Football Acca Tips: Van Dijk to do damage in 133/1 treble

The Premier League returns this weekend after what feels like an eternity, and as a little welcome back present, I've picked out three players, all featuring on Saturday, who I believe could go into the referee's notebook.

Below are my Football Acca Tips for Gameweek 32, with this treble paying out at over 133/1.

Riccardo Calafiori (Arsenal vs AFC Bournemouth, Sat 12:30) @ 3/1

Arsenal defender Riccardo Calafiori was booked four times in 19 Premier League appearances last season, just 11 of which were starts, and he’s already beaten his yellow-card tally in 2025/26, picking up five in 22 games (18 starts).

The 23-year-old, who is averaging 1.5 fouls per 90 minutes, has also been making his presence felt in the Uefa Champions League, averaging 1.6 fouls per 90 and collecting one card from five outings (three starts).

Calafiori was troubled by Sporting CP’s right-sided forward Geny Catamo in the Gunners’ 1-0 win in Lisbon on Tuesday, fouling the Mozambique international twice inside the first 52 minutes, and at the Emirates Stadium this Saturday, Bournemouth’s mid-season signing, Rayan, is likely to pose similar problems down the wing.

Football Odds

The 19-year-old Brazilian has been fouled four times in the Premier League since joining from Vasco da Gama in January, averaging 0.6 fouls won per 09, but it’s his numbers from the Brazilian Serie A last year that offer encouragement.

Rayan ranked in the top 25 for fouls suffered, winning 51 at an average of 1.5 per game.

With Piero Hincapie and Jurrien Timber out injured, and Myles Lewis-Skelly not trusted to start, Calafiori will likely have to go again in north London this weekend, and he could be run ragged by the Cherries teenager, who is targeting a spot in the Selecao’s World Cup squad after making his senior debut earlier this month.

Igor Thiago (Brentford vs Everton, Sat 15:00) @ 16/5

Brentford striker Igor Thiago, who made his Brazil debut in the Selecao’s 2-1 friendly defeat to France on March 26, scoring his first international goal in a 3-1 victory over Croatia six days later, has committed the most fouls in this season’s Premier League (59), averaging two per 90.

The 24-year-old has been booked six times, but not since a 4-3 win at Burnley on February 28, so it feels like he’s due a caution.

Premier League Odds

Thiago committed a single foul in January’s reverse meeting with Everton, won 4-2 by the Bees at Hill Dickinson Stadium, with Toffees centre-back James Tarkowski, taken down three times on Merseyside, the target of the Brazilian’s ire.

Tarkowski is averaging one foul won per 90 in the Premier League this season, and he’s a player who can get under the skin of opposition forwards, something he will look to do at the Gtech Community Stadium this weekend.

Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool vs Fulham, Sat 17:30) @ 7/1

I could go Virgil van Dijk or his centre-back partner Ibrahima Konate here, but the Dutchman is priced at 7/1 in the Player to Receive a Card market, while the Frenchman is 4/1, so I’ll take a bite at the bigger odds, even if the younger defender is more likely to be cautioned after getting away with four fouls in Wednesday’s 2-0 Uefa Champions League defeat at Paris Saint-Germain.

Van Dijk’s form has toiled over the last couple of months, while he’s been unusually rash all season, picking up six yellow cards across the Premier League (four) and Champions League (two).

The 34-year-old is only one caution away from matching his highest-ever season tally for Liverpool, set the previous campaign when he picked up seven yellows across the Premier League (five) and Champions League (two), so maybe this is the greatest indication yet that he is in physical decline.

Van Dijk’s was last issued a card in Liverpool’s 1-0 defeat at Galatasaray on March 10, but another could be around the corner, with Saturday’s Anfield fixture with Fulham looking like one that could pose him plenty of problems, particularly if Rodrigo Muniz starts up top for the Cottagers.

Today's Football Fixtures

Injuries have curtailed the Brazilian forward’s playing time this season, but despite making just five Premier League starts, appearing a further nine times off the bench, he has won 10 fouls at an average of 1.6 per 90.

Last season, Muniz proved a menace for the Reds’ defence, scoring within eight minutes of his introduction and drawing a foul from Ryan Gravenberch shortly after. Then, at Craven Cottage last April, he played the first 76 minutes, scoring again and drawing three fouls, two of which were made by Konate.

He also won three fouls at Anfield in the 2023/24 season, with one offence committed by Van Dijk.

With Van Dijk looking to be treading in treacle of late, Muniz will fancy his chances up against the Liverpool captain, who could be forced to take alternative action to deal with the Fulham man’s threat.

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