After Liverpool and Everton belatedly reached the halfway stage of their seasons in Gameweek 20, every Premier League team has now contested 19 top-flight fixtures.
And if you’re a reader of these Suspension Tightrope articles, you’ll know that’s a significant milestone.
It means that everyone still on four bookings is no longer at risk of a suspension, should they now pick up a fifth.
As for what happens next, we’ll cover the key details in the article below.
WHEN ARE THE CUT-OFF POINTS FOR SUSPENSIONS?
The table above is from the Football Association website and details the cut-off points for the various yellow card thresholds.
With five cautions no longer the danger zone, the next target players have to avoid is 10. Anyone racking up that many yellow cards before their club has contested 32 fixtures will get a two-match ban.
And your usual reminder: punishments for yellow card accumulation are competition-specific. Suspensions for dismissals cover all competitive matches.
WHICH PLAYERS SERVE SUSPENSIONS IN GAMEWEEK 21?
Seven players from across the two Merseyside clubs had to avoid picking up their fifth bookings of 2024/25 in Gameweek 20 – and six of them managed it.
Darwin Nunez (£7.0m) didn’t: he’ll sit out Gameweek 21 as a result.
With no one else red carded at the weekend, Mykhailo Mudryk (£6.2m) is the only other played still banned. He remains provisionally suspended by the Football Association after returning a positive drugs test.
WHO IS BACK FROM A BAN IN GAMEWEEK 21?
Jurrien Timber (£5.7m), Morgan Rogers (£5.5m), Fabian Schar (£5.4m), Matheus Fernandes (£5.0m) and Rodrigo Bentancur (£4.9m) will all return in Gameweek 21.
They served one-match bans for yellow card accumulation at the weekend.
Away from the yellow card count, Matheus Cunha (£7.0m) and Jhon Duran (£5.8m) are scheduled to return in Gameweek 21. They’ll complete their respective suspensions after the FA Cup third round next weekend.
Duran could face a fresh ban, however, as the FA have charged him with improper conduct.
THE RACE TO 10 YELLOW CARDS
So, the race to 10. Boubacary Soumare (£4.4m) is leading the above table, although he still has two cautions to go.
Bench fodder Taylor Harwood-Bellis (£4.1m) is the only name with a noteworthy FPL ownership figure. Sitting in 8% of squads, he’s owned by more managers than the six combative midfielders above combined.
Keep your eyes peeled on our Suspension Tightrope widget (which can be found on the sidebar of the home page) over the coming weeks and months. We’ll be updating that after every Gameweek to keep you informed on the latest disciplinary developments.
