Saturday Football Tips: Trejo to star in card fest

• Top ref for cards in charge

• Trejo averaging a card every other game

• Back 5/2 cards-based Bet Builder

One of Europe's highest-carding referees takes charge of this La Liga battle on Saturday afternoon and that fact is worth paying attention to.

Pablo Gonzalez Fuertes is averaging a massive 6.62 yellow cards per game in Spain's top flight this season, while he has also produced two reds in his 13 matches.

It's probably no surprise that the 42-year-old also tops the charts for fouls awarded per game - his figure is above 30 with the league average at 26.38.
Here he takes charge of what should be a competitive game - Europe-chasing Rayo sit seventh, just five points better off than their visitors.

Rayo are eighth in Spain's bookings table with Girona in 11th and while those figures could be better, neither is enough to suggest Gonzalez Fuertes will be kept quiet on the cards front.

I've no qualms about placing over 5.5 cards on our Bet Builder coupon but the better bet looks to be old friend Oscar Trejo to be among those carded.

The Rayo captain has been mentioned on these pages in the past with his fouls and card figures both long-term eyecatchers.

In terms of fouls per game, Trejo leads La Liga this season, averaging 2.5, while when it comes to cards, the midfielder has now been carded in 34 of his last 66 La Liga starts, figures which suggest that even with an average ref, he should be around even money.

Yet he's available at 13/8 with one of Europe's wildest refs in charge.

To those used to betting on the Premier League, those odds for a card may seem short but really that's a value price here.

Add it to the over 5.5 cards bet and we get a 5/2 shot.

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