Arne Slot could be worrying about five Liverpool players ahead of the upcoming matches against West Ham and Manchester United. Although Liverpool are comfortably at the top of the Premier League despite dealing with injuries this season, the team could face another issue due to player suspensions.
Alexis Mac Allister is currently suspended for the draw against Fulham after accumulating five yellow cards, and Dominik Szoboszlai will miss the match against West Ham for the same reason. This leaves five other players at risk of a suspension if they receive a yellow card in either of the next two games.
Liverpool’s next two matches will take them to 19 Premier League games, and a player who earns five yellow cards by that point faces a one-match suspension. If a player accumulates 10 yellow cards by the 32nd match, the suspension increases to two games. A total of 15 yellow cards results in a three-match ban.
Currently, Cody Gakpo, Darwin Nunez, Ryan Gravenberch, and Ibrahima Konate are all on four yellow cards. Konate will miss the West Ham match due to injury, but any yellow card for the others in these two games would see them banned for the January 5th clash with Manchester United. Trent Alexander-Arnold, with three yellow cards, also faces a suspension if booked in either of these fixtures.
While Liverpool has managed to cope with key player absences this season, it would be frustrating for them to face Manchester United in early January with key players suspended. The team will be hoping that none of the players at risk are booked in the next two matches, with the suspension amnesty kicking in after the game against Ruben Amorim’s side next week.
If Liverpool holds a strong lead against West Ham, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the players with yellow card concerns substituted early to avoid suspensions for the Manchester United match.
