You may have noticed in recent days that the Suspension Tightrope widget on our homepage has been relaunched for the 2022/23 season.
This table keeps track of which Fantasy Premier League (FPL) players are racking up the yellow cards and how close they are to a one-match ban.
There’s nothing to worry about for the vast majority of FPL managers just yet, with just one player – Bournemouth defender Adam Smith (£4.4m) – on four cautions.
So this introductory article is instead more of a guide as to when the cut-off dates are for suspensions and how many bookings our players have to avoid in order to dodge a ban.
WHEN ARE THE CUT-OFF POINTS FOR SUSPENSIONS?
The table above is taken from the Football Association website and details the cut-off points for the various yellow card thresholds.
The one we’re concerned about right now is the five-caution mark, an unwanted target that Premier League players will have to avoid for their team’s first 19 league matches of the season.
That’ll be Gameweek 19 in most cases but of course any postponements, whether they be weather-related or Covid-enforced, would change the situation.
Punishments for yellow card accumulation are competition-specific, whereas suspensions for dismissals cover all competitive matches.
ON FOUR/THREE YELLOW CARDS
Smith has impressively managed to receive four bookings in as many matches, so now has to get through Bournemouth’s next 15 fixtures unscathed if he is to avoid a ban.
The Cherries’ right-back and three others on three yellow cards all have FPL ownerships of less than 0.3% but Fabian Schar (£4.7m) is a notable name above, as he sits in 8.1% of teams and lies joint-ninth among Fantasy defenders for points.
The dubious accolade of most fouls committed in the Premier League goes to Kai Havertz (£7.8m), whose 12 offences have led to two cautions.
Keep your eyes peeled on our Suspension Tightrope widget over the coming weeks and months, as we’ll be updating that after every Gameweek to keep you informed on the latest disciplinary developments.
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