The Cards Column Tips: MD5 Player Cards, Team Bookings and Referee Data

After the international break, the Premier League and Championship return on Friday, meaning there’s a full fixture list across the four tiers of English football to get stuck into.

This week’s Cards Column sees the charts make their debut, giving you even more data about the referees in charge of the matches. So, let’s find out which refs are card-happy or aren’t afraid to take on the home crowds.

• Norwich vs Stoke: Over 2.5 Stoke cards
• Aston Villa vs Crystal Palace: Lucas Digne To Be Booked
• Cardiff vs Swansea: Both teams Over 1 Second-Half Card

Odds via bet365 as of 21:00, September 13th 2023. Odds may now differ.

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

The new charts are here with data around home/away cards, as well as first and second-half averages. Rob Jones is the best example, with Nottingham Forest v Burnley on Monday seeing him maintain his 100% appearance rate this season. The away side has seen 2+ cards in all his previous four Premier League outings.

Sam Barrott is an eye-catching appointment to the Welsh derby. Barrott is in his first full season in the Championship, so this will be a real test for him. He’s already shown two reds from four second-tier games this season, while last term’s meetings saw 70 and 85 booking points.

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

Fresh from the Women’s World Cup, Rebecca Welch has her first middle in the EFL this season. She’s at Pride Park for Derby’s game with Portsmouth. And another returning face is fellow Select Group 2 official Andy Davies.

Sunny Gill has a Yorkshire derby between Bradford and Harrogate. All five of his league outings have seen him book two or more home players – so watch out you Bantams! While it’s worth saying that Alan Young brought last season’s form into this with his opening fixture. His return saw four cards with a perfect two each split.

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Norwich vs Stoke: Potters to chip away

England, Championship, Saturday, September 16th, 15:00 (UK)

First up in this week’s column is a trip to Carrow Road, where Norwich entertain Stoke, with both sides looking to return to winning ways after defeats before the international break.

It also sees Alex Neil return to one of his former clubs, and the Scot could be in for a frosty reception after a tumultuous time at the helm of the Canaries.

But one thing can be said of his current Stoke side – they love to rack up the cards. That’s despite plenty of new faces in the summer window.

The Potters rank third in the Championship for fouls (72) and second for yellow cards (18) – only Southampton have seen more cautions.

This season, Stoke have seen card totals of 5, 1, 4, 5 and 3, with this punt landing in four of their five games in the second tier, so it comes with an 80% strike rate.

Last season’s meetings saw Stoke pick up five cards in total, with three coming in a 3-1 defeat here at Carrow Road. Josh Laurent was one of the trio to see yellow that day.

It’s also worth saying that Neil is trying to get his Stoke side to press high in a bid to get on the front foot with turnovers. There’s plenty of snap to their challenges, and that showed when referee Matt Donohue booked Ben Pearson (surprise) within the opening 40-odd seconds in their defeat to Preston before the international break.

Looking at Norwich’s opponents, Hull (5), Southampton (7) and Huddersfield (3) have all hit the required 3+ cards mark, so the Canaries can draw fouls and cards from their opponents, which makes this a solid proposition.

• Selection: Over 2.5 Stoke Cards
• Best Odds: 2.00
• Bookmaker: Bet365
• Stake: 7/10

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Lucas Digne To Be Booked: Lucas the Villain

England, Premier League, Saturday, September 16th, 15:00 (UK)

Crystal Palace travel to the second city to take on Aston Villa, with both sides searching for their third league wins of the campaign. One thing can be said about games involving Villa – goals.

But we’re not interested in those for this column. We’re all about the cards, and this game came onto my radar on Tuesday following the referee appointments.

Let’s start with the man in the middle – Darren England. He’s had two outings in England this season, dishing out 18 cards. Yep, that’s right – 18!

He showed 11 yellows in Southampton’s 4-4 draw with Norwich in the Championship before showing a further seven as Spurs thumped Burnley 5-2 at Turf Moor. England is quite clearly a referee who doesn’t shirk the issue.

So, I thought I’d dig into Villa and Palace to see what I could find. And here’s what soon revealed itself to me.

Eight players have either been cautioned or sent off against the Eagles this season from three of their league games – the draw at Brentford saw a rare blank for cards.

Looking through the offenders and their positions, I noted that two opposing left-backs have found themselves in trouble – Arsenal’s Takehiro Tomiyasu (dismissed for two yellows) and Wolves’ Rayan Ait-Nouri.

Part of the reason behind that is that Jordan Ayew is the most fouled player in the Premier League this season. The Ghanaian has been upended 15 times so far, according to FBRef, and he’s been starting as a right-sided forward, which keeps the focus on left-backs.

Step forward, Lucas Digne. The 30-year-old defender is Ayew’s most likely adversary in this one, and he’s committed seven fouls in the top flight – the second most within the Villa ranks.

So far, so good. It gets better, too! Digne has seen two yellows for those seven fouls. He was booked in the 32nd minute on the opening weekend at Newcastle. He saw yellow in the 33rd minute in their home win over Everton. Plus, he was carded in the first half of their first leg against Hibs in Europa Conference League qualifying.

Digne has committed at least two fouls in three of his four games, which makes you feel he could be a target in this one, especially with Ayew supported by Eberechi Eze down the right flank.

Given all the evidence above, I was surprised to see Bet365 offering 4/1 (5.00) for Digne to enter Darren England’s notebook. And given the timings of his three cards in all competitions being in the first half, the 20/1 on him being the first to see a card looks chunky as well.

• Selection: Lucas Digne to be Booked
• Best Odds: 5.00
• Bookmaker: Bet365
• Stake: 5/10

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Cardiff vs Swansea: Light the blue touchpaper after the break

England, Championship, Saturday, September 16th, 19:45 (UK)

The South Wales derby comes up at a rather unusual slot with a 19:45 kick-off at the Cardiff City Stadium on Saturday night.

With temperatures likely to be quite high off the pitch, expect it to spill over to proceedings on the pitch as Swansea look to win their first league game. The Swans will be buoyed by their recent record against their neighbours – they’ve won each of the last four meetings.

As I mentioned above, Sam Barrott was quite a surprising name to be appointed to this fixture in his debut season as a Select Group 2 referee. He’s dished out plenty of cards, including two reds, while he’s averaging 3.3 cards after the break.

So, that leads me to look towards second-half cards, with both sides seeing plenty in the dying embers of games.

The Swans have seen 11 cards this season, with nine of those coming after the break. While the Bluebirds have had ten second-half cards, which is perfect if you’re a fan of the averages!

Before the international window, Swansea lost 2-1 at home to Bristol City, and that game saw two of the Swans subs booked. If a player is eager to impress or change the game, those sub bookings are always something to note.

Last season’s meetings saw tensions flare. The one at the Liberty saw Callum Robinson sent off inside seven minutes. But that didn’t mean the second-half cards stopped – each team saw three after the break!

While the game here in Cardiff saw seven cards, six in the second 45 with a 2-4 split in that period after the break, so take the second-half trend to continue with Barrott forced to be in the thick of the action.

• Selection: Both Teams over 1.5 Second-Half Card
• Best Odds: 4.00
• Bookmaker: Bet365
• Stake: 5/10

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