liverpool.com

Liverpool ace at risk of missing Spurs game because of Premier League rule that could hurt Arne Slot

Alexis Mac Allister will be available when the Merseyside derby is rearranged but that means the Liverpool midfielder will have to sit out this weekend's Premier League clash with Fulham instead.

Having picked up five yellow cards so far this season, Mac Allister became the first of Arne Slot's players to get a one-match ban. He also picked up a suspension in the Champions League, which saw him sit out the 1-0 win in Girona midweek.

But with five more matches to go until Liverpool has played 19 in the top flight, two more players are on the verge of picking up a ban. After 19 matches, the cut-off is reached and players then need to hit 10 yellows for a suspension.

Ryan Gravenberch and Ibrahima Konate are both on four bookings as things stand, though the French center-back is injured and therefore will be missing for the next few games anyway. Should Gravenberch get booked by referee Tony Harrington at Anfield on Saturday, though, he would miss the trip to Tottenham the following weekend.

Unless they are sent off against Fulham, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Cody Gakpo, Darwin Nunez and Dominik Szoboszlai will all be available for the Spurs game but they are each on three yellows. Two more in the next five Premier League matches would see them pick up a one-game ban with fixtures against West Ham, Leicester City and Manchester United coming up.

Liverpool.com says: Losing Mac Allister is a blow but it is better for him to be out when Jones and Szoboszlai are playing relatively well and Harvey Elliott is back available. Being without Gravenberch for Spurs, however, would be a bit more of an issue.

Hopefully he can avoid a booking against Fulham, though he might have to put in a few tackles to stop counter-attacks against Marco Silva's men, who can be a threat. Slot will want to see a lot more control of that than was evident against Girona on Tuesday.

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