The five Leeds United and Blackburn Rovers players who could miss weekend clash due to Championship rule
Leeds United travel to Ewood Park on Saturday.
Leeds United could be without two key players when they travel to Blackburn Rovers on Saturday.
Focus inside the Leeds camp will be solely on this evening and the visit of Luton Town to Elland Road, which presents the opportunity to climb back into first place. Daniel Farke’s side went top after beating Swansea City but have since fallen into fourth, having seen Sheffield United, Burnley and Sunderland all get points on the board on Tuesday.
The pressure is back on Leeds to produce the goods and despite Luton’s poor start to the campaign - they currently sit 16th - they will need to be at their best to avoid losing ground on their promotion rivals. But while the Whites will aim to be aggressive from the off inside a fervent Elland Road, two star players will be walking the suspension tightrope.
EFL suspension rules state that any player who accumulates five yellow cards before game-week 19 must serve a one-game ban. 10 yellows before match-week 32 will result in a two-match ban while 15 bookings before a team’s 38th match will mean a three-match suspension.
As things stand, Joe Rodon and Wilfried Gnonto are on four Championship yellow cards and so a fifth during Wednesday’s game against Luton will see them miss the weekend trip to Ewood Park. Rodon racked up four yellow cards quickly but has managed to avoid a fifth, getting through every minute of Leeds’ last seven games without getting booked.
Similarly, Gnonto has stayed out of the referee’s eyeline with no yellow card in his last four appearances - the most recent of which came from the bench at Swansea. There does now look to be adequate cover for both in the event of suspension, with free agent Josuha Guilavogui fit and able to cover at centre-back while Farke has Manor Solomon, Largie Ramazani and Dan James all fit and firing out wide.
But Blackburn are also at risk of losing key players for their weekend meeting with Leeds. Three squad members are currently on four yellow cards, with midfielders Lewis Travis and Todd Cantwell, as well as defender Hayden Carter, all one yellow card from a suspension.
Travis would be a major miss for Blackburn, having started all 15 league games for the team he captains, while Cantwell and Carter have also both been regular starters under John Eustace. Rovers travel to the in-form Middlesbrough this evening before welcoming Leeds to Ewood Park, and so a booking for any of the aforementioned trio would see them banned.