2017–18 Professional U23 Development League

The 2017–18 Professional U23 Development League was the sixth season of the Professional Development League system.

Premier League 2

Premier League 2
Season2017–18
ChampionsArsenal U23s
Division 2
Blackburn Rovers U23s
PromotedBlackburn Rovers U23s
Brighton & Hove Albion U23s
RelegatedSunderland U23s
Manchester United U23s
Matches played267
(264 RS, 3 PO)
Goals scored951 (3.56 per match)
(939 RS, 12 PO)
Top goalscorerLukas Nmecha Manchester City U23s (15 goals)
Biggest home winAston Villa U23s 6–0 Newcastle United U23s
(30 October 2017)
Biggest away winSunderland U23s 0–5 Chelsea U23s
(14 January 2018)
Wolverhampton Wanderers U23s 0–5 Brighton & Hove Albion U23s
(23 April 2018)
Tottenham Hotspur U23s 0–5 Manchester City U23s
(2 May 2018)
Highest scoringReading U23s 3–5 Blackburn Rovers U23s
(18 August 2017)
Southampton U23s 6–2 Newcastle United U23s
(16 October 2017)
Longest winning run6 Matches Liverpool U23s
Longest unbeaten run11 Matches Leicester City U23s
Longest winless run9 Matches West Bromwich Albion U23s
Longest losing run7 Matches Newcastle United U23s
Highest attendance5,049 Liverpool U23s 1–2 Manchester United U23s
(9 March 2018)
Lowest attendance15 West Bromwich Albion U23s 1–1 Stoke City U23s
(12 March 2018)

Division 1

Table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 Arsenal U23s (C) 22 13 3 6 48 32 +16 42
2 Liverpool U23s 22 13 1 8 43 27 +16 40
3 Leicester City U23s 22 11 6 5 36 20 +16 39
4 Swansea City U23s 22 11 4 7 40 31 +9 37
5 West Ham United U23s 22 9 4 9 30 32 −2 31
6 Manchester City U23s 22 8 6 8 41 31 +10 30
7 Everton U23s 22 9 3 10 32 36 −4 30
8 Chelsea U23s 22 8 5 9 34 35 −1 29
9 Tottenham Hotspur U23s 22 7 5 10 38 48 −10 26
10 Derby County U23s 22 7 3 12 32 44 −12 24
11 Sunderland U23s (R) 22 6 4 12 19 39 −20 22
12 Manchester United U23s (R) 22 4 8 10 22 40 −18 20
Updated to match(es) played on 13 May 2018. Source: [1]
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated

Results

Home \ Away ARS CHE DER EVE LEI LIV MNC MNU SUN SWA TOT WHU
Arsenal U23s 3–1 3–3 4–0 1–0 1–2 4–3 4–0 2–0 1–0 1–3 3–0
Chelsea U23s 2–2 2–0 0–3 1–0 1–3 3–2 2–2 2–2 1–3 1–2 0–0
Derby County U23s 2–3 0–3 0–1 0–2 2–0 0–4 1–1 2–0 3–3 1–0 1–0
Everton U23s 4–2 2–1 1–3 0–1 1–3 3–4 0–0 0–1 2–0 4–1 0–4
Leicester City U23s 3–1 2–0 3–1 2–1 4–0 0–0 0–1 0–0 2–0 6–1 3–1
Liverpool U23s 1–1 5–1 1–0 4–0 1–2 1–0 1–2 3–0 1–3 4–2 0–1
Manchester City U23s 0–1 0–0 4–1 0–3 2–2 3–2 1–1 2–2 0–1 4–2 0–1
Manchester United U23s 0–2 0–4 1–2 2–2 1–1 1–3 1–1 4–0 1–1 1–3 0–3
Sunderland U23s 1–3 0–5 2–1 2–1 4–1 1–4 0–2 0–1 0–2 2–1 1–2
Swansea City U23s 3–1 2–0 5–2 1–2 3–1 0–2 1–3 2–0 1–0 2–2 3–0
Tottenham Hotspur U23s 3–2 2–3 4–2 1–2 1–1 1–0 0–5 3–0 0–0 2–2 2–3
West Ham United U23s 1–3 0–1 1–5 0–0 0–0 0–2 2–1 4–2 0–1 5–2 2–2
Source: Premier League 2 Division 1 results
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Division 2

Table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion or qualification
1 Blackburn Rovers U23s (P) 22 15 4 3 47 20 +27 49 Promotion to Division 1
2 Aston Villa U23s 22 14 1 7 51 29 +22 43 Qualification for Play-offs
3 Brighton & Hove Albion U23s (P) 22 11 7 4 46 25 +21 40
4 Middlesbrough U23s 22 11 4 7 41 36 +5 37
5 Reading U23s 22 10 4 8 38 44 −6 34
6 Southampton U23s 22 10 3 9 41 37 +4 33
7 Fulham U23s 22 9 3 10 38 37 +1 30
8 Norwich City U23s 22 8 6 8 32 33 −1 30
9 Wolverhampton Wanderers U23s 22 8 4 10 30 41 −11 28
10 Newcastle United U23s 22 6 3 13 29 45 −16 21
11 Stoke City U23s 22 6 2 14 31 46 −15 20
12 West Bromwich Albion U23s 22 2 3 17 21 52 −31 9
Updated to match(es) played on 12 May 2018. Source: [2]
(P) Promoted

Results

Home \ Away AST BLB B&H FUL MID NEW NOR REA SOT STO WBA WOL
Aston Villa U23s 0–3 1–0 1–3 4–0 6–0 0–1 3–1 4–0 1–2 3–1 6–1
Blackburn Rovers U23s 0–1 0–2 4–0 1–3 2–0 2–1 2–0 1–0 2–0 2–2 5–1
Brighton & Hove Albion U23s 3–0 2–2 4–2 2–2 0–0 1–1 1–2 1–1 5–1 5–1 1–1
Fulham U23s 2–3 0–1 1–1 1–2 3–0 2–0 2–2 0–2 2–1 3–0 0–3
Middlesbrough U23s 4–1 3–3 0–3 0–2 1–0 4–0 3–4 3–3 2–1 2–1 3–1
Newcastle United U23s 2–0 0–2 0–2 1–1 0–1 2–2 4–1 1–5 0–2 2–0 0–1
Norwich City U23s 1–2 1–1 1–2 0–3 1–0 4–3 2–0 3–0 2–0 1–1 2–1
Reading U23s 3–2 3–5 2–1 2–1 2–3 1–4 2–2 1–1 3–1 2–0 0–0
Southampton U23s 1–4 0–1 0–1 3–4 2–1 6–2 2–1 4–0 3–0 3–2 2–4
Stoke City U23s 1–3 0–1 2–3 4–1 3–2 3–4 1–3 2–3 0–2 4–2 1–0
West Bromwich Albion U23s 1–4 1–4 5–1 2–1 0–1 0–4 0–2 0–2 0–1 1–1 1–2
Wolverhampton Wanderers U23s 0–2 0–3 0–5 1–4 1–1 2–0 4–2 1–2 3–0 1–1 2–0
Source: Premier League 2 Division 2 results
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
Play-offs
Semifinals Final
      
2 Aston Villa U23s 4
5 Reading U23s 3
2 Aston Villa U23s 0
3 Brighton & Hove Albion U23s 2
3 Brighton & Hove Albion U23s 3
4 Middlesbrough U23s 0

Semifinals

Brighton & Hove Albion U23s3–0Middlesbrough U23s
 Report
Attendance: 640
Referee: David Rock
Aston Villa U23s4–3Reading U23s
 Report
Attendance: 1,044
Referee: Joseph Johnson

Final

Aston Villa U23s0–2Brighton & Hove Albion U23s
Report
Attendance: 1,869
Referee: Conor Farrell

Professional Development League

U23 Professional Development League
Season2017–18
ChampionsBolton Wanderers U23s
Matches played313
(310 RS, 3 PO)
Goals scored1,020 (3.26 per match)
(1012 RS, 8 PO)
Top goalscorerConnor Hall Bolton Wanderers U23s (22 Goals)
Biggest home winIpswich Town U23s 6–0 Coventry City U23s
(18 December 2017)
Biggest away winBurnley U23s 0–5 Birmingham City U23s
(15 February 2018)
Nottingham Forest U23s 0–5 Sheffield United U23s
(23 February 2018)
Cardiff City U23s 0–5 Nottingham Forest U23s
(23 April 2018)
Highest scoringBristol City U23s 5–5 Watford U23s
(6 February 2018)
Longest winning run5 Matches Crystal Palace U23s
Longest unbeaten run10 Matches Nottingham Forest U23s
Longest winless run9 Matches Bristol City U23s
Longest losing run5 Matches Burnley U23s

The Professional Development League is the sixth campaign of post-EPPP Under-23 football's second tier, designed for those academies with Category 2 status. A total of 21 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 30 games each in the North Division, and 29 games in the South division.

At the end of the season, the teams finishing in the top two positions of both divisions will meet in the knockout stage to determine the overall league champion. Burnley U23s were officially granted Category Two status in the summer of 2017 and became the league's 21st team.

Tables

North Division

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Bolton Wanderers U23s 30 16 3 11 50 44 +6 51 Qualification for Knock-out stage
2 Nottingham Forest U23s 30 13 11 6 65 50 +15 50
3 Sheffield Wednesday U23s 30 14 8 8 48 39 +9 50
4 Sheffield United U23s 30 14 3 13 50 43 +7 45
5 Hull City U23s 30 14 3 13 47 57 −10 45
6 Leeds United U23s 30 13 5 12 50 46 +4 44
7 Huddersfield Town U23s 30 12 5 13 49 53 −4 41
8 Birmingham City U23s 30 10 8 12 46 42 +4 38
9 Crewe Alexandra U23s 30 10 5 15 38 53 −15 35
10 Burnley U23s 30 10 4 16 33 54 −21 34
11 Barnsley U23s 30 9 6 15 49 55 −6 33
Source: [citation needed]

South Division

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Crystal Palace U23s 29 19 3 7 67 31 +36 60 Qualification for Knock-out stage
2 Charlton Athletic U23s 29 14 6 9 51 39 +12 48
3 Ipswich Town U23s 29 13 5 11 61 49 +12 44
4 Watford U23s 29 11 8 10 56 44 +12 41
5 Coventry City U23s 29 11 6 12 54 60 −6 39
6 Queens Park Rangers U23s 29 11 5 13 54 59 −5 38
7 Colchester United U23s 29 10 7 12 39 48 −9 37
8 Millwall U23s 29 9 10 10 28 38 −10 37
9 Cardiff City U23s 29 10 5 14 38 51 −13 35
10 Bristol City U23s 29 5 8 16 39 57 −18 23
Source: [citation needed]

Knock-out stage

Semi-finals

Bolton Wanderers U23s3–1Charlton Athletic U23s
 Report
Attendance: 329
Crystal Palace U23s0–1 (a.e.t.)Nottingham Forest U23s

Final

Nottingham Forest U23s1–2Bolton Wanderers U23s
 Report
Attendance: 1,200
Referee: Scott Simpson

See also

References

  1. ^ "PREMIER LEAGUE 2 DIVISION ONE". Soccerway. Retrieved 1 August 2017.
  2. ^ "PREMIER LEAGUE 2 DIVISION TWO". Soccerway. Retrieved 1 August 2017.