As the 2024-25 Champions League Round of 16 matches draw closer, some clubs are becoming more concerned about the possibility of players being suspended due to accumulating yellow cards.
Real Madrid is the most affected team, with several players at risk of missing out if they receive another yellow card. Other teams, such as Milan, Juventus, and Bayern Munich, face a similar situation, but to a lesser extent.
Real Madrid finds itself in a tough spot with players facing suspension, including Jude Bellingham, Luka Modric, Endrick Felipe, Eduardo Camavinga, and Aurelien Tchouameni.
Coach Carlo Ancelotti is also in danger of suspension. In defence, the team will be without Militao and Antonio Rudiger due to injury, but the team will get Vinicius Junior back for the match against Manchester City after his previous suspension due to yellow card accumulation.
Real Madrid’s situation is different from Manchester City and other big clubs
Unlike Real Madrid, Manchester City is not as affected by suspensions. Only Portuguese defender Ruben Dias is at risk of missing out, while the other players who received yellow cards in the group stage of champions league are not yet close to the point where they could be suspended for the upcoming matches.
Paris Saint-Germain faces a similar issue, with Fabian Ruiz the only player at risk of suspension. At Bayern Munich, the German forwards Serge Gnabry and Leroy Sané are at risk.
At Milan, Theo Hernandez, Samuel Chukwueze, and Youssouf Fofana are at risk of missing matches. At Juventus, Francisco Conceicao and Teun Koopmeiners are also on the list.
At Benfica, the players at risk of suspension are Frederic Orsenes, Alexandre Bah, Orkun Kokcu, Florentino Luis, and Nicolas Otamendi. In Sporting Lisbon, Maximiliano Araujo, Zeno Debast, and Giovanni Quinda face suspension risks.
For Borussia Dortmund, Maximilian Pierre, Yan Couto, and Julian Ryerson are on the list, while Club Brugge in Belgium have Joaquin Cees, Mikael Skoura, and Hugo Wittelesen at risk.
Atalanta may have to do without Ederson dos Santos in the Champions League, while PSV could be missing Mauro Junior, Rick Karsdorp, and Joey Veerman. Feyenoord may face a similar challenge with Ibrahim Osman and Gernot Trauner, and Celtic might be without Alistair Johnstone.
In Monaco, four players are at risk: Lamine Camara, Vanderson de Oliveira, Thilo Kehrer, and Denis Zakaria. In Brest, only Mehdi Camara faces suspension.
Players who will miss the next round of the Champions League
Apart from those at risk of suspension, four players will definitely miss the next round of the Champions League due to suspension, after receiving a red card or accumulating too many yellow cards. These players are: Yunus Musah from Milan, Daisen Maeda from Celtic, Morten Hjolmand from Sporting Lisbon, and Cristian Mawesa from Monaco.
