Manchester United midfield enforcer Manuel Ugarte will have to watch his step in the coming weeks as he aims to avoid a two-match ban in the Premier League.. Top flight rules state that any player who amasses 10 yellow cards in their club’s opening 32 matches will be punished with a two-match suspension.. Signed from Paris Saint-Germain on the last day of last summer’s transfer window, the Uruguayan international, 23, has earned eight yellow cards in his first 18 Premier League appearances for United.. The midfielder earned his fifth yellow card of the campaign in United’s 2-0 defeat to Wolves on Boxing Day, resulting in him being suspended for the 2-0 reverse to Newcastle United at Old Trafford four days later. Players who earn five yellow cards within their club’s opening 19 matches of the campaign must serve a one-match ban.. Since serving that suspension, the former Sporting Lisbon man, who has gone from strength-to-strength since being reunited with Ruben Amorim at Old Trafford in November, has been booked a further three times, earning a yellow card in each of his last three appearances.. As a result, Ugarte is now only two bookings away from a two-match suspension. United are 24 games into their Premier League game campaign, meaning they must navigate their way through another eight matches before reaching the cut-off point for players who earn 10 yellow cards to avoid a ban.. As things stand, United’s 32nd league game of the season will see them face Newcastle at St James’ Park on April 12, meaning Ugarte has got to try and avoid earning two yellow cards in the next two months, which feels somewhat unlikely.. The all-action midfielder, who has provided United with the steel and grit they had been missing in midfield for some time, has started each of the last 10 league games he has been available for.
