No joy last week with the two selections but it’s back to the anytime card market this weekend with three picks. Explanations below.
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Matt Ritchie – Newcastle v Watford (Sat, 1500) – 4/1 (Sky Bet)
Already booked three times in nine appearances this season, Ritchie is set for a busy afternoon here against in-form Watford, who prefer to attack down his side of the pitch. The right midfielder is sure to be forced to track back given Roberto Pereyra is red hot at the moment, while behind him Jose Holebas will surely be hopeful of a return to the team having assisted four goals already this term thanks to his storming runs and crossing ability. That makes 4/1 about Ritchie picking up another card very tempting, especially given the vociferous home crowd will be demanding all-action performances given they have yet to see their team win a game this season.
Referee: Craig Pawson – Averaging a league-high 4.43 yellow cards per game so far this season, a considerable rise on last season’s figure of 3.38, which still put him in the top half of the refs’ table for cards. Physical Watford should ensure the cards come out here, with Newcastle needing to match them in the battle given their current predicament.
Yerry Mina – Everton v Brighton (Sat, 1500) – 7/2 (bet365)
After an injury-hit start to his Everton career, the Colombian World Cup star may finally get his debut in this match. Plenty will be backing him to score given the threat he posed in Russia (he scored three times and is 21/2 with sportingbet to net at anytime in this one) but he’s also worth considering in the ‘to be carded’ market. First of all, he’s not played since the World Cup and he’s about to be thrust in the rough-and-tumble of the Premier League, having to deal with Glenn Murray, the man who leads the league for fouls made by a distance. In addition, Mina has always been prone to a card or two in his career so far. He made just four La Liga starts for Barcelona but was booked in two of them. Prior to that, he collected six cards in 22 games for Palmeiras. The season before, his figures in South America were six in 23. bet365’s 7/2 quote looks worth snapping up – if Mina does start. He may not, so I advise waiting for the team news before placing the bet.
Referee: David Coote – This is a man I’ve mentioned before. He’s new to the top flight and has booked three players in each of his two matches this season – below his previous average. Maybe he’s trying to tone things down but two games is a very small sample and it’s usually wise to consider the broader picture. With these two teams being pretty physical, the cards could well come out.
Cedric Soares – Manchester City v Southampton (Sun, 1500) – 7/2 (Unibet, 888Sport)
Cedric is another player who should be posed plenty of problems this weekend given the position in which he plays. The Saints right-back will likely take on Benjamin Mendy and either Leroy Sane or Raheem Sterling on Sunday – City have been double-pronged down the left all season so far with stats showing 41 per cent of their attacking play comes down that side, compared with 33 down the right. In addition, City lead the league by a distance in terms of the amount of time spent in the attacking third – 35 per cent. Chelsea are second in that list with 31. With Southampton having failed to score in their last five games, this looks like being a real backs-to-the-wall job for the visitors with Cedric likely to have to stop players by foul means at some point. He’s already been booked three times this season, one of those being for a foul on livewire Eden Hazard, so 7/2 looks worth a go.
Referee: Lee Mason – Admittedly one of the worst refs for awarding cards last season but he’s certainly upped the ante this term, averaging 3.8 in the league in his five games – the third highest in the division. Among those cards shown was one for Cedric at Everton earlier this season. It’s still a fairly small sample but offers enough encouragement for me to still be playing at the price.