Prem clubs ranked on AFCON impact: Arsenal advantage, Sunderland screwed | OneFootball

Sunderland could be scuppered by AFCON, and Man Utd might suffer, but Arsenal are unaffected and may actually profit. Leeds too…

The Africa Cup of Nations 2025 takes place in Morocco, starting on December 21, with the final on Sunday January 18.

Here’s how the tournament interferes with the Premier League schedule…

Any players called up are likely to leave their clubs after matchweek 16 and players representing nations that reach the semi-finals will be back for matchweek 23. So doing their national duty could make them miss six league matches.

The AFCON group stage concludes on December 31, so any players from nations that fail to make the knockout stages could return for matchweek 20, over the weekend of January 3 and 4.

The FA Cup third round is scheduled for the weekend of January 10, by which time, AFCON will be down to the quarter-finalists.

The Champions League and Europa competitions take a break throughout the duration of AFCON but recommence in the week beginning Monday January 19 – the day after the final.

Here, from completely f***ed by AFCON to completely fine, is how we’ve ranked the Premier League clubs…

Players are listed in order of Premier League starts up to before the November international break.

1) Sunderland – 7 players

Noah Sadiki (DR Congo), Reinildo (Mozambique), Chemsdine Talbi (Morocco), Bertrand Traore (Burkina Faso), Habib Diarra (Senegal), Simon Adingra (Ivory Coast), Arthur Masuaku (DR Congo)

Sunderland might need all that positive momentum to get them through AFCON since the seven they are set to lose have been good for 40 Premier League starts this season. At least they should be around for the Tyne-Wear derby on December 14, but all are guaranteed to miss a trip to Brighton and the visits of Leeds and Manchester City.

2) Wolves – 5 players

Marshall Munetsi (Zimbabwe), Emmanuel Agbadou (Ivory Coast), Jackson Tchatchoua (Cameroon), Tolu Arokodare (Nigeria), Tawanda Chirewa (Zimbabwe). 

Munetsi will be the biggest miss for already the Premier League’s worst team so far but Chirewa is yet to feature in the league this season. Wolves fixtures during the AFCON group stage: Brentford at home; Liverpool and Manchester United away.

3) Everton – 3 players

Idrissa Gueye (Senegal), Iliman Ndiaye (Senegal), Adam Aznou (Morocco)

Everton’s Senegalese duo have been ever-presents in the Premier League, having scored half of the Toffees’ goals this season between them. The prospect of an Aznou call-up seems remote since he hasn’t been called up by Morocco since he left Bayern Munich. And David Moyes would barely notice he was gone anyway.

4) Fulham – 3 players

Alex Iwobi (Nigeria), Calvin Bassey (Nigeria), Samuel Chukwueze (Nigeria)

Iwobi has started every game and Bassey is only one behind, so both will be missed. Chukwueze has come off the bench four times. All will miss clashes with Forest and West Ham so the Nigerian trio could return to a bleaker scene at the Cottage.

5) Manchester United – 3 players

Bryan Mbeumo (Cameroon), Amad Diallo (Ivory Coast), Noussair Mazraoui (Morocco)

Ruben Amorim will have to look at his right flank while hoping Benjamin Sesko recovers from his knee injury before Mbeumo disappears. All three will definitely miss Villa, Newcastle and Wolves, while any United player reaching the semi-finals will also be absent for the derby.

6) Crystal Palace – 4 players

Ismaila Sarr (Senegal), Christantus Uche (Nigeria), Chadi Riad (Morocco), Cheick Doucoure (Mali)

Losing Sarr is a blow, especially for the Carabao Cup quarter-final against Arsenal, but Oliver Glasner won’t be concerned about the other three; Riad and Doucoure have been long-term absentees while Uche has only seen action off the bench.

7) Nottingham Forest – 4 players

Ibrahim Sangare (Ivory Coast), Ola Aina (Nigeria), Taiwo Awoniyi (Nigeria), Willy Boly (Ivory Coast)

This looks worse than it is. Sangare will go and Boly will want to join him but even if he makes the squad, he hasn’t featured for Forest in the Premier League this season. Aina has been missing since the middle of September with a hamstring injury, while Awoniyi hasn’t been called up by Nigeria since October 2024.

8) Burnley – 3 players

Lyle Foster (South Africa), Axel Tuanzebe (DR Congo), Hannibal Mejbri (Tunisia)

The Clarets trio will depart after what feels like a big game at home to Fulham before missing clashes with Bournemouth, Everton and Newcastle during the group stage.

9) West Ham – 2 players

Aaron Wan-Bissaka (DR Congo), El Hadji Malick Diouf (Senegal)

Nuno will have to do without both first-choice full-backs for games against Manchester City, Fulham and Brighton at least.

10) Brentford – 2 players

Dango Ouattara (Burkina Faso), Frank Onyeka (Nigeria)

Ouattara’s absence comes as a blow for Keith Andrews, while Onyeka has been a semi-regular presence off the bench. The Carabao Cup quarter-final at Manchester City will be the first game the pair miss.

11) Liverpool – 1 player

Mohamed Salah (Egypt)

Where once this would have been a crushing blow, perhaps it has become a chance to practise for life after Salah. Some might suggest they have been doing that all season, mind…

12) Brighton – 1 player

Carlos Baleba (Cameroon)

Cameroon are generally fancied to make the last eight, in which case, the Seagulls will be without their £100m-rated midfielder against Sunderland, Arsenal, West Ham, Burnley and Manchester City.

13) Manchester City – 2 players

Omar Marmoush (Egypt), Rayan Ait-Nouri (Algeria)

Almost business as usual for Pep since neither Marmoush or Ait-Nouri are currently in his best XI.

14) Tottenham – 2 players

Pape Matar Sarr (Senegal), Yves Bissouma (Mali)

Bissouma is yet to play this season so no biggie there. Senegal are fancied to go far, so Sarr could sit out seven games, including the Champions League clash with Borussia Dortmund two days after the AFCON final.

15) Newcastle – 1 player

Yoane Wissa (DR Congo)

Newcastle are hoping to get Wissa back around the start of December so the forward could feature in four games before flying off. Unless he listens to Alan Shearer.

16) Aston Villa – 1 player

Evann Guessand (Ivory Coast)

The £30.5million summer signing has featured in all but one of Villa’s games so far, alternating each game between a starter and a sub for the last six matches. No goals or assists, though.

17) Bournemouth – 1 player

Amine Adli (Morocco)

Adli has been a regular substitute but the Moroccan has started only one game; Andoni Iraola must have been secretly chuffed that Ghana completely f***ed it in qualifying so Antoine Semenyo can stick around.

18) Chelsea – 0 players

Chelsea will lose none of their 427 players, but during AFCON, they face opposition mostly unaffected too. Only Fulham will feel it and they could get their players back if Nigeria make a balls-up of the group stage like they did their World Cup qualifying campaign.

19) Arsenal – 0 players

Likewise, Arsenal are unaffected and they might profit against Everton, without Gueye and Ndiaye, when they meet on AFCON’s opening weekend.

20) Leeds – 0 players

Four of Leeds’ six fixtures during AFCON come against sides in the top six most affected, including Sunderland, Palace, Manchester United and Fulham. It’s all coming up Farke. Assuming he makes it to Christmas…