Manager Alex McLeish has warned his players to control their aggression after a number of them have been in trouble.
Aston Villa are in the bottom third of the table, with Gabby Agbonlahor and captain Stiliyan Petrov both given one-match bans after being shown the yellow card four times.
Defenders Alan Hutton, Richard Dunne and James Collins and midfielder Fabian Delph have also been warned after they all were given their third caution.
Delph was called out less than three minutes into the match at Swansea with Hutton, before the referee gave him an official warning.
Emile Hesky, Charles N’Zogbia and Stephen Warnock have been booked twice.
Players who received a yellow card include Barry Bannan and Shay Given and Herd.
“There’s nothing wrong with adhering to the team talk from me, which was asking for real aggression – but I did call for controlled aggression.
“There’s a difference. I didn’t want them to be reckless. I told them to be careful.
“I said ‘Let’s not get early cards because you put yourself under pressure for the rest of the game’.
“It’s about reading the game a wee bit and not getting drawn into heavy tackles.
“However, I didn’t think every booking merited a yellow card.
“But it was disappointing see a couple of players getting yellow cards early in the match because then they’re playing the rest of the match walking or running on eggshells.”
