Pep Guardiola close to three-game Manchester City ban

Seeing the light-hearted side of his disciplinary charges, Pep Guardiola reacted to the most recent ban by joking to reporters that he wanted “all the records” in the country, and would treat the suspension as a “holiday”.

Why Pep Guardiola could be banned for three games

Now, having picked up his seventh yellow card of the season, Pep Guardiola is only a further two cautions from the next cumulative card threshold of nine yellows – leading to a three-match ban.

The rule on yellow card applies to both Premier League and FA Cup fixtures, meaning should Guardiola receive another caution at Wembley Stadium on Saturday evening against Southampton, he would move to within one further yellow of a lengthy ban.

Elsewhere however, there is more positive news as Bernardo Silva is now free from suspension risk this campaign for the same reason, having avoided a yellow card in the last two matches for City that would have brought a two-game ban.

What matches could Pep Guardiola immediately miss?

Consecutive cautions for Guardiola against Burnley and Southampton in the next two games, for example, would see the City boss crucially miss meetings with Everton on Merseyside, Brentford at the Etihad Stadium, and possibly an FA Cup Final or a trip to Bournemouth.

Manchester City will be wanting to avoid that possibility, given their must-win run-in during the final weeks of the domestic season, which gives them a golden opportunity to snatch the Premier League crown away from the grasps of Arsenal.

City have managed to claw their way back into the title race, with the 2-1 win over the Gunners moving them to within just three points of Mikel Arteta’s side with a game in hand – after the North Londoners once held a nine point advantage in the race.