Who is at risk of being banned? The condition of play with yellow cards before to Town’s run-in

Who is at risk of getting banned? The state of play with yellow cards before to Town’s run-in

That’s because the Blues have received 88 bookings since the start of the season, more than any other team in the Championship.

The laws governing suspensions and their cut-off points can be complex, so Alex Jones has examined the state of play moving into the final stretch.

Town’s captain then collected his 10th booking of the season in a goalless draw against Stoke City on New Year’s Day, putting him out of games against Sunderland and Leicester City in January.

He presently has 12 cautions, more than any other player in the division, putting him in a hazardous position. If he receives three more bookings before the conclusion of the season, he will face a three-match suspension.

And if the 15-card limit is reached on matchdays 44, 45, or 46 of the regular season, he could miss one, two, or all three play-off games.

Yellow cards acquired during the play-offs do not count against the season total, therefore, for example, if  Morsy was on 14 and booked during a first-leg tie; he would not be punished for the second leg and a possible trip to Wembley.

Of course, Massimo Luongo, like any other player, is still at risk of receiving 15 yellow cards before the end of the season, but it’s difficult to imagine him being cautioned seven times in the following 12 games.

The Australian will be more concerned about making 10 bookings, which he must avoid by matchday 37. Ipswich will play away to Cardiff City on March 9.

He has eight for the season so far, therefore he can only get one in the following three games.

The Blues travel to Plymouth Argyle this weekend before playing Bristol City next Tuesday. If he can complete 90 minutes in South Wales with nine or less cards, he should be good for the remainder of the season.

Interestingly, Lewis Travis has received only one yellow card since joining Ipswich in January. That came in a 1-1 draw away to Leicester, bringing his season total to eight.

That’s because he received seven bookings in 20 games for Blackburn Rovers during the first half of the season, putting him in the same position as Luongo.

Travis has made only three starts and two cameos since going to Suffolk. Morsy and Luongo appear to be the first-choice partnership, and Jack Taylor can’t be far away from returning to duty after a quad injury, so the 26-year-old should have no trouble avoiding two bookings by the end of the Cardiff away game.

Barring a major disaster, no one else is at risk of receiving too many yellow cards.

Harry Clarke and Wes Burns both have six, while Brandon Williams, Conor Chaplin, and Luke Woolfenden each have five. None of them can get ten bookings before the deadline, and it would take a complete disciplinary breakdown for any of them to reach fifteen before the season ends.

Morsy, Luongo, and Travis appear to be the only three players at risk heading into the final few weeks.