The Cards Column Tips: MD4 Player Cards, Team Bookings and Referee Data

This week’s Cards Column gives you the latest referee appointments in the Premier League and Football League from Friday through to Sunday.
Plus, there are three of our best bets from across the card markets – looking at players, team cards and booking points.

Let’s get to it.

• Sheffield Utd vs Everton: Both Teams Over 2.5 Cards
• Plymouth vs Blackburn: Harry Pickering To Be Booked
• Sunderland vs Southampton: 30+ Southampton Booking Points

Odds via bet365 and Skybet as at 18:00, 31st August 2023. Odds may now differ.

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The Data from the Premier League and the Championship: Team Bookings and Referee Data

Both Madley brothers have Premier League games, with Andy at Bramall Lane on Saturday lunchtime (more on him later) and Bobby taking charge of Brentford’s home game with Bournemouth. Anthony Taylor has the biggest top-flight game of the weekend as Arsenal and Man Utd renew their rivalry.

In the Championship, Ollie Langford has a Wales v England battle as Swansea welcomes Bristol City to the Liberty Stadium. Dean Whitestone is the man in control of a Yorkshire derby between Leeds and Sheffield Wednesday.

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The Data from League One and League Two: Team Bookings and Referee Data

There’s a Lancashire derby between Blackpool and Wigan that sees Select Group 2 official Anthony Backhouse in charge. Two pre-season promotion favourites, Bolton and Derby, collide at the Toughsheet with Charles Breakspear with the whistle – he showed his first red card in the EFL Cup in midweek.

National List newbie Scott Simpson is an eye-catching appointment to Forest Green v Sutton – his two league games this season have seen him average 7.5 cards per 90. Martin Woods, however, is at the other end of the spectrum, showing eight cards across his three games.

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Sheffield Utd vs Everton: The Battle of Bramall Lane, 2023

England, Premier League, Saturday, September 2nd, 12:30 (UK)

16th March 2002: The Battle of Bramall Lane took place as Sheffield United hosted West Brom in a game that went down in the annals after the Blades had three sent-off before injuries saw the game abandoned.

2nd September 2023: The Battle of Bramall Lane II – Could Everton’s visit to South Yorkshire see some sort of repeat? I reckon it could!

This lunchtime clash sees two pointless sides looking to record their first league wins of the season and, in Everton’s case, looking to score their first league goal.

So, given the desperate nature of both sides, it could be a busy afternoon for Andy Madley. The whistler takes charge of his third top-flight game this season, having already shown 17 yellows and a red.

Madley’s two league middles have seen card splits of 4-4 and 6-6, with those games averaging 27 fouls per 90. They are quite staggering numbers for a ref who averaged 3.5 yellows per game last season!

So far this term, the Blades have seen 3+ cards in all three Premier League games, including four cautions in their home defeat against Man City last weekend.

Meanwhile, Everton’s last two games have seen them receive three or more cards. The Toffees saw four yellows in their dismantling at Villa Park – three of which came in the first half, including Jordan Pickford for his antics at the penalty.

We know Sean Dyche’s sides are no-nonsense, while Sheff Utd are averaging 12.7 fouls per 90 this season. With a referee in Andy Madley who has laid down the law quite strongly, expect him to reach into his pocket on plenty of occasions in this “six-pointer”.

• Selection: Both teams Over 2.5 Cards
• Best Odds: 3.75
• Bookmaker: bet365
• Stake: 5/10

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Harry Pickering To Be Booked: Pick Whittaker to run Rings around Harry

England, Championship, Saturday, September 2nd, 15:00 (UK)

Blackburn’s trip to Plymouth marks the player angle for this week’s Cards Column. Rovers were winners on the road at Watford last weekend, and Jon Dahl Thomasan’s side will be looking to follow up with the long trip to Devon.

Callum Brittain stepped into the left-back role with Harry Pickering suspended, but I’m expecting the Danish head coach to bring Pickering straight back into the position as his first choice.
If that’s the case, then the 5/1 on Pickering to see a card looks huge, especially after he saw red against Hull on August 19th.

And I had this game earmarked for cards after looking at the players who win fouls in the Championship. Plymouth trio Joe Edwards (10), Bali Mumba, and Morgan Whittaker (9) are all ranked highly, so expect the home side to win plenty of free kicks.

Looking back over the Pilgrims games so far this season, I’ve started to see a trend emerging. Their last two games have seen opposition left-backs enter the referee’s notebook.

Two weeks ago, it was Southampton’s Ryan Manning who upended Whittaker. Last week, Birmingham’s Lee Buchanan suffered a similar fate for a foul on the same Plymouth man.

With that being noticeable and the number of fouls Whittaker wins, the Blackburn full-backs could be kept busy. And it’s worth saying that referee Stephen Martin returned to action in League One last weekend, dishing out eight yellows, showing he’s willing to show them when necessary.

Rovers have injuries within their defence, which could see Pickering recalled. And he isn’t the quickest, so this is an area that Plymouth and Whittaker will look to exploit.

Feel free to wait until team news is out, but whoever starts at left-back could find that they have their hands full. At the prices during the week, though, Pickering is a standout price.

• Selection: Harry Pickering to be Booked
• Best Odds: 6.00
• Bookmaker: bet365
• Stake: 5/10

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Sunderland vs Southampton: The Saints are sinners

England, Championship, Saturday, September 2nd, 12:30 (UK)

Another of the lunchtime games – this time in the Championship – takes prominence in this week’s column.

A lot has been made of Russell Martin’s style of play in the fledging days of his managerial career. But one thing is for sure – this Southampton team is no-nonsense.

The Saints have picked up 19 yellows – more than any other side in the second tier – and that trend can continue at the Stadium of Light.

Southampton averages 47.5 booking points per game so far, so I couldn’t resist diving into those markets on Sky Bet.

30+ Southampton booking points is priced up at 5/4, which looks quite generous on the basis that it’s copped in all four Championship games this term. The Saints have picked up 40 bp in three of their games, as well as 70 in their home game with Norwich.

Select Group 1 ref David Coote will lead the teams out, and his last Premier League game saw him send off Arsenal’s Takehiro Tomiyasu as the Gunners – the away side in that match – picked up 45 booking points.

Coote did take charge of one Saints game in the top flight last season. February’s 1-0 win against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge saw nine cards, six going to those in red and white, meaning it was 60 booking points to Southampton.

Bet365 offer an alternative of over 2 Southampton cards, but that is priced at 5/6, which makes this booking points angle more appealing.

And given that the Saints have hit the 40+ booking points line in all four games, it’s worth stating that that market is priced at 3/1 with Sky Bet, too.

• Selection: Southampton 30+ Booking Points
• Best Odds: 2.25
• Bookmaker: SkyBet
• Stake: 7/10

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