Several key players from the teams still in the Champions League are at risk of suspension in the first leg of the semi-finals.
The return leg of the Champions League quarter-finals are set to begin this Tuesday with matches between Atletico Madrid and FC Barcelona, and Liverpool-PSG. On Wednesday, Bayern Munich-Real Madrid and Arsenal-Sporting will take place. Currently, many players are facing a potential suspension in the first leg of the semi-finals if they receive a third yellow card.
If their team qualifies, these thirty-three players will not have the luxury of making mistakes in their respective return leg quarter-finals. For PSG, only Nuno Mendes and Khvitcha Kvaratskhelia are at risk, as they were before the quarter-finals began. On the opposing side, five players could miss the next match: Virgil van Dijk, Curtis Jones, Ryan Gravenberch, Alexis Mac Allister, and Conor Bradley.
However, Atletico Madrid tops the list with eight players at risk (Robin Le Normand, Clément Lenglet, Thiago Almada, Marco Llorente, Alex Baena, Matteo Ruggeri, Giuliano Simeone, and Pablo Barrios), along with Diego Simeone. For Barcelona, Jules Koundé, Fermin Lopez, Marc Casado, and Gerard Martin will need to avoid receiving a yellow card on Tuesday.
Ten days ahead of the Bayern-Real showdown, many key players are also in danger. For Bayern Munich, Manuel Neuer, Dayot Upamecano, and Konrad Laimer, along with coach Vincent Kompany are under threat. On the Madrid side, Kylian Mbappé, Vinicius Junior, Jude Bellingham, Dean Huijsen, Alvaro Carreras, and long-term injured Rodrygo are at risk.
The showdown between Sporting and Arsenal is expected to be less tense in terms of suspensions, with only three players at risk of suspension for a new card. Luis Suarez for Sporting and Martin Zubimendi and Christian Norgaard for Arsenal.
Players who do not receive sanctions in their return leg quarter-finals will have all their yellow cards cancelled, as per the rules.
