Nottingham Forest star risks missing Leeds United clash due to Premier League suspension rule
Leeds United face Nottingham Forest at the City Ground in under two week's time.
Nottingham Forest defender Neco Williams is walking the Premier League suspension tightrope ahead of next month’s meeting with Leeds United.
Daniel Farke’s side head to the City Ground on Sunday November 9 in what looks set to be an important bottom-of-the-table clash. Leeds are currently 15th in the Premier League, three places and six points clear of Forest following Friday’s 2-1 win at home to West Ham.
Forest, meanwhile, are in the relegation zone and onto their third manager of the season already. Having sacked Nuno Espirito Santo in September, they took one point from five Premier League games under Ange Postecoglou, who was relieved of his duties earlier this month. Sean Dyche lost his first game in charge 2-0 at Bournemouth on Sunday.
Left-back Williams avoided a yellow card for the second straight league game at Bournemouth but after picking up four bookings in his first seven appearances, he is one away from a ban. Premier League rules state that any player who accumulates five yellow cards within their team’s first 19 games is to receive a one-match suspension.
Forest’s next game is at home to Manchester United on Saturday, a fixture Williams is almost certain to start. The 24-year-old has been ever-present in all nine Premier League fixtures so far, even with the regular change of manager, as one of just three outfielders to play all 810 minutes.
But Williams could be forced to sit out next month’s visit of Leeds to the City Ground if he is booked against Manchester United this weekend. The Welsh international is Forest’s only player currently on four yellow cards, and is therefore the only squad member at risk of missing that fixture through suspension - unless someone is sent off on Saturday, of course.
Are any Leeds United players close to suspension?
After nine weeks of action, Leeds aren’t yet close to losing anyone through suspension. Noah Okafor, Jayden Bogle and Ethan Ampadu each have two bookings to their name at around the halfway point towards that 19-game cut off, while a raft of players have just one yellow card.
While things can change quickly, at the current rate Farke will not lose anyone to a five-yellow card ban before that cut off, which arrives when they face Liverpool at Anfield on December 30. And it is something the Whites boss has given thought to in previous campaigns, having been asked about it during his first season at Elland Road.
"It's one of my values,” he said in December 2023. “We always want to show class and style in the way we behave. I don't want any unnecessary sending offs or yellow cards or suspensions because it makes your life not easier.
“If you have to play after a sending off, or yellow-red card, it's not just two or three per cent, it's a major problem. We want to stay disciplined. I want my players to be smart. We know we have to be there sometimes with a little tactical foul. So far so good. Hopefully it won't happen in the next game."