The Africa Cup of Nations 2025, or AFCON, is happening between 21st December 2025 and 18th January 2026. This year, it’s taking place in Morocco, but like every year, some of the top teams in the UK’s Premier League are set to lose players. In fact, this year, Manchester United, Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspurs, Chelsea and Liverpool are all going to lose some of their key players to this competition. Worse, these players will be leaving during what could be a pivotal time for the Premier League competition. And with teams like Arsenal and Newcastle with no players competing in AFCON, the boost could be handed over to other teams.
Why did AFCON move?
For the AFCON, there are 24 teams participating in the tournament. It was originally due to take place from June to July in 2025 and thus avoid clashing with the European club schedule. However, the expanded FIFA Club World Cup event earlier this year truly ended those plans. This meant that AFCON was shifted to the winter months and impacted European clubs. As such, there’s a lot to think about, but the Premier League is now the one that suffers.
Who will be impacted?
As mentioned, there are a number of teams that are heavily impacted by this change in schedule. Many African players will be leaving their club teams to take part in this event. Consequently, this will impact the English club teams in some of their upcoming games. Importantly, this is likely to be reflected in the odds for each game as shown on Premier Bet. It means that it’s very important to check line-ups before the impacted games to ensure the correct bets are being placed.
For example, when it comes to Liverpool, the team is losing a major player in the form of Mo Salah. Salah will be captaining Egypt at the tournament which means Liverpool loses out on last seasons’ Footballer of the Year at a critical moment in the defence of their title. Worse, in the 2023/24 AFCON, Salah had a major hamstring injury which impacted his ability to play for his club later in the year as well. As such, there’s some serious concerns over how much Salah’s appearance at AFCON will impact Liverpool’s chances. Depending how far Egypt go in the tourmennt, games that could be impacted include:
- Tottenham on 20th December
- Wolves on 27th December
- Leeds on 30th December
- Fulham on 3rd January
- Arsenal on 7th January
- Burnley on 17th January
Manchester City is set to lose Omar Marmoush for Egypt and Rayan Ait Nouri of Algeria. Both have been major impact players for the team, and will see them missing for the Manchester Derby if the either country makes it to the semi-finals. Games that could be impacted are:
- West Ham on 20th December
- Nottingham Forest on 27th December
- Sunderland on 30th December
- Chelsea on 3rd January
- Brighton on 7th January
- Manchester United on 17th January
Manchester United will be losing Cameroonian, Andre Onana, Moroccoan, Noussair Mazraoui, and Ivory Coast’s Amad Diallo. This is a key trio that will be missing at a much-needed time when the club is looking to improve upon their worst-ever Premier League finish in the 2024/25 season. Key matches that will potentially be impacted are against:
- Aston Villa on 20th December
- Newcastle on 27th December
- Wolves on 30th December
- Leeds on 3rd January
- Burnley on 7th January
- Manchester City on 17th January
Chelsea is likely to lose Senegalese striker, Nicolas Jackson to AFCON. He’s a strong part in the Chelsea’s win last year, but there are other players who can take up the slack. That being said, games Jackson will miss are:
- Newcastle on 20th December
- Aston Villa on 27th December
- Bournemouth on 30th December
- Manchester City on 3rd January
- Fulham on 7th January
- Brentford on 17th January
Finally, Tottenham will also suffer losses. Both Yves Bissouma (Mali) and Pape Matar Sarr (Senegal) will be missing from the team. This midfield duo is important for Spurs, especially with a huge home game against Liverpool during AFCON. Key games missed include:
- Liverpool on 20th December
- Crystal Palace on 27th December
- Brentford on 30th December
- Sunderland on 3rd January
- Bournemouth on 7th January
- West Ham on 17th January
As such, with many missing players, the Premier League could become wide open.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login