Enzo Maresca could be without two key players when Chelsea face Tottenham Hotspur at the weekend. The Lilywhites will host the Blues on Sunday afternoon as they both look to climb the Premier League table in pursuit of Champions League qualification.
In the meantime, Chelsea must play Southampton at St Mary's Stadium on Wednesday night before Spurs lock horns with Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium on Thursday evening. With only five points separating the West Londoners in third from Tottenham in seventh, the derby could prove to be season-defining.
If Nicolas Jackson and Pedro Neto are shown a yellow card beforehand, though, they'll be suspended and miss out on the highly anticipated clash. Due to Premier League rules, players who receive a total of five yellow cards in their first 19 games will be given a one-match suspension.
As it stands, there are 30 players on four cautions – two of which are Chelsea players. If a player is booked 10 times across the first 32 Premier League matches of the season, they will be suspended for two games.
With domestic cup competitions underway, it must be pointed out that yellow cards picked up in the Premier League are not carried over to the Carabao Cup or FA Cup. Marc Cucurella and Wesley Fofana are just two of three players to have been booked more than anybody else this season, with six cautions to their names.
The duo were both given their fifth yellow cards of the campaign against Nottingham Forest in October, missing Chelsea's defeat to Liverpool. Maresca was without key players that could have fired the Blues to victory.
When quizzed on his side's ill-discipline ahead of the clash at Anfield, the Blues boss downplayed any concern and claimed that he's happy to see his players fighting for each other on the pitch. Maresca said: "It’s something we need to improve but overall, I like the team the way they are fighting.
"I like the way they are becoming a team in these kinds of things. I don’t see any problems about that. For sure, there are things that we can control and do better, for sure no doubt, and probably this is one of the things. But if you ask me about the team spirit, the way they are fighting together, the way they are doing things together, I’m very happy."
Jackson and Neto are at risk of missing the Tottenham clash, with four yellow cards under their belt. Meanwhile, there are five Chelsea players currently on three cautions: Moises Caicedo, Levi Colwill, Noni Madueke, Cole Palmer and Robert Sanchez.
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