AFCON gives Premier League coaches headache with key players likely to miss key games

Premier League clubs are preparing for significant squad disruptions as the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) approaches, with up to 17 teams set to lose players during the tournament. 

Afcon will run from 21 December to 18 January in Morocco, overlapping heavily with the League’s festive schedule. 

Depending on when clubs must release players, some footballers could miss as many as seven Premier League matches, along with FA Cup and Carabao Cup fixtures.

Arsenal, Chelsea, and Leeds are the only clubs unaffected, while Sunderland and Wolves will feel the biggest impact. 

Sunderland, this season’s surprise package in fourth place, stands to lose seven players, including first-team regulars Simon Adingra, Bertrand Traoré, and Arthur Masuaku. 

Wolves, winless and bottom of the table, will be without five players, four of whom have featured consistently this season.

Several top clubs will also lose key contributors. Liverpool will be without their talisman, Mohamed Salah, as he departs for Egypt, while Manchester United faces major absences on the right side of their lineup with Bryan Mbeumo, Amad Diallo, and Noussair Mazraoui all heading to the tournament. 

Manchester City will lose Egypt’s Omar Marmoush and Algeria’s Rayan Aït-Nouri, though both have been limited by injuries this season.

Crystal Palace will definitely lose Ismaïla Sarr, but the status of three others remains uncertain due to fitness issues. 

Nottingham Forest could lose anywhere from one to four players, with several squad members recovering from long-term injuries or out of recent national-team contention. 

Newcastle, meanwhile, may see Yoane Wissa called up, though the forward has yet to debut due to a knee injury.

Fulham, Everton, Brentford, and Burnley will each lose between two and three players apiece. Fulham face the departure of three Nigerian internationals, Alex Iwobi, Calvin Bassey, and Samuel Chukwueze.

Everton will be without Idrissa Gueye and Iliman Ndiaye, both key figures for Senegal. Burnley must cope without Axel Tuanzebe, Lyle Foster, and Hannibal Mejbri, all of whom are expected to feature for their national teams.

With the group stage ending on 31 December, some players could return early if their nations are eliminated, but clubs across the league are bracing for a challenging festive period.