Yellow alert in Barcelona vs Sevilla
The Catalans have a few figures at risk depending on what occurs
This Sunday's Barça vs Sevilla clash at Camp Nou (21.00 CET) has added danger for Xavi Hernandez's side as several of their players are one yellow card away from a one-match suspension.
Barça are not among the teams that commit the most fouls in the league championship. They are seventeenth in the ranking with 229 infringements (12.05 per game). It is far from the figure of the most sanctioned team, Real Sociedad. The Txuri Urdin have had 313 fouls called against them (16.57 per game).
That does not mean that some of their players are among the most cautioned in the competition. Gavi, for example, has fouled 46 times, one less than Sevilla's Erik Lamela (47). Third is Espanyol midfielder Vinicius (44).
In any case, Xavi Hernandez will have to bear in mind, when it comes to the line-up for the next few games, that Gavi has already been cautioned four times. Therefore, the Blaugrana midfielder would receive a one-match suspension if he is given another a yellow card.
Three other first-team players are in the same situation. Captain Sergio Busquets, after receiving a double caution in the Barça-Rayo 0-0 draw on the first day of La Liga, has accumulated another four yellow cards.
Uruguayan Ronald Araujo also has four cautions and, like his team-mates, will have to be careful when defending against opposing attackers to avoid being punished.
The fourth in contention is French striker Ousmane Dembélé, although in his case it is not an urgent matter at the moment as, unfortunately, he is on the sidelines following the muscle injury he suffered against Girona.
Of course, Xavi will not only have to watch out for the impulsiveness of his players. Xavi has also seen four yellow cards so far (Athletic Club and Espanyol at Spotify Camp Nou, Osasuna at El Sadar and Girona at Montilivi) and is one match away from a one-match ban.
If sanctioned, the azulgrana coach would not be able to take his place on the bench and would be forced to follow the match from the stands. An added difficulty when it comes to managing the team and, above all, giving last-minute instructions during the match in play.
