2019–20 Sunderland A.F.C. season

The 2019–20 Sunderland A.F.C. season was the club's 141st season in existence, and their second consecutive season in the third tier of English football, after relegation from the Championship in the 2017–18 season. Along with competing in League One, the club participated in the FA Cup and EFL Cup as well as the EFL Trophy. The season covers the period from 1 July 2019 to 30 June 2020. On 3 April, the English Football League decided to postpone all football until safe to do so due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and on 9 June, clubs voted to curtail the season, meaning the final table would be calculated by a points-per-game method with the play-offs being played behind closed doors.^[3]

Sunderland

2019–20 season
Chairman	Stewart Donald
Manager	Jack Ross (until 8 October)[1] Phil Parkinson (from 17 October)[2]
Stadium	Stadium of Light
League One	8th (on PPG)
FA Cup	First round
EFL Cup	Fourth round
EFL Trophy	Group stage
Top goalscorer	League: Chris Maguire (10) All: Chris Maguire (11)
Highest home attendance	33,821 (vs. Bolton Wanderers)
Lowest home attendance	6,952 (vs. Grimsby Town)
Average home league attendance	30,169
Home colours Away colours
← 2018–19 2020–21 →

First team squad

Squad No.	Name	Nationality	Position(s)	Age	Ends	Signed from	Apps	Goals
Goalkeepers
1	Jon McLaughlin		GK	37	2020	Heart of Midlothian	65	0
16	Lee Burge		GK	32	2021	Coventry City	3	0
43	Anthony Patterson		GK	25	2020	Academy	0	0
Defenders
2	Conor McLaughlin		RB	34	2021	Millwall	11	0
3	Joel Lynch		CB	37	2020	Queens Park Rangers	2	0
4	Jordan Willis		CB	30	2021	Coventry City	11	1
5	Alim Öztürk		CB	32	2020	Boluspor	28	0
12	Tom Flanagan		CB	33	2020	Burton Albion	47	2
20	Declan John		LB	30	2020	Swansea City (loan)	0	0
26	Bailey Wright		CB	32	2020	Bristol City (loan)	0	0
33	Denver Hume		LB	27	2021	Academy	21	0
Midfielders
6	Max Power		CM	32	2021	Wigan Athletic	52	6
7	Chris Maguire		RW	36	2020	Bury	54	13
11	Lynden Gooch		AM	29	2022	Academy	100	12
13	Luke O'Nien		CM	30	2020	Wycombe Wanderers	62	6
14	Duncan Watmore		RW	31	2020	Altrincham	66	6
17	Elliot Embleton		CM	26	2021	Academy	8	0
18	George Dobson		CM	27	2022	Walsall	11	0
21	Ethan Robson		CM	28	2020	Academy	14	1
23	Grant Leadbitter		CM	39	2021	Middlesbrough	149	11
28	Josh Scowen		CM	32	2022	Queens Park Rangers	0	0
35	Ruben Sammut		DM	27	2020	Chelsea	0	0
37	Bali Mumba		CM	23	2021	Academy	9	0
Forwards
8	Kyle Lafferty		ST	37	2020	Sarpsborg 08	0	0
9	Charlie Wyke		ST	32	2021	Bradford City	39	7
22	Will Grigg		ST	34	2022	Wigan Athletic	33	5
31	Benjamin Mbunga-Kimpioka		ST	25	2020	IK Sirius	9	2
42	Antoine Semenyo		ST	25	2020	Bristol City (loan)	0	0

Pre-season friendlies

As of 12 June 2019 Sunderland has announced three preseason friendlies against South Shields, Benfica B, and Belenenses.^[4][5]

South Shields v Sunderland

11 July 2019 Friendly	South Shields	0–2	Sunderland	South Shields
19:30 BST		Report	Robson 13' O'Nien 53'	Stadium: Mariners Park

Benfica B v Sunderland

18 July 2019 Friendly	Benfica B	0–0	Sunderland	Albufeira, Portugal
19:30 WEST		Report		Stadium: Estádio Municipal de Albufeira

Belenenses v Sunderland

20 July 2019 Friendly	Belenenses	1–0	Sunderland	Albufeira, Portugal
19:30 BST	Calila 57'	Report		Stadium: Estádio Municipal de Albufeira

Sunderland v Heerenveen

27 July 2019 Friendly	Sunderland	0–1	Heerenveen	Sunderland
19:00 BST		Report	Faik 69'	Stadium: Stadium of Light Attendance: 6,645

Competitions

League One

Main article: 2019–20 EFL League One

League table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	PPG	Promotion, qualification or relegation
4	Oxford United	35	17	9	9	61	37	+24	60	1.71	Qualification for League One play-offs[a]
5	Portsmouth	35	17	9	9	53	36	+17	60	1.71
6	Fleetwood Town	35	16	12	7	51	38	+13	60	1.71
7	Peterborough United	35	17	8	10	68	40	+28	59	1.69
8	Sunderland	36	16	11	9	48	32	+16	59	1.64
9	Doncaster Rovers	34	15	9	10	51	33	+18	54	1.59
10	Gillingham	35	12	15	8	42	34	+8	51	1.46
11	Ipswich Town	36	14	10	12	46	36	+10	52	1.44
12	Burton Albion	35	12	12	11	50	50	0	48	1.37

Source: EFL Official Website
Rules for classification: 1) Points per game; 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^[6]
Notes:

1. Four teams play for one spot and promotion to the EFL Championship.

Result summary

Overall								Home						Away
Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
36	16	11	9	48	32	+16	59	10	8	1	35	13	+22	6	3	8	13	19	−6

Last updated: 10 March 2020.
Source: ^{[citation needed]}

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
Ground	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	H	H	A	H	H	A	A	H	H	A	H	A	A	H	H	A	H	H	A	H	A
Result	D	D	W	W	W	L	W	D	D	W	L	L	W	L	W	D	L	L	D	D	W	D	W	W	W	D	W	L	W	W	W	W	D	L	D	L
Position	13	15	9	6	4	6	5	4	5	5	6	10	8	8	7	10	11	11	12	15	13	13	9	6	6	7	5	7	6	5	5	4	4	5	5	7
Points	1	2	5	8	11	11	14	15	16	19	19	19	22	22	25	26	26	26	27	28	31	32	35	38	41	42	45	45	48	51	54	57	58	58	59	59

Updated to match(es) played on 10 March 2020. Source: BBC Sport
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Matches

On Thursday, 20 June 2019, the EFL League One fixtures were revealed.^[7]

Sunderland v Oxford United

3 August 2019 (2019-08-03) 1	Sunderland	1–1	Oxford United	Sunderland
15:00 BST	Gooch 49' (pen.),  70'	Report	Fosu 14' Mousinho  56' Rodriguez  65' Henry  90+5' Brannagan  90+5'	Stadium: Stadium of Light Attendance: 33,498 Referee: Peter Wright

Ipswich Town v Sunderland

10 August 2019 (2019-08-10) 2	Ipswich Town	1–1	Sunderland	Ipswich
15:00 BST	Jackson  6' Garbutt 15'	Report	Dobson  61' Gooch 64'	Stadium: Portman Road Attendance: 24,051 (1,900 away fans) Referee: Neil Hair

Sunderland v Portsmouth

17 August 2019 (2019-08-17) 3	Sunderland	2–1	Portsmouth	Sunderland
12:30 BST	Willis 27' Maguire 39'  86' McGeady  79'	Report	Harness 22' Burgess  76'	Stadium: Stadium of Light Attendance: 29,140 Referee: Michael Salisbury
Note: Live on Sky Sports

Rochdale v Sunderland

20 August 2019 (2019-08-20) 4	Rochdale	1–2	Sunderland	Rochdale
19:45 BST	Camps 33'	Report	O'Nien  13' McGeady 28' Wyke 56',  67' McLaughlin  66' Leadbitter  77'	Stadium: Portman Road Attendance: 5,258 (3,000 away fans) Referee: John Busby

Sunderland v AFC Wimbledon

24 August 2019 (2019-08-24) 5	Sunderland	3–1	AFC Wimbledon	Sunderland
15:00 BST	Maguire 8', 53', 79' Power  36'	Report	Appiah 34',  66'	Stadium: Stadium of Light Attendance: 29,725 Referee: Anthony Backhouse

Peterborough United v Sunderland

31 August 2019 (2019-08-31) 6	Peterborough United	3–0	Sunderland	Peterborough
15:00 BST	Maddison 36', 64' Toney  51' Knight 52'	Report	C. McLaughlin  30' Wyke  57'  77' O'Nien  71' Power  84' Leadbitter  89'	Stadium: Weston Homes Stadium Attendance: 10,005 (3,200 away fans) Referee: Craig Hicks

Sunderland v Burton Albion

7 September 2019 (2019-09-07)	Sunderland	v	Burton Albion	Sunderland
15:00 BST		Report		Stadium: Stadium of Light
Note: The match was postponed on 28 August 2019, due to international call-ups.[8]

Accrington Stanley v Sunderland

14 September 2019 (2019-09-14) 7	Accrington Stanley	1–3	Sunderland	Accrington
15:00 BST	Clark 5' Alese  83'	Report	Gooch 7' Leadbitter  24' McGeady 26' McNulty 36'	Stadium: Crown Ground Attendance: 4,164 (2,600 away fans) Referee: Lee Swabey

Sunderland v Rotherham United

17 September 2019 (2019-09-17) 8	Sunderland	1–1	Rotherham United	Sunderland
19:45 BST	McNulty 1' Dobson  30' C. McLaughlin  41' McGeady  78'	Report	Hastie 66'	Stadium: Stadium of Light Attendance: 29,078 Referee: Ben Toner

Bolton Wanderers v Sunderland

21 September 2019 (2019-09-21) 9	Bolton Wanderers	1–1	Sunderland	Bolton
15:00 BST	Hobbs 50' Chicksen  56' Buckley  80'	Report	Hume  16' McGeady  23', 90+2' (pen.) Power  86' Flanagan  90+3'	Stadium: University of Bolton Stadium Attendance: 12,026 (5,000 away fans) Referee: Ollie Yates

Sunderland v Milton Keynes Dons

28 September 2019 (2019-09-28) 10	Sunderland	2–1	Milton Keynes Dons	Sunderland
15:00 BST	O'Nien  13', 28' Power 24',  45+1' Maguire  52'	Report	Kasumu  45+1' Williams 55' Martin  65' Lewington  90'	Stadium: Stadium of Light Attendance: 29,954 Referee: Paul Marsden

Lincoln City v Sunderland

5 October 2019 (2019-10-05) 11	Lincoln City	2–0	Sunderland	Lincoln
15:00 BST	J. McLaughlin 18' (o.g.) Shackell  28' Andrade  45+1' Walker 59' Morrell  71'	Report	Maguire  12' Lynch  26' C. McLaughlin  42' McGeady  90+1' Wyke  90+5'	Stadium: Sincil Bank Attendance: 10,264 (2,000 away fans) Referee: Brett Huxtable

Sunderland v Fleetwood Town

12 October 2019 (2019-10-12)	Sunderland	v	Fleetwood Town	Sunderland
15:00 BST		Report		Stadium: Stadium of Light
Note: On 2 October 2019, the match was postponed due to international call-ups.[9]

Wycombe Wanderers v Sunderland

19 October 2019 (2019-10-19) 12	Wycombe Wanderers	1–0	Sunderland	High Wycombe
15:00 BST	Charles 29' Wheeler  90+1'	Report	McGeady  82'	Stadium: Adams Park Attendance: 8,395 (1,800 away fans) Referee: Kevin Johnson

Sunderland v Tranmere Rovers

21 October 2019 (2019-10-21) 13	Sunderland	5–0	Tranmere Rovers	Sunderland
17:45 BST	Dobson  10' Watmore 24' Maguire 26' Gooch 39' Grigg 83' O'Nien 90'		Ray  25' Payne  40'	Stadium: Stadium of Light Attendance: 28,551 Referee: Carl Boyeson

Shrewsbury Town v Sunderland

26 October 2019 (2019-10-26) 14	Shrewsbury Town	1–0	Sunderland	Shrewsbury
15:00 BST	Cummings 22' Norburn  34'	Report	Lynch  34' Dobson  59'	Stadium: Montgomery Waters Meadow Attendance: 8,117 (1,800 away fans) Referee: Jarred Gillett

Sunderland v Southend United

2 November 2019 (2019-11-02) 15	Sunderland	1–0	Southend United	Sunderland
15:00 GMT	O'Nien 20' C. McLaughlin  84' O'Nien  90+1'		Hopper  73'	Stadium: Stadium of Light Attendance: 30,407 Referee: Trevor Kettle

Bristol Rovers v Sunderland

16 November 2019 (2019-11-16) P	Bristol Rovers	v	Sunderland	Horfield
15:00 GMT		Report		Stadium: Memorial Stadium
Note: On 7 November, the match was postponed due to international call-ups.[10]

Sunderland v Coventry City

23 November 2019 (2019-11-23) 16	Sunderland	1–1	Coventry City	Sunderland
15:00 GMT	Mbunga-Kimpioka 90' McGeady  90+4'	Report	Hyam 26' Dabo  78'	Stadium: Stadium of Light Attendance: 29,809 Referee: Scott Oldham

Sunderland v Burton Albion

26 November 2019 (2019-11-26) 17	Sunderland	1–2	Burton Albion	Sunderland
19:45 GMT	McGeady 19' (pen.) Power  29'	Report	Edwards 20' Quinn  50' Sarkic  56' Boyce 68' Daniel  86'	Stadium: Stadium of Light Attendance: 26,538 Referee: Robert Lewis

Gillingham v Sunderland

7 December 2019 (2019-12-07) 18	Gillingham	1–0	Sunderland	Gillingham
15:00 GMT				Stadium: Priestfield Stadium

Sunderland v Blackpool

14 December 2019 (2019-12-14) 19	Sunderland	1–1	Blackpool	Sunderland
15:00 GMT	Wyke 37' Dobson  45+3'  74' Flanagan  59'	Report	Virtue 4' Gnanduillet  45+3' Tilt  82'	Stadium: Stadium of Light Attendance: 30,595 Referee: Ollie Yates

Sunderland v Bolton Wanderers

26 December 2019 (2019-12-26) 20	Sunderland	0–0	Bolton Wanderers	Sunderland
15:00 GMT	Flanagan  44' Hume  89'	Report	Emmanuel  19' Lowe  21' Darcy  64' Bridcutt  81'	Stadium: Stadium of Light Attendance: 33,821 Referee: Ross Joyce

Doncaster Rovers v Sunderland

29 December 2019 (2019-12-29) 21	Doncaster Rovers	1–2	Sunderland	Doncaster
15:00 GMT	Taylor 40' John  74'	Report	Gooch 6'  55' Lynch  34' Maguire 61'  90+1' Ozturk  70'	Stadium: Keepmoat Stadium Attendance: 12,432 (4,100 away fans) Referee: Carl Boyeson

Fleetwood Town v Sunderland

1 January 2020 (2020-01-01) 22	Fleetwood Town	1–1	Sunderland	Fleetwood
15:00 GMT	Evans 13' (pen.) Sowerby  71' Cairns  82'	Report	Willis  65' Dobson  76' Maguire 86' (pen.)	Stadium: Highbury Stadium Attendance: 4,011 (1,100 away fans) Referee: Anthony Backhouse

Sunderland v Lincoln City

4 January 2020 (2020-01-04) 23	Sunderland	3–1	Lincoln City	Sunderland
15:00 GMT	Flanagan 19' Bostwick 23' (o.g.) Gooch 29' O'Nien  88'	Report	Hesketh  60' Walker 66'	Stadium: Stadium of Light Attendance: 31,748 Referee: Leigh Doughty

Sunderland v Wycombe Wanderers

11 January 2020 (2020-01-11) 24	Sunderland	4–0	Wycombe Wanderers	Sunderland
15:00 GMT	Wyke 6' Hume 16' Maguire 21' (pen.), 78'  21' Lynch  71'	Report	Stewart  20'	Stadium: Stadium of Light Attendance: 29,331 Referee: Andy Davies

Milton Keynes Dons v Sunderland

18 January 2020 (2020-01-18) 25	Milton Keynes Dons	0–1	Sunderland	Denbigh
15:00 GMT	Kasumu  18' Healey  89'	Report	Dobson  26' Öztürk  68' Gooch 79'  80' Maguire  90+5'	Stadium: Stadium MK Attendance: 13,327 (4,500 away fans) Referee: Ben Toner

Sunderland v Doncaster Rovers

24 January 2020 (2020-01-24) 26	Sunderland	0–0	Doncaster Rovers	Sunderland
19:45 GMT	Wyke  42' Öztürk  73'	Report	Halliday  66'	Stadium: Stadium of Light Attendance: 30,251 Referee: James Adcock

Tranmere Rovers v Sunderland

29 January 2020 (2020-01-29) 27	Tranmere Rovers	0–1	Sunderland	Birkenhead
19:45 GMT	Monthé  74'  84' Wilson  77' Jennings  90'	Report	Dobson  24' Lynch  48' Wyke 60' Maguire  88'	Stadium: Prenton Park Attendance: 6,850 (1,500 away fans) Referee: Antony Coggins

Portsmouth v Sunderland

1 February 2020 (2020-02-01) 28	Portsmouth	2–0	Sunderland	Milton
15:00 GMT	Burgess 25' Seddon  45+1' Bolton 52' Raggett  71'	Report	Gooch  45+1' Dobson  70' Semenyo  90+1'	Stadium: Fratton Park Attendance: 18,531 (2,200 away fans) Referee: Chris Sarginson

Sunderland v Ipswich Town

8 February 2020 (2020-02-08) 29	Sunderland	1–0	Ipswich Town	Sunderland
15:00 GMT	O'Nien  21' Flanagan  75' Maguire 81'	Report	Downes  23' Chambers  54'	Stadium: Stadium of Light Attendance: 32,726 Referee: Jeremy Simpson

Sunderland v Rochdale

11 February 2020 (2020-02-11) 30	Sunderland	3–0	Rochdale	Sunderland
19:45 GMT	Gooch 11' O'Connell (o.g.) 15' Gooch 32'	Report	Henderson  24'	Stadium: Stadium of Light Attendance: 27,401 Referee: Graham Salisbury

Oxford United v Sunderland

15 February 2020 (2020-02-15) 31	Oxford United	0–1	Sunderland	Oxford
15:00 GMT	Brannagan  90+2'	Report	Willis 2'	Stadium: Kassam Stadium Attendance: 9,105 (1,800 away fans) Referee: Kevin Johnson

Sunderland v Bristol Rovers

22 February 2020 (2020-02-22) 32	Sunderland	3–0	Bristol Rovers	Sunderland
15:00 GMT	Gooch  31' 71' Ozturk  58' Wyke 73' O'Nien 82'	Report	Leahy  8' Craig  55' Ogogo  59'	Stadium: Stadium of Light Attendance: 31,541 Referee: Ben Toner

Sunderland v Fleetwood Town

25 February 2020 (2020-02-25) 33	Sunderland	1–1	Fleetwood Town	Sunderland
19:45 GMT	Power  14' 90+7' Ozturk  53'	Report	McKay 5' Madden  78' Coyle  80'	Stadium: Stadium of Light Attendance: 28,255 Referee: Scott Oldham

Coventry City v Sunderland

1 March 2020 (2020-03-01) 34	Coventry City	1–0	Sunderland	Bordesley
12:00 GMT	Godden 2' Maroši  31'	Report		Stadium: St Andrew's Trillion Trophy Stadium Attendance: 10,055 (3,500 away fans) Referee: Michael Salisbury

Sunderland v Gillingham

7 March 2020 (2020-03-07) 35	Sunderland	2–2	Gillingham	Sunderland
15:00 GMT	Öztürk  42' Lafferty 64', 83'	Report	Graham  42' Roberts  43' O'Keefe  44' Mandron 74', 90+6'	Stadium: Stadium of Light Attendance: 29,872 Referee: Antony Coggins

Bristol Rovers v Sunderland

10 March 2020 (2020-03-10) 36	Bristol Rovers	2–0	Sunderland	Horfield
19:45 GMT	Leahy  30' Clarke-Harris 39', 75' (pen.) Hargreaves  45+1' Clarke  68'	Report	Lafferty  38' Öztürk  42' Flanagan  45+6'	Stadium: Memorial Stadium Attendance: 7,281 (1,500 away fans) Referee: Charles Breakspear

Blackpool v Sunderland

14 March 2020 (2020-03-14)	Blackpool	v	Sunderland	Blackpool
15:00 GMT				Stadium: Bloomfield Road
Note: Season was suspended until 3 April 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[11]

Southend United v Sunderland

28 March 2020 (2020-03-28)	Southend United	v	Sunderland	Southend-on-Sea
15:00 GMT				Stadium: Roots Hall
Note: Season was suspended until 3 April 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[11]

Sunderland v Shrewsbury Town

4 April 2020 (2020-04-04)	Sunderland	v	Shrewsbury Town	Sunderland
15:00 GMT				Stadium: Stadium of Light
Note: On 3 April, the English Football League decided to postpone all football until safe to do so due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[12]

AFC Wimbledon v Sunderland

10 April 2020 (2020-04-10)	AFC Wimbledon	v	Sunderland	Norbiton
15:00 BST				Stadium: Cherry Red Records Stadium
Note: On 3 April, the English Football League decided to postpone all football until safe to do so due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[12]

Sunderland v Peterborough United

13 April 2020 (2020-04-13)	Sunderland	v	Peterborough United	Sunderland
13:00 BST				Stadium: Stadium of Light
Note: On 3 April, the English Football League decided to postpone all football until safe to do so due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[12]

Burton Albion v Sunderland

18 April 2020 (2020-04-18)	Burton Albion	v	Sunderland	Burton upon Trent
15:00 BST				Stadium: Pirelli Stadium
Note: On 3 April, the English Football League decided to postpone all football until safe to do so due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[12]

Sunderland v Accrington Stanley

25 April 2020 (2020-04-25)	Sunderland	v	Accrington Stanley	Sunderland
15:00 BST				Stadium: Stadium of Light
Note: On 3 April, the English Football League decided to postpone all football until safe to do so due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[12]

Rotherham United v Sunderland

3 May 2020 (2020-05-03)	Rotherham United	v	Sunderland	Rotherham
15:00 BST				Stadium: AESSEAL New York Stadium
Note: On 3 April, the English Football League decided to postpone all football until safe to do so due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[12]

FA Cup

Main article: 2019–20 FA Cup

The first round draw was made on 21 October 2019.^[13]

Sunderland v Gillingham

9 November 2019 (2019-11-09) First round	Sunderland	1–1	Gillingham	Sunderland
13:00 GMT	McGeady 15' Willis  42' O'Nien  90+2'	Report	Hanlan  29' Lee 46'	Stadium: Stadium of Light Attendance: 7,892 Referee: Michael Salisbury

Gillingham v Sunderland

19 November 2019 (2019-11-19) First round replay	Gillingham	1–0 (a.e.t.)	Sunderland	Gillingham
19:45 GMT	Ehmer  45+1' Hanlan 105'	Report	De Bock  55' O'Nien  85' Connelly  117'	Stadium: Priestfield Stadium Attendance: 3,561 Referee: Alan Young

EFL Cup

Main article: 2019–20 EFL Cup

The first round draw was made on 20 June.^[14] The second round draw was made on 13 August 2019 following the conclusion of all but one first-round matches.^[15] The third round draw was confirmed on 28 August 2019, live on Sky Sports.^[16] The draw for the fourth round was made on 25 September 2019.^[17]

Accrington Stanley v Sunderland

13 August 2019 (2019-08-13) First round	Accrington Stanley	1–3	Sunderland	Accrington
19:45 BST	J. Maguire  53' Barclay  58' Bishop 61'	Report	McNulty 17' C. Maguire  51' McGeady 79' Wyke 90+4'	Stadium: Wham Stadium Attendance: 2,343 Referee: Darren Drysdale

Burnley v Sunderland

28 August 2019 (2019-08-28) Second round	Burnley	1–3	Sunderland	Burnley
19:45 BST	Rodriguez 11'	Report	Grigg 35' Flanagan 47' Dobson 50'	Stadium: Turf Moor Attendance: 7,445 Referee: Darren England

Sheffield United v Sunderland

25 September 2019 (2019-09-25) Third round	Sheffield United	0–1	Sunderland	Sheffield
19:45 BST	Fleck  77'	Report	Power 9' Maguire  90'	Stadium: Bramall Lane Attendance: 11,675 Referee: Tim Robinson

Oxford United v Sunderland

29 October 2019 (2019-10-29) Fourth round	Oxford United	1–1 (4–2 p)	Sunderland	Oxford
19:45 GMT	Hall 25'	Report	McNulty 78'	Stadium: Kassam Stadium Attendance: 11,108 Referee: Steve Martin
	Penalties
	Henry Forde Fosu Mousinho		Power O'Nien Grigg McNulty

EFL Trophy

Main article: 2019–20 EFL Trophy

On 9 July 2019, the pre-determined group stage draw was announced with Invited clubs to be drawn on 12 July 2019.^[18]

Group A

Pos	Div	Team v t e	Pld	W	PW	PL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	ACA	Leicester City U21	3	2	1	0	0	5	3	+2	8	Advance to Round 2
2	L2	Scunthorpe United	3	2	0	1	0	6	2	+4	7
3	L1	Sunderland	3	1	0	0	2	4	7	−3	3
4	L2	Grimsby Town	3	0	0	0	3	4	7	−3	0

Source: EFL.com

Sunderland v Grimsby Town

8 October 2019 (2019-10-08) Group Game 1	Sunderland	3–2	Grimsby Town	Sunderland
19:45 BST	Watmore 68' Dobson  70' McNulty 79' Grigg 86'	Report	Green 59' Ogbu 81'	Stadium: Stadium of Light Attendance: 6,952 Referee: Steve Martin

Sunderland v Leicester City U21

5 November 2019 (2019-11-05) Group Game 2	Sunderland	1–2	Leicester City U21	Sunderland
19:45 BST	Maguire 14' Leadbitter  45+1' McLaughlin  49'	Report	Hirst 50' (pen.)  78' Dewsbury-Hall 53' Benković  75'	Stadium: Stadium of Light Attendance: 7,649 Referee: Ross Joyce

Scunthorpe United v Sunderland

12 November 2019 (2019-11-12) Group Game 3	Scunthorpe United	3–0	Sunderland	Scunthorpe
19:45 GMT	Novak 66' (pen.), 90+1' Eisa 88'	Report	O'Nien  65'	Stadium: Glanford Park

Squad statistics

Top scorers

As of 16 February 2020

Rnk	Pos	No.	Player	League One	FA Cup	EFL Cup	EFL Trophy	Total
1	MF	7	Chris Maguire	10	0	0	1	11
2	MF	11	Lynden Gooch	9	0	0	0	9
3	MF	19	Aiden McGeady	4	1	1	0	6
4	FW	9	Charlie Wyke	4	0	1	0	5
	FW	10	Marc McNulty	2	0	2	1	5
5	MF	13	Luke O'Nien	3	0	0	0	3
	FW	22	Will Grigg	1	0	1	1	3
6	MF	6	Max Power	1	0	1	0	2
	DF	12	Tom Flanagan	1	0	1	0	2
	MF	14	Duncan Watmore	1	0	0	1	2
7	DF	4	Jordan Willis	1	0	0	0	1
	MF	18	George Dobson	0	0	1	0	1
	FW	31	Benjamin Mbunga-Kimpioka	1	0	0	0	1
	DF	33	Denver Hume	1	0	0	0	1
Total				37	1	8	5	51

Appearances and goals

As of 5 February 2020

No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Total		League One		FA Cup		EFL Cup		EFL Trophy
				Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
1	GK	SCO	Jon McLaughlin	27	0	23+1	0	1	0	1	0	1	0
2	DF	NIR	Conor McLaughlin	20	0	12+2	0	1	0	4	0	1	0
3	DF	WAL	Joel Lynch	20	0	14+1	0	1	0	2	0	2	0
4	DF	ENG	Jordan Willis	32	1	27	1	1	0	2	0	1+1	0
5	DF	TUR	Alim Öztürk	19	0	15+1	0	1	0	1	0	1	0
6	MF	ENG	Max Power	30	2	22+1	1	2	0	3+1	1	1	0
7	MF	SCO	Chris Maguire	33	10	20+7	9	2	0	2	0	1+1	1
8	FW	NIR	Kyle Lafferty	3	0	0+3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
9	FW	ENG	Charlie Wyke	23	5	16+4	4	0	0	1+2	1	0	0
11	MF	USA	Lynden Gooch	25	8	21+1	8	0	0	2	0	0+1	0
12	DF	NIR	Tom Flanagan	14	2	8+2	1	0	0	3	1	1	0
13	MF	ENG	Luke O'Nien	35	3	27	3	2	0	3+1	0	2	0
14	MF	ENG	Duncan Watmore	19	2	6+8	1	1+1	0	0	0	3	1
16	GK	ENG	Lee Burge	11	0	5	0	1	0	3	0	2	0
17	MF	ENG	Elliot Embleton	5	0	1+2	0	0	0	2	0	0	0
18	MF	ENG	George Dobson	29	1	19+3	0	1	0	2+2	1	2	0
20	DF	WAL	Declan John	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
21	MF	ENG	Ethan Robson	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
22	FW	NIR	Will Grigg	26	3	8+11	1	2	0	2+1	1	1+1	1
23	MF	ENG	Grant Leadbitter	20	0	11+3	0	1	0	2	0	3	0
26	DF	AUS	Bailey Wright	2	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
28	MF	ENG	Josh Scowen	1	0	0+1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
29	MF	SCO	Cieran Dunne	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
30	DF	ENG	Jack Bainbridge	1	0	0	0	0+1	0	0	0	0	0
31	FW	SWE	Benjamin Mbunga-Kimpioka	5	1	0+4	1	0	0	0	0	1	0
32	GK	ALG	Ahmed Abdelkader	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
33	DF	ENG	Denver Hume	30	1	22+2	1	1	0	2+1	0	2	0
35	MF	SCO	Ruben Sammut	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
37	MF	ENG	Bali Mumba	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
39	FW	ENG	Jack Diamond	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
40	DF	ENG	Brandon Taylor	2	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	0
41	FW	SCO	Lee Connelly	2	0	0	0	0+1	0	0	0	0+1	0
42	FW	ENG	Antoine Semenyo	1	0	0+1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
43	GK	ENG	Anthony Patterson	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
44	FW	ENG	Cole Kiernan	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0+1	0
45	MF	ENG	Daniel Neil	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Players who have played for Sunderland this season but are currently out on loan:
15	DF	ENG	Jack Baldwin	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0
19	MF	IRL	Aiden McGeady	21	6	13+2	4	1+1	1	1+1	1	1+1	0
Players who have played for Sunderland this season but have left the club:
8	MF	SCO	Dylan McGeouch	12	0	5+3	0	0+1	0	2	0	1	0
10	FW	SCO	Marc McNulty	21	4	7+8	2	0+1	0	2	2	3	0
28	DF	BEL	Laurens De Bock	10	0	4+1	0	2	0	1	0	1+1	0

Disciplinary record

As of 5 February 2020

No.	Pos.	Name	League One			FA Cup			EFL Cup			EFL Trophy			Total
2	DF	Conor McLaughlin	5									1			6
3	DF	Joel Lynch	5												4
4	DF	Jordan Willis	1			1						1			3
5	DF	Alim Öztürk	4												2
6	MF	Max Power	5									1			6
7	MF	Chris Maguire	7						2						7
9	FW	Charlie Wyke	4												3
11	MF	Lynden Gooch	5												3
12	DF	Tom Flanagan	4												4
13	MF	Luke O'Nien	4		1									1	4		2
18	MF	George Dobson	9									1			7
19	MF	Aiden McGeady	6												6
23	MF	Grant Leadbitter	3									1			4
28	DF	Laurens De Bock				1									1
33	DF	Denver Hume	2												2
41	FW	Lee Connelly				1									1
42	FW	Antoine Semenyo	1												1
Total			65	0	1	3	0	0	2	0	0	5	0	1	75	0	2

Transfers

Transfers in

Date from	Position	Nationality	Name	From	Fee	Ref.
1 July 2019	RB		Conor McLaughlin	Millwall	Free	[19]
2 July 2019	GK		Ahmed Abdelkader	ENAD Polis Chrysochous	Free	[20]
3 July 2019	GK		Lee Burge	Coventry City	Free	[21]
4 July 2019	CM		Ruben Sammut	Chelsea	Free	[22]
4 July 2019	CB		Michael Collins	Everton	Free	[22]
13 July 2019	CB		Jordan Willis	Coventry City	Free	[23]
25 July 2019	CM		George Dobson	Walsall	Undisclosed	[24]
23 August 2019	LM		Cieran Dunne	Falkirk	Free	[25]
26 August 2019	CB		Joel Lynch	Queens Park Rangers	Free	[26]
2 September 2019	CM		Nathan Greenwood	Seaham Red Star	Free	[27]
10 January 2020	CF		Kyle Lafferty	Sarpsborg 08	Free	[28]
27 January 2020	CM		Josh Scowen	Queens Park Rangers	Undisclosed	[29]
21 February 2020	CB		Tommy Smith	Colorado Rapids	Free	[30]

Loans in

Date from	Position	Nationality	Name	From	Date until	Ref.
24 July 2019	ST		Marc McNulty	Reading	31 January 2020	[31][32]
2 September 2019	LB		Laurens De Bock	Leeds United	1 January 2020	[33][34][35]
21 January 2020	CB		Bailey Wright	Bristol City	30 June 2020	[36]
31 January 2020	LB		Declan John	Swansea City	30 June 2020	[37]
31 January 2020	LW		Antoine Semenyo	Bristol City	30 June 2020	[38]

Loans out

Date from	Position	Nationality	Name	To	Date until	Ref.
20 August 2019	DM		Jordan Hunter	South Shields	30 June 2020[39]	[40]
22 August 2019	CF		Lee Connelly	South Shields	September 2019	[41]
2 September 2019	CB		Jack Baldwin	Salford City	June 2020	[42]
2 September 2019	CF		Jack Diamond	Harrogate Town	30 June 2020[43]	[44]
2 September 2019	CM		Ethan Robson	Grimsby Town	January 2020	[45]
18 October 2019	CM		Jake Hackett	Whitby Town	4 January 2020[46]	[47]
10 January 2020	CF		Lee Connelly	Alloa Athletic	30 June 2020	[48]
31 January 2020	LW		Aiden McGeady	Charlton Athletic	30 June 2020	[49]
5 March 2020	DM		Bali Mumba	South Shields	30 June 2020	[50]

Transfers out

Date from	Position	Nationality	Name	To	Fee	Ref.
1 July 2019	DM		Lee Cattermole	VVV-Venlo	Mutual consent	[51][52]
1 July 2019	LB		Reece James	Doncaster Rovers	Undisclosed	[53]
1 July 2019	GK		Max Johnstone	St Johnstone	Released	[54][55]
1 July 2019	CB		Lamine Koné	Strasbourg	Undisclosed	[56]
1 July 2019	RB		Adam Matthews	Charlton Athletic	Released	[54][57]
1 July 2019	AM		Luke Molyneux	Hartlepool United	Released	[54][58]
1 July 2019	GK		Robbin Ruiter	PSV Eindhoven	Released	[54][59]
1 July 2019	CF		Connor Shields	Aldershot Town	Released	[54][60]
1 July 2019	CB		Alex Storey	Sunderland RCA	Released	[54][61]
1 July 2019	GK		Max Stryjek	Eastleigh	Released	[54][62]
1 July 2019	CB		Jacob Young	Hoffenheim	Undisclosed	[63]
11 July 2019	RB		Donald Love	Shrewsbury Town	Mutual consent	[64][65]
29 July 2019	LB		Bryan Oviedo	FC Copenhagen	Undisclosed	[66]
2 August 2019	AM		George Honeyman	Hull City	Undisclosed	[67]
17 August 2019	CB		Rayed Derbali	CA Bizertin	Undisclosed	[68]
22 August 2019	CB		Glenn Loovens	Free agent	Released	[69]
7 January 2020	CM		Dylan McGeouch	Aberdeen	Undisclosed	[70]
11 March 2020	LB		Williams Kokolo	Middlesbrough	Free transfer	[71]