We are only seven games into the new Premier League season, but Crystal Palace midfielder Luka Milivojevic is the first player to pick up five bookings this campaign, and he will miss the Eagles trip to the London Stadium to face West Ham United on Saturday evening.
Watford’s Jose Holebas, Bournemouth’s Jefferson Lerma and Arsenal’s Granit Xhaka are teetering on the edge of suspension having bagged four cautions in their opening seven matches, and here at The Betting Directory, it got us thinking which players top the charts for the lowest ratio of Premier League games per yellow cards.
Based on a decent sample size of 38 games (one full Premier League season), we have found out that the aforementioned Holebas tops the Premier League all-time chart for least games per yellow card, as the Hornets defender has picked up a yellow card every 2.72 games.
39 yellow cards in 106 Premier League appearances, Holebas’ combative style will always have him walking a tightrope and potentially etching his name into the referee’s book, and Unibet are offering 2/1 for Holebas to be shown a card in Saturday’s home clash with Sheffield United.
Having officiated in four Premier League games this season, Andre Marriner will take charge at Vicarage Road at the weekend and he has dished out nine yellow cards already this season, but he failed to go to his pocket in his last game between Liverpool and Newcastle United, so Holebas will be hoping that he can avoid his fifth booking this season, but at 2/1 with Unibet bookmakers then punters could snap up that eye-catching price.
Only three players in Premier League history have accumulated a yellow card at an average of under three games per caution and as well as Holebas it’s Bournemouth midfielder Harry Arter, who is currently on loan at Championship side Fulham, (1 every 2.84 games) and former Derby County and West Ham United defender Igor Stimac (1 every 2.86 games).
Unsurprisingly, there are a host of recognisable names that were somewhat synonymous with picking up a booking with regularity and Lee Cattermole (1 every 3.08 games), Joey Barton (1 every 3.45 games) and Robbie Savage (1 every 3.89 games) are just a trio of those names that often found themselves missing games through bookings accumulation.
Of the handful of players that are still performing in the Premier League then it’s Southampton’s Oriol Romeu that is second on the list with one yellow card per 3.49 games and he is 2/1 with Unibet bookmakers to be shown a card during the Saints home game with Chelsea at the weekend.
With Milivojevic (1 in every 3.52 games) banned for Palace’s weekend game, then it’s only the abovementioned Xhaka that will feature this weekend and the Swiss international is 12/5 with Unibet to be shown a card during Arsenal’s home game with Bournemouth on Sunday afternoon.