Premier League Players Set to Miss January Action Due to Africa Cup of Nations and Asia Cup

Premier League clubs will face the challenge of losing players to international tournaments in Asia and Africa this winter. The Asia Cup will be held from January 12 to January 25, while the Africa Cup of Nations will run from January 13 to February 11.

Manchester City could have an advantage in the Premier League title race as their rivals will have to cope with the absence of key players participating in these tournaments. While Liverpool will lose Mohamed Salah and Tottenham will be without Heung-Min Son, Manchester City will not be affected as none of their players will be participating.

Liverpool, currently leading the league with a three-point advantage over Aston Villa, will bid farewell to Salah, their joint-top scorer alongside Erling Haaland. They will also lose midfielder Wataru Endo, who will join the Japanese national team.

Aston Villa will only lose squad player Bertrand Traore to Burkina Faso, while Arsenal will be more affected, with Mohamed Elneny (Egypt) and Takehiro Tomiyasu (Japan) leaving for an unspecified period of time, depending on their nations’ progress.

Tottenham, who have been plagued by injuries in recent months, will have to adapt to the absence of captain Son, who has scored 12 goals in the league, representing South Korea. They will also lose midfielder Yves Bissouma to Mali, and Pape Sarr, who got injured in their match against Bournemouth, will be part of Senegal’s squad.

West Ham, currently sixth in the league, will be hampered by the absence of key midfielder Mohammed Kudus from Ghana. Manchester United, struggling with poor performance, will face further difficulties as they potentially lose Andre Onana (Cameroon) and Sofyan Amrabat (Morocco).

Nottingham Forest will be the most affected team at the bottom of the table, as they will have to make do without six players, including Serge Aurier, Willy Boly, and Ibrahim Sangare from Ivory Coast. Brentford will also face challenges, missing midfielders Saman Ghoddos (Iran) and Frank Onyeka (Nigeria), along with striker Yoane Wissa (DR Congo).

During the break for the FA Cup third round, the Premier League will take a pause. Following that, there will be a mini winter break for all clubs on one of the two following weekends. By that time, the group stages of the Africa Cup of Nations and Asia Cup will be coming to an end, and some players may be returning.

Some teams are yet to announce their squads for the tournaments, including The Gambia, Namibia, and Tanzania for the Africa Cup of Nations, and Bahrain, Iran, Oman, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, and Uzbekistan for the Asia Cup.

The Africa Cup of Nations will consist of group stages from January 13 to January 24, followed by the round of 16 from January 27 to January 30, quarter-finals from February 2 to February 3, semi-finals on February 7, the third-placed play-off on February 10, and the final on February 11.

The Asia Cup will have group stages from January 12 to January 25, followed by the round of 16 from January 28 to January 31, quarter-finals from February 2 to February 3, semi-finals on February 6 to February 7, and the final on February 10.

No players have been announced for the mentioned tournaments in the specific teams mentioned (Jordan Ayew for Ghana, and no players for the other teams).