Alexis Mac Allister is at risk of missing the Merseyside derby later this month through suspension. The Liverpool midfielder was booked in the 3-1 victory over Crystal Palace on Sunday - a game in which he scored the opener - after a late scuffle with Jefferson Lerma that saw both players square up before having to be separated.
The yellow card was Mac Allister's sixth of the season in all competitions, having been booked in each of Liverpool's last three matches, with four of those cautions coming in the Premier League.
Premier League suspension threshold
Any player who earns five bookings from their side's first 19 matches in the English top-flight must serve a one-game ban. As a result, the Argentine now has to successfully navigate the Reds' next nine league games without being shown a yellow card if he is to avoid a suspension.
Given he has been booked four times in 10 matches in the English top-flight, such a feat seems rather unlikely. Consequently, the first game Mac Allister could end up missing through suspension is Liverpool's trip to Everton on Sunday, November 29. Should he be booked against Manchester United the week before, he will have to sit out the game at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.
Upcoming fixtures and risk
The Reds host Sunderland on December 2 before travelling to Chelsea on December 5, with an Anfield Premier League double-header then following on December 12 and December 19 against Leeds United and Tottenham Hotspur respectively. Andoni Iraola's men are then away at both Hull City and Aston Villa over the festive period on Boxing Day and December 30, before they kick-start 2027 at home to Coventry City on January 2.
Liverpool's 20th league game of the season then comes away at Sunderland on January 5, with Mac Allister highly likely to miss one of the aforementioned matches once he is issued with his fifth yellow card of the season. Following the midway point in the season, players who accumulate 10 yellow cards in Premier League matches up to and including their side's 32nd fixture will serve a two-match suspension in the competition.
Other players at risk
Beyond Mac Allister, Ronald Araujo, Bradley Barcola, Milos Kerkez and Virgil van Dijk are all closing in on being at risk of a suspension themselves. The quartet have all booked three times in the Premier League so far this season. Meanwhile, Jeremy Jacquet and Victor Munoz have been cautioned twice apiece, while Alisson Becker, Jeremie Frimpong and Alexander Isak have been issued a yellow card once.
UEFA rule change reprieve
While Mac Allister is currently at risk of a Premier League suspension, he has at least been handed a reprieve in the Champions League. The World Cup winner has been booked twice from four European games so far this season. In previous years, a third yellow card in the league phase would result in a suspension.
However, a UEFA rule change ahead of the current campaign has ensured that Mac Allister is not also one yellow card away from a European ban after the governing body raised the limit. Players are now suspended after being issued four yellow cards, that did not result in a red card, as well as after any subsequent even-numbered yellow cards (sixth, eighth, etc), with the new rule change coming in at the start of the 2026/27 season.
Consequently, Mac Allister will avoid suspension against Club Brugge on November 25 and FC Porto on December 9. However, if he is booked in both games, he would have to sit out Liverpool's trip to Internazionale on January 19. Meanwhile, a booking in either of the aforementioned December ties and again at the San Siro would rule Mac Allister out of the Reds' final league phase game at home to Lens on January 27. Mac Allister is the only Liverpool player to have been booked in the Champions League so far this season.
