Five Premier League players were booked for the fourth time this season at the weekend – so everyone’s favourite alarmist Fantasy article is back.
Yes, the Suspension Tightrope has been relaunched for the 2024/25 campaign.
In this weekly series, we keep track of which Fantasy Premier League (FPL) players are racking up yellow cards and how close they are to a one-match ban.
We also reveal when the cut-off dates are for suspensions and how many bookings 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. 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
Two members of Chelsea’s backline and three combative midfielders are on the precipice.
Marc Cucurella (£5.0m) is owned by more FPL managers than the other four combined: he sits in 6% of squads.
He’s not a serial fouler like the rest, though: he’s only given away six free-kicks this season. Everyone else on the above table is into double figures.
Joelinton (£6.0m), in fact, has given away more fouls (16) than anyone in the division bar Joao Gomes (£4.9m).
Wesley Fofana (£4.5m) and Sasa Lukic (£4.9m) are on a bit of an unwanted roll. They’ve been booked in each of the last four Gameweeks.
ON THREE YELLOW CARDS
Wolverhampton Wanderers’ Gomes is among a dozen players on three bookings.
Of more pertinence to Fantasy managers is Rayan Ait-Nouri (£4.4m) also being on the same number. He’s a potential target when Wolves’ fixtures turn for the better in Gameweek 9/10.
Dan Burn (£4.4m), who is in 10.6% of FPL squads, is the most popular pick in the above table.
Ruben Dias (£5.5m) and Lisandro Martinez (£4.5m) are in 4% and 5% of Fantasy teams respectively.
The trio of Bournemouth players above could join the five-strong list on four bookings when they face Southampton on Monday night.
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, as we’ll be updating that after every Gameweek to keep you informed on the latest disciplinary developments.
3 hours, 50 mins agoneed semenyo to at least score a goal to save my GW lol
palmer really pack a punch to my rank