As we enter the final week in which the accumulation of 10 yellow cards will deliver a ban, the roll call of players still sweating has reduced to just seven (eight if you include Paul Scholes, who in the unlikely scenario of him playing tonight – and the less unlikely scenario of him being booked if he does – will join the merry band). First up, however, a summary of those already unfortunate to have fallen foul of the officials this fun filled weekend.
Despite pulling off an ingenius tackle on James Morrison using only his back in the win at West Brom, Per Mertesacker was given his marching order for a less (more?) graceful challenge in the area on Shane Long. This denial of a goalscoring opportunity not only cost the Gunners a goal (the penalty dispatched by Morrison) but also the towering German’s services for the first fixture of the Gameweek 33 Emirates double header at home to Norwich. The single-match ban means he’ll be available for the second game against Everton, though, throwing further spanners at those thinking of investing in the Gunners’ backline; Arsene Wenger looks likely to call on Mertesacker’s services to deal with the aerial ability of Marouane Fellaini for the visitors.
Similarly absent in Gameweek 33 (and also for the following couple of fixtures) is QPR striker Bobby Zamora, whose karate kick to the head of Jordi Gomez earned him an early bath in the first half of Sunday’s six pointer versus Wigan. Harry Redknapp has been quick to praise Zamora’s importance to his side’s chances in the run in, but his subsequent three-match ban, coupled with this failure to win, may take the remains of any wind from their sails.
Last but not least on the ban list from the weekend is Sunderland’s penalty taker Craig Gardner. His penchant for a booking (perhaps picked up from teammate Lee Cattermole) means he has clocked up double figures for the campaign with a game to spare and those 10 yellows earn him an immediate two-match ban taking in the Tyne-Wear derby in Gameweek 33 and the visit of Everton a week later. Spot-kick duties presumably falling to Seb Larsson or Stéphane Sessègnon in his absence.
Returning from their enforced rests, and primed for double Gameweek investment, Everton pair Marouane Fellainiand Steven Pienaar are firmly back on the radar ahead of a home clash with QPR and trip to Arsenal. At 7.4 and 6.6 in Fantasy Premier League (FPL) respectively, they fall nicely in the mid-priced bracket and with only 6.5 priced Leon Osman for company as consistent Fantasy performers in the Merseysiders’ midfield, it will be difficult to pass at least one of them up.
Finally, as alluded to earlier, the numbers have been dwindling as fast as the games in recent weeks but we still have seven players about the tightrope, just one booking from a two-match ban. The full list sits, as always, in the sidebar widget to the right and those of you who frequent this area of the site will know well those placed upon it.
The new name this week is Stoke captain Ryan Shawcross, who graduated from the eight yellow undercard to the main tightrope stage this week and joins the irrepressible Luis Suárez, along with Villa’s weekend goalscorer Matt Lowton, Stéphane Mbia, David Luiz, and the lesser owned pair of James Perch and Gary Caldwell.
Elsewhere, both Steve Sidwell and Youssouf Mulumbu remain on the sidelines due to three-match bans. Sidwell misses Fulham’s double Gameweek 33 clashes with Villa and Chelsea before returning for the Gameweek 34 home fixture with Arsenal; as West Brom do not have a fixture this weekend, Mulumbu will miss the Gameweek 34 and 35 showdowns with Newcastle and Southampton, to return in time for Gameweek 36.
