Nuñez follows in the footsteps of Mac Allister in the Premier League

Liverpool has more than enough worries in terms of absences at the moment without risking that increasing even more. But Darwin Núñez and Wataru Endō are two more potential concerns that will need to be taken care of.

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The Premier League rules stipulate that players have to avoid hitting 10 yellow cards by matchday 32 to avoid a two-match suspension (which is the trip to Manchester United at the start of April for Liverpool). Earlier in the season, players have to get to matchday 19 without picking up five bookings to avoid a one-match suspension, with only Alexis Mac Allister falling foul of that this season from a Reds perspective.

The huge upcoming Manchester City game at Anfield is on matchday 28, with Liverpool playing Luton (H) and Nottingham Forest (A) before then. That means that Núñez, currently on eight yellow cards, must avoid being booked in each of the next two matches if he is going to play against Pep Guardiola's side. Endō cannot be suspended for picking up too many bookings (unless he gets two yellows in one game) because he is currently on seven. As there are only two matches before Manchester City comes to Merseyside in the Premier League, the Japanese captain cannot reach 10 bookings before then.

But while that is the case for Endō and really, it should be possible for Núñez to avoid getting a suspension before then too, the Manchester City game is not the only risk that is being run. After Luton, Nottingham Forest and Manchester City, Liverpool will have played 28 matches. The four after that are Everton (A), Brighton (H), Sheffield United (H) and Manchester United (A) which takes us to the 32-game cut-off.

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A problematic situation

In that run of seven league games in total, Endō needs to avoid picking up three yellows and Núñez must avoid another two, otherwise they will miss whichever two matches that follow. With few options because of injuries at the moment, Jürgen Klopp will desperately want to avoid that scenario. His absence list is long enough.