Chelsea star Moises Caicedo is at risk of a two-match ban which could see him miss a double header of Premier League London derbies. The midfielder received his ninth yellow card of the season in the Blues’ 4-0 thrashing of Southampton at Stamford Bridge.
Caicedo’s reckless tackle on Mateus Fernandes earned him a booking in the 66th minute. He was taken off in the 83rd minute to prevent a potential red card, with Chelsea cruising to a big victory over the struggling Saints.
The Ecuadorian star will be available for Chelsea’s Premier League clash with Leicester on March 9. It will be another opportunity for Enzo Maresca’s side to register three points against a team battling against relegation.
But Caicedo will need to stay out of the referee’s book if he is to feature in two huge upcoming fixtures. Ten yellow cards accumulated before matchweek 32 earn players a two-match ban.
If the 23-year-old is cautioned against Leicester, he will be banned for games against Arsenal and Tottenham. His potential absence for those games would be a big miss for Chelsea as they seek to improve their form and revive their Champions League qualification push.
Chelsea had won just one of their previous five matches across all competitions before beating Southampton. Successive defeats against Brighton saw them dumped out of the FA Cup and then their chances of finishing in the Premier League’s top four take a major hit.
A 2-1 loss against Aston Villa piled the pressure on Maresca to turn around his side’s form. The Italian had overseen an excellent start to the season and Chelsea were considered title contenders prior to Christmas.
The comfortable victory over Southampton came as welcome respite. The west Londoners were 3-0 ahead before half-time against a team who have picked up only nine points in 27 Premier League games and seem destined for the Championship.
Christopher Nkunku scored his third Premier League goal with a 24th-minute header. Pedro Neto – playing as a makeshift centre-forward – fired home 12 minutes later before Levi Colwill converted on the stroke of half-time.
Chelsea moved up to fourth in the Premier League table and onto 46 points. They could drop back out of the Champions League spots with Manchester City and Newcastle still to play, though. City, who face Tottenham on Wednesday, and Newcastle, who play Liverpool at the same time, both have 44 points.
