With Premier League matches approaching thick and fast, the risk of suspensions are ramping up as bookings continue to stack up. Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham are among the clubs to have players sitting on the dreaded total of four yellow cards, and they will be hoping to avoid their respective lists of absentees from growing over the weekend.
Table-topping Arsenal only have one player at risk of suspension when they travel to Villa Park on Saturday, with Kai Havertz on the cusp of a one-game ban. In contrast, Aston Villa aren’t short of players at risk, with Matty Cash, Douglas Luiz and Lucas Digne all on four bookings each.
Similarly, United only have a solo suspension risk, captain Bruno Fernandes. The Portuguese playmaker will need to be on his best behaviour against Bournemouth or will be sidelined for next weekend’s trip to Liverpool. Bournemouth defender Marcos Senesi has received four bookings so far this season as well.
Following their crushing defeat to the Red Devils in midweek, Chelsea are likely to be fired up for their trip to Goodison Park to face in-form Everton. However, Mauricio Pochettino will need to ensure Enzo Fernandez and Raheem Sterling do not overstep the mark and end up facing a one-game suspension each. The Toffees have suspension concerns of their own as well, with Jarrad Branthwaite, Abdoulaye Doucouré, Ashley Young and Idrissa Gueye at risk of being unavailable next weekend.
If any of the quartet are booked, they will be ruled out of their trip to Burnley – who could be without Charlie Taylor for the match if he is shown a yellow card against Brighton on Saturday afternoon. Lewis Dunk is also a suspension risk for the Seagulls on his return from his two-match ban.
Meanwhile, Destiny Udogie will need to be on his best behaviour when Tottenham look to get their campaign back on track against Newcastle following a flurry of poor results. The Magpies have Kieran Trippier and Sean Longstaff on four yellow cards each as well, in what looks set to be a feisty encounter between the two European-pushing outfits.
Elsewhere, Crystal Palace’s Jordan Ayew is at risk of a one-game ban when he lines up against Liverpool in this weekend’s early kick-off, with Anel Ahmedhodzic, Jack Robinson and Kristoffer Ajer all on the cusp of a ban during the match between Sheffield United and Brentford. Steve Cooper is fighting for his position as Nottingham Forest manager, and he will need Orel Mangala and Ibrahim Sangare to avoid a yellow card when they take on Wolves at Molineux – who also have Rayan Aït-Nouri and Hwang Hee-Chan both sitting on four bookings.
Fulham defender Antonee Robinson will need to temper his tough-tackling actions when taking on West Ham over the weekend too, with Luton trio Issa Kabore, Marvelous Nakamba and Tom Lockyer all on the cusp of being ruled out of their trip to Bournemouth next weekend.
