In the Suspension Tightrope, we look at the players close to a ban, already suspended or returning from the naughty step in Gameweek 12.
HOW MANY BOOKINGS RESULT IN A BAN – AND WHEN ARE THE CUT-OFF POINTS?
We’ve taken the above table from the Football Association website. It details the cut-off points for the various yellow card thresholds.
The one we’re concerned about right now is the five-caution mark. This is an unwanted target that Premier League players will have to avoid for their team’s first 19 league matches of the season.
Punishments for yellow card accumulation are competition-specific, whereas suspensions for dismissals cover all competitive matches.
ON FOUR YELLOW CARDS
There are a whopping eight new additions to the 14-strong list.
Fantasy managers won’t lose much sleep over defensive midfielders Carlos Baleba (£4.7m) and Tim Iroegbunam (£4.9m) joining this select group.
Lesser-owned full-backs Patrick Dorgu (£4.3m) and Alex Jimenez (£4.5m) were also cautioned for the fourth time this season at the weekend.
But there are some legitimate FPL targets elsewhere who are newly perched precariously on the ‘tightrope’.
Conor Bradley (£5.0m) and – especially – Dominik Szoboszlai (£6.6m) will be attracting some interest due to Liverpool’s favourable fixture swing. Szoboszlai is the sixth-most-bought midfielder of Gameweek 12.
Above the Hungarian international for transfers in is the DefCon-accumulating, corner-taking Granit Xhaka (£5.1m). He’s also now on four bookings after Gameweek 11.
Cristian Romero (£5.0m) is our final new entry.
ON THREE YELLOW CARDS
There are 34 others who have a bit more breathing space on three yellow cards.
We didn’t have too many notable new entries in Gameweek 11.
Mohammed Kudus (£6.5m), Jack Grealish (£6.8m), Marcos Senesi (£5.0m), Riccardo Calafiori (£5.8m) and Daniel Munoz (£5.7m) all have double-digit ownerships but were already on three bookings before the weekend.
So too was the in-form Igor Thiago (£6.3m).
SUSPENDED IN GAMEWEEK 12
Lucas Paqueta (£5.9m) and Sasa Lukic (£5.0m) both picked up their fifth bookings of the season on Saturday. They’ll now serve a one-match ban in Gameweek 12.
So too will Dan Burn (£5.2m), sent off for two bookable offences in Newcastle United’s latest loss on the road.
Suspension Tightrope fans will know that there’s one other permanent resident on the ban list.
It is, of course, Mykhailo Mudryk (£5.0m), who was provisionally banned by the Football Association last December.
BACK FROM A BAN IN GAMEWEEK 12
Emmanuel Agbadou (£4.3m) returns after the international break for what will very likely be Rob Edwards’ first match in charge at Molineux.
Agbadou served a one-match ban in Gameweek 11 after his dismissal for the denial of a clear goalscoring opportunity the previous week.
