Those who keep an eye on the Suspension Tightrope widget on our homepage will be aware that the yellow cards are steadily racking up for several Premier League players.
Ahead of the busy December schedule that will already provide rotation headaches, this is a good time to take stock of the disciplinary situation around the top flight, particularly as there are 23 Fantasy Premier League assets (FPL) who are now just one booking away from a ban.
The yellow card amnesty is not until after the completion of a team’s 19th league fixture (more on that later), after which the threshold moves up from five to ten bookings.
Those FPL players who are already sitting on three and especially four cautions still have some time before they are in the clear, then.
CURRENTLY SUSPENDED
Burnley duo James Tarkowski (£4.9m) and Ashley Westwood (£5.3m) were supposed to be back for Gameweek 14 but the postponement of Sunday’s match against Spurs means their suspensions will instead take place against Wolves on Wednesday, both back in time for Newcastle United (a) in Gameweek 15.
Also returning for that match will be Magpies pair Jamaal Lascelles (£4.4m) and Matt Ritchie (£4.9m), after both picked up their fifth yellow cards of the season during the 2-0 defeat at Arsenal. Manchester City’s Aymeric Laporte (£5.5m) did the same against West Ham United, whilst Ruben Neves (£5.3m) will be absent for his side’s match with Burnley.
Still banned is Mason Holgate (£4.2m), sitting out his third and final match as a result of being dismissed for serious foul play in Gameweek 12.
ON FOUR YELLOW CARDS
Without a doubt, the player that brings the most concern is Joao Cancelo (£6.7m), considering his ownership has shot up to 35.9% after gaining over two million managers since Gameweek 6. Then priced at just £6.0m, his clean sheets, assists and bonuses have made him one of the most popular FPL assets around but the attacking full-back may soon be forced to miss his first match of the season.
Also of interest is Newcastle’s Callum Wilson (£7.4m) and Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes (£11.6m), with even those cheap options who are relied upon as steady substitutes on the verge of unavailability. That refers to Josh Brownhill (£4.4m), Joel Veltman (£4.3m), Shane Duffy (£4.3m) and Mathias Normann (£4.5m).
ON THREE YELLOW CARDS
It’s not yet time for concern if you are an owner of Raphinha (£6.7m), Cristiano Ronaldo (£12.4m) or Conor Gallagher (£6.1m), although it’s worth keeping an eye on whether they pick up a fourth booking in upcoming games. Other Crystal Palace attackers like Christian Benteke (£6.4m) and Wilfried Zaha (£7.0m) are also on three, as are Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (£9.9m) and Bernardo Silva (£7.3m).
Abdoulaye Doucoure (£5.4m) lost most of his owners whilst recently injured but could soon miss out again if he picks up two more cautions. Again, there are benchwarmers who may not be around when you eventually need them; names like Brandon Williams (£3.9m), Douglas Luiz (£4.5m) and Yves Bissouma (£4.4m).
WHEN ARE THE CUT-OFF POINTS FOR SUSPENSIONS?
As mentioned in the introduction, the yellow card threshold is raised to ten after a team’s 19th league fixture. That means following the completion of Gameweek 19 for all clubs bar Tottenham Hotspur and Burnley, whose 19th match of the campaign will now fall in Gameweek 20 following yesterday’s postponement.
Naturally, if there are any further postponements between now and Boxing Day, whether they be weather-related or Covid-enforced, that would affect the above.
The threshold for ten yellow cards is after 32 league matches, which will be April at the earliest.
Players collecting ten bookings before that point will serve a two-game ban.
Punishments for yellow card accumulation are competition-specific, whereas suspensions for dismissals cover all competitive matches.
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