West Ham United have two players edging closer to a yellow card suspension ahead of their Boxing Day trip to Arsenal.
Monday will see the Hammers return to Premier League action following an absence of 38 days from competitive fixtures due to the 2022 World Cup, with the Hammers having 23 matches remaining in the current Premier League campaign.
The Hammers are yet to receive any Premier League bans yet, but two players are at risk of picking up a suspension in the coming weeks.
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Germany defender Thilo Kehrer, who featured at the World Cup for his country, has been the Hammers’ most booked player so far this season, picking up four bookings in the Premier League.
After bookings against Brighton and Hove Albion, Chelsea, Fulham and Manchester United, Kehrer has been one booking away from a one-match suspension, which any player in the division would receive if they pick up five bookings before the end of the team’s 19th league game of the season.
After avoiding bookings in both of the recent home defeats to Crystal Palace and Leicester City, Kehrer will be available for selection against Arsenal on Boxing Day.
However, to avoid a ban before the threshold changes, Kehrer needs to go four games without getting booked. Kehrer is at risk of being banned if booked against either Arsenal, Brentford (December 30), Leeds United (January 4) or Wolverhampton Wanderers (January 14). A fifth booking in the 19th game against Wolves would ban players for the meeting with Everton on January 21.
Italian striker Gianluca Scamacca is the other player nearing a ban and must avoid getting booked twice in the next four matches in order to avoid a booking. However, he is currently a doubt for the trip to the Emirates Stadium with an ankle issue. No other Hammers player has been booked more than twice so far this term.
Here is a full list of West Ham players and how many yellow cards they are on heading into a London derby with the Gunners.
Premier League yellow cards -
Thilo Kehrer – 4
Gianluca Scamacca - 3
Aaron Cresswell, Declan Rice, Craig Dawson and Lucas Paqueta – 2
Emerson, Michail Antonio, Tomas Soucek and Vladimir Coufal – 1
Players in the Europa Conference League receive a one-match ban when receiving three yellow cards in the competition.
Centre-back Angelo Ogbonna and central midfielder Flynn Downes have been booked twice so far in the group stage, with many other players getting booked once.
Europa Conference League yellow cards (not including play-off qualifying round) -
Angelo Ogbonna and Flynn Downes – 2
Manuel Lanzini, Vladimir Coufal, Emerson, Gianluca Scamacca, Conor Coventry, Aaron Cresswell, Tomas Soucek, Lucas Paqueta, Ben Johnson, Maxwel Cornet, Divin Mubama, Nayef Aguerd and Ollie Scarles - 1
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