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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
Sport
Simon Bajkowski

Man City suspension fears fade after Ruben Dias avoids Brentford ban

Pep Guardiola felt that Ruben Dias wasn't aggressive enough to stop James Maddison for Leicester City's first goal on Boxing Day because he didn't want to get a yellow card.

The Manchester City centre-back played knowing that a booking would rule him out of the trip to Brentford this week, perhaps explaining why he wasn't as full-blooded with his challenge as he usually is.

In better news for the Blues, Dias and others do not have to worry about checking their instincts on the pitch again for a while because the deadline for bookings has been reset. Having completed 19 Premier League games, no player will now be suspended when they reach five yellow cards.

That does not mean City can forget about their discipline for the rest of the season. Any player who gets 10 yellow cards by the end of 32 league games - as it stands, a home game with Liverpool on April 9 - will face a two-match suspension.

Joao Cancelo and Aymeric Laporte have both already clocked up five yellows, Dias, Rodri and Bernardo Silva have four; those five are most at risk of being suspended later in the season.

However, in the immediate future the Blues do not have to worry with the deadline for five yellow cards having passed for them. That means, for example, that if Dias earns a yellow card at Brentford he will still be able to play at Arsenal on New Year's Day.

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