Arsenal Are the Cleanest Team in the Premier League in Terms of Yellow and Red Cards

As we approach the halfway stage of the season, we take a look at the Premier League fair play table up to this point.

Much has been made about the standard of refereeing in the Premier League this season; perhaps not in terms of disciplinary, but nevertheless the officials continue to dominate the post-match chatter just as much as the on-field action.

PGMOL (Professional Game Match Officials Limited), the refereeing body in charge of overseeing the Premier League, insisted they would take a no-nonsense approach to time-wasting and unsportsmanlike behaviour prior to the season’s start.

These draconian laws have also extended to the sidelines, with Erik Ten Hag and Pep Guardiola already being forced to watch from the stands after an accumulation of cards. Just last week, Mikel Arteta was flagged up for ‘excessive celebrating’ at Kenilworth Road, whatever that entails.

Which Team Has the Most Yellow Cards in the Premier League?

Given rock-bottom Sheffield United have the second-lowest average possession stats in the Premier League, it is no surprise to see them rank at the top of the yellow card stats with 50 – yes 50 – in just 17 games. That averages out at just under three yellow cards per-game.

They are closely followed by Brighton and Chelsea with 48 and 47 respectively, while title-chasing Aston Villa and Tottenham complete the top five.

At the other end of the spectrum, total control appears to be the aim of the game for three of the Premier League’s top four, with Arsenal (21), Liverpool (29) and Manchester City (30) collecting the least cautions so far.

In total, there have been 750 yellow cards issued by officials in 17 gameweeks, which averages out at little over 44 cards per-round. That may be a useful fact when digging across Premier League betting sites this festive period.

Which Team Has the Most Red Cards in the Premier League?

So far, only two teams have remained unscathed without a sending off; Newcastle and Luton Town. Not sure there’s anything to read into there, other than the former probably can’t afford any more players to be ruled out, given their injury-plagued season.

As for the top-flight’s most ill-disciplined sides, Liverpool have more than made up for their lack of yellow cards with a spate of reds (4). That tally is matched only by Tottenham, with Yves Bissouma making up half of those.

Burnley, Fulham, Wolves and Chelsea follow having collected three red cards each.

Earlier this month we revealed that this season’s red card total was just three off last year’s overall tally (30) – this has since been surpassed by another seven, and with 20 gameweeks still left to play, it would come as no surprise to see that number reach the highs of the early 2010’s.

Premier League Fair Play Table 2023/24

Using a booking point system – one point for a yellow, three points for double yellow-red card and five for a straight red – see the full Premier League fair play table for 2023/24 so far.