Player statistics

Appearance summary

, - ! colspan="18" style="background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center", Goalkeepers , - ! colspan="18" style="background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center", Defenders , - ! colspan="18" style="background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center", Midfielders , - ! colspan="18" style="background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center", Forwards

First team squad

Pre-season friendlies

Competitions

League One

League table

Results summary

Results by matchday

Matches

Play-offs

FA Cup

EFL Cup

EFL Trophy

Player statistics

Appearance summary

Goals record

Penalties record

Assists record

Disciplinary record

Transfers

Transfers in

Loans in

Loans out

Transfers out

References