FLASH UPDATE – Nightmare situation for Tottenham as Four KEY Spurs players still face two-match suspension risk ahead of key Premier League date [Full story link in comment]
The end of the 2023/24 Premier League campaign is fast approaching. As things stand, Tottenham are in an excellent position to return to the Champions League following a year away from Europe’s premier competition.
Now just two points behind Aston Villa following their 4-0 triumph at Villa Park on Sunday afternoon, Ange Postecoglou’s team do have a game in hand to come at some point later in the term and that could prove decisive in what remains of the season. Whereas Villa in fourth and the top three of Arsenal, Liverpool and Man City all have European football still on the calendar, Tottenham only have Premier League football to concentrate on between now and the end of May.
Given their lofty aspirations, all Tottenham fans will be hoping luck is on their side in regards to injuries given the rotten luck they endured in the first part of the campaign. A number of suspensions have also hit Spurs hard at times, with midfielder Yves Bissouma having to serve a one-match ban for a red card at Luton Town, a one-match ban for collecting five yellow cards in the team’s first 19 Premier League games and then a four-match suspension following his second dismissal of the season in the win over Nottingham Forest.
Cristian Romero has also missed three matches as a result of his red card in the 4-1 defeat at home to Chelsea in November, with Destiny Udogie also sent off in that showdown and missing one game after receiving two yellow cards against the west London club. The Italian left-back then missed a further game in December after picking up five yellow cards before the 19th game cut-off point and the same happened to Dejan Kulusevski.
Now that we are getting to the business end of the season, another cut-off point is coming up very shortly. As per Premier League rules, any player earning 10 bookings from his side’s first 32 Premier League matches will serve a two-match ban in the same competition.
As Tottenham have another five games to go until they have played their 32nd league match of the season, there is still time for a handful of players to receive a two-match suspension for ten yellow cards. However, Tottenham do look to be in a good position after 27 games to avoid that scenario.
Kulusevski and Pape Matar Sarr are both on six yellow cards as things stand, thus meaning they would each have to receive yellows in four of the next five Premier League matches against Fulham, Luton Town, West Ham, Nottingham Forest and Newcastle United. Bissouma and Udogie, who have already served bans this season, are then next in line on five yellow cards.
As the aforementioned duo have yet to see yellow in the league so far in 2024, something would have to drastically change over the next few weeks for them to receive a two-match ban. Kulusevski and Sarr are the two players most at threat but they would have to obtain yellow cards like they are going out of fashion in the next sequence of fixtures to then miss out later in the campaign through suspension.
Impacted by injury and suspension numerous times in the first part of the campaign, Postecoglou will have his fingers crossed that Tottenham are not hit once again at such a crucial time in the year with Champions League football on the line.
