The Africa Cup of Nations and the Asia Cup are coming up. Which players are affected and how will it affect Premier League clubs?

The Africa Cup of Nations and the Asian Cup will hit European club football this year. The English Premier League will also be affected. As many as 38 players from this competition will travel to the prestigious tournament to represent their countries. Nottingham Forest will probably feel the loss most keenly, missing six players.

Both the African and Asian tournaments are being played in the middle of a long Premier League season. The management of England’s top league has tried to accommodate this and help clubs cope with fewer players. The twenty-first round is therefore split into two weeks, so each team will have one weekend off.

Both the Africa Cup of Nations and the Asian Cup operate on a similar system to, for example, the EURO. In six groups of four teams, the top two countries from each group advance to the play-offs. The top four teams from a notional third-team table will also qualify for the knockout phase.

What does this mean for Premier League teams? Many of them will lose their biggest stars. Plus, the further the country their player represents gets, the longer they lose him.

The Asia Cup is scheduled to kick off on January 12 with Qatar’s match against Lebanon. The Africa Cup starts a day later with a duel between Ivory Coast and Guinea-Bissau.

Liverpool and Tottenham will be without their mainstays

Mohamed Salah, of course, is not missing from his country’s final nomination. His Egypt will face Mozambique, Ghana and Cape Verde in the group stage.

Jürgen Klopp will miss at least the FA Cup game against Arsenal, followed by the Carabao Cup game against Fulham. He will also be absent for sure in the Premier League match at Bournemouth.

However, it can be assumed that Salah will be missing from The Reds’ squad for a bit longer. Egypt has high ambitions. Advancing out of the group is a must. After all, at the last tournament, one of the best strikers in the Premier League in recent years and his teammates reached the final.

Liverpool will also play tough and important Premier League games in January and February. One at Anfield Road with Chelsea, then at the Emirates Stadium with Arsenal. It can be assumed that these matches will also be without the Egyptian player in the squad.

Heung-Min Son and Tottenham are in a similar position. The South Korea international will miss the FA Cup match against Burnley. His absence is also certain in the Premier League match at the ground of Manchester United.

Full list of Premier League players nominated

Arsenal – Mohamed Elneny (Egypt)

Aston Villa – Bertrand Traore (Burkina Faso)

Brentford – Yoane Wissa (Congo), Ji-Soo Kim (South Korea), Saman Ghoddos (Iran), Frank Onyeka (Nigeria)

Brighton – Simon Adingra (Ivory Coast), Tariq Lamptey (Ghana), Kaoru Mitoma (Japan)

Chelsea – Nicolas Jackson (Senegal)

Crystal Palace – Jordan Ayew (Ghana)

Everton – Idrissa Gana Gueye (Senegal)

Fulham – Fode-Ballo Toure (Senegal), Calvin Bassey, Alex Iwobi (both Nigeria)

Liverpool – Wataru Endo (Japan), Mohamed Salah (Egypt)

Luton – Issa Kabore (Burkina Faso)

Manchester United – Andre Onana (Cameroon), Sofyan Ambrabat (Morocco), Amad Diallo (Ivory Coast)

Nottingham Forrest – Serge Aurier, Willy Boly, Ibrahim Sangare (all Ivory Coast), Cheikou Kouyate, Moussa Niakhate (both Senegal), Ola Aina (Nigeria)

Sheffield United – Anis Ben Slimane (Tunisia), Yasser Larouci (Algeria)

Tottenham – Pape Sarr (Senegal), Heung-Min Son (South Korea), Yves Bissouma (Mali)

West Ham – Nayef Aguerd (Morocco), Mohammed Kudus (Ghana)

Wolverhampton – Hee-Chan Hwang (South Korea), Rayen Ait-Nouri (Algeria), Boubacar Traore (Mali), Justin Hubner (Indonesia)

Source: X – SkySports, Livesport