The Premier League is Set for a Record Card Count

We are on course to see a record number of cards in a Premier League season, eclipsing the total set in the previous campaign. 

Scott Thornton has highlighted the games in which bettors can take advantage ahead of matchday 25 with card-happy referees taking centre stage. 

Odds courtesy of bet365. Correct at time of publishing and subject to change.

The Premier League is Hunting La Liga’s Card’s Crown

Last season, there were 1602 yellow cards handed out, 196 more than any other Premier League campaign. Referees handed out an average of 4.53 cards per game, including red cards. The refs have clamped down on dissent and time-wasting in recent years and it has certainly been a contributing factor to the soaring card count. The five sub-rule also means managers can take off more players who are on a yellow. Whatever the reasoning, the trend is showing no signs of slowing down.

There has been an average of 4.61 cards per game in this Premier League campaign so far. There are five team’s matches that average five cards or more and their contribution has helped ensure that England’s top flight sees more bookings than most of Europe’s top leagues. Ligue 1 sees an average of 4.37 cards per game. This number climbs to 4.40 in the Bundesliga and Serie A sees just 4.28 cards per game.

La Liga matches have historically seen more cards than Premier League games and that has continued to ring true. There has been an average of 5.06 cards per game in the top tier of Spanish football this season.

Ones To Watch

Brighton vs Chelsea

Chelsea matches have seen the most cards in the Premier League with an average of 5.79 per game. They face a familiar foe in Brighton this weekend, a team that dumped them out of the FA Cup in their previous match. The Blues’ away matches in the Premier League have seen an average of 6.25 cards this season with their opponents averaging 3.50.

Brighton matches also see plenty of cards with an average of 4.96 per game. This increases to 5.36 in their league outings at the Amex Arena. The teams picked up two cards a piece when they met in the FA Cup last weekend but referees are less lenient in the league. Therefore, we are backing over four cards in the match and over one card for Brighton here. This bet has won in all three league meetings between these sides since the start of last season. 

Southampton vs Bournemouth

This is another game that looks primed for cards. Southampton are hurtling towards the Championship but the number of cautions they’ve received shows they are keen to go down fighting. The Saints are the most-carded team in the Premier League with an average of 3.12 per game. There were seven cards when they squared off against Bournemouth earlier in the season.

The Cherries’ matches see plenty of cards with an average of 5.25, the third most in the division. Andoni Iraola is keen for his team to be aggressive off the ball and this has resulted in his side making the most fouls in the league. There were five cards as they beat Everton in the FA Cup last weekend. Their most recent Premier League match on the road saw seven cards so over 4.5 appeals here. 

Fulham vs Nottingham Forest

Both of these teams have been in the headlines for all the right reasons this season but their matches also see plenty of cards. Fulham’s league matches have seen an average of 4.75 cards per game. There were eight cards as they beat Newcastle in their last league outing. The reverse fixture against Forest saw six cards. 

Nottingham Forest’s league matches have seen an average of 5.33 cards, only Chelsea games have seen more in the Premier League. This number rises to 6.17 if we only use the data from their away games. 

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