Which FPL players are suspended or nearing a ban?

In this regular article, we look at the Fantasy Premier League (FPL) players who are a caution away from a one-match ban.

We also round up which FPL assets are already suspended ahead of Gameweek 20.

A reminder: punishments for yellow card accumulation are competition-specific, whereas suspensions for dismissals cover all competitive matches.

We’ll update this article again after Chelsea’s two Double Gameweek 19 fixtures.

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.

Following the wave of postponements in the autumn and fixture rearrangements over the World Cup break, that is no longer Gameweek 19 for most teams.

The above will change if there are any further rearrangements of the postponed fixtures before that.

CURRENTLY SUSPENDED

As you’re probably all too aware now, Aleksandar Mitrovic (£7.2m) will miss the second match of Fulham’s Double Gameweek 19 after picking up his fifth yellow card of the season in the win over Leicester City.

He’s not flagged in FPL, of course, because he’s free to play in Gameweek 20, and the flags always (or should) reflect availability for the next deadline.

Adam Smith (£4.4m) is the only player currently banned for Gameweek 20, having collected his fifth booking of the season in midweek.

ON FOUR YELLOW CARDS

A total of 27 players are currently on the verge of suspension.

Kieran Trippier (£6.0m), Bukayo Saka (£8.1m), William Saliba (£5.3m), Harry Kane (£11.6m) and Fabian Schar (£5.0m) are the most notable names from an FPL perspective, each of whom is owned by more than 10% of managers.

Trippier and Schar will be in the clear if they avoid a booking against Fulham in Newcastle United’s next league game, while Saka and Saliba have to dodge a yellow card in both Gameweeks 20 and 21 if they are to swerve a one-game ban.

Spurs have played 18 league matches already this season, so their 19th game will fall in the first of their two Double Gameweek fixtures. We could have a Mitrovic situation, then, with Kane picking up a caution in the north London derby and then sitting out the clash with Manchester City!

The only players on three yellow cards who can still get a one-match ban are those playing for Arsenal, Manchester City, Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool, Brighton and Hove Albion, Crystal Palace or Leeds United, as everyone else has contested 18 games already.

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.