Dan James is dismissed with a straight red card for a dangerous challenge on Chelsea midfielder Mateo Kovačić. Pic: Stu Forster.Dan James is dismissed with a straight red card for a dangerous challenge on Chelsea midfielder Mateo Kovačić. Pic: Stu Forster.
Dan James is dismissed with a straight red card for a dangerous challenge on Chelsea midfielder Mateo Kovačić. Pic: Stu Forster.

How Leeds United's Premier League disciplinary record compares to Liverpool, Manchester United, Chelsea, and Aston Villa

Leeds United have broken the Premier League record for the most yellow cards in a single season.

The Whites' chances of resisting relegation to the Championship have been significantly dented by a late flurry of disciplinary offences.

Luke Ayling's red card against Arsenal and Dan James' dismissal against Chelsea left United down to ten men in two of their last rolls of the Premier League dice as well as counting the duo out of the rest of the run-in.

The pair of reckless challenges, against Gabriel Martinelli and Mateo Kovačić respectively, are perhaps symptomatic of a Leeds United team who are desperate to stay in the top flight and aggressive in their efforts to do so.

But discipline has been an issue from the outset of this season, as exemplified by United not only having broken the yellow card record of 94, set by Sunderland in the 2014/2015, but significantly surpassed it.

The Whites have been shown a yellow card a whopping 100 times this season, with summer signing Junior Firpo leading the player's bookings charts with 11 of them.

Here's how Leeds rank in the fair play table, with teams given one point per yellow card and five points per red card:

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