The end of the 2022/23 Premier League season is fast approaching with Tottenham now only having 11 league games left to play. In a good position to achieve another Champions League finish, Spurs' recent cup exits could play into their hands, as was the case 12 months ago as they beat Arsenal to fourth place.
As we are now at the business end of the campaign, with title hopes, European aspirations and relegation on the line, there is a key date in the calendar coming up that all clubs will be looking to pass without any hitches. It is in regards to players picking up a suspension at such an important time in the term.
Having already passed the cut-off point for players earning a one-match ban if they obtain five yellow cards from their team's first 19 games of the Premier League season, the next hurdle they need to navigate is coming up. Premier League rules stipulate that players who accumulate ten yellow cards in Premier League matches up to and including their team's 32nd fixture will serve a two-match ban in the competition.
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Not exactly an ideal scenario for many, a number of players including Ivan Toney, Ruben Neves and Moises Caicedo are walking the disciplinary tightrope at present. So how do things looks for Tottenham with five games to go until they have played their 32nd league fixture of the campaign?
Tottenham do have one player very close to ten yellow cards for the season having already picked up eight cautions. However, there is no danger of an upcoming suspension as Rodrigo Bentancur, who had to serve a one-match ban for five yellows on Boxing Day at Brentford, is out for the remainder of the campaign through injury.
Next in line on five yellow cards is Yves Bissouma, who is also in the same boat as Bentancur at present as he is in the treatment room and it's not clear as to when he will be ready to return to first-team action. Cristian Romero also finds himself on five yellows after his recent spate of bookings since returning from the World Cup.
Only picking up one caution in the Premier League in the first part of the season, the Argentine has since found himself in the referee's notebook in the games against Aston Villa, Arsenal, Man City and Fulham, with the 24-year-old seeing red for two yellows in the return game against City at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
In order to pick up a two-match suspension, which would come against Manchester United and Liverpool in late April, Romero would have to be booked in each of Tottenham's next five games. Spurs do have four players on four yellow cards as things stand but the quartet cannot now accumulate the ten yellow cards that would see them incur a two-match ban.
Harry Kane, Ivan Perisic, Ryan Sessegnon and Oliver Skipp are the players on four bookings and the only way they would face an upcoming suspension is if they see red in the weeks ahead.
With a Champions League place up for grabs, Antonio Conte needs all of his players available if the Lilywhites are to get the better of Newcastle United, Liverpool and Brighton & Hove Albion in the race for fourth.
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