Two continental cup competitions, the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) & AFC the Asian Cup, will take place in the middle of the EPL season (January-February 2024). It will impact many Fantasy EPL assets, who will need to leave their Premier League clubs to play in the competition and potentially miss a few EPL games. Read about the fallout below and plan accordingly!
Fantasy EPL Impact of AFCON & AFC Asian Cup
It's almost here. Two continental cups will take place midway through the 23/24 EPL campaign. The African Cup of Nations (January 13-February 11) & Asian Cup (January 12-February 10) will interrupt the seasons of a few top players and many others. The likes of Salah (Egypt/AfCon), Kudus (Ghana/AfCon), Son (South Korea/Asian Cup), & Mitoma (Japan/Asian Cup) could miss up to 5 EPL matches (GW21-GW25) in the middle of the season. This isn't the end of the world but it will influence their value and force Fantasy EPL managers to reshuffle their rosters accordingly.
This midseason break will slightly dent the prospects of the players affected; meanwhile, their backups will likely see more minutes as a result. Many managers will overreact or underreact to this news. The key is to recognize the impact and plan accordingly. Think about dealing out some of these players on a high/before this news takes hold and/or acquiring their backups, who will provide cover during that January-February stretch of games.
Featured Players
Here we list the players that will feature in Afcon and the Asian Cup from each club...
Please note: There is a chance that a double gameweek could announced for Man City and Brentford in GW20. However, in such a scenario, the three Brentford players could miss out on the 2nd game of the double if they are called up early to their respective international teams.
Arsenal
Thomas Partey (Ghana)
Mohamed Elneny (Egypt)
Takehiro Tomiyasu (Japan)
Aston Villa
Bertrand Traore (Burkina Faso)
Bournemouth
Antoine Semenyo (Ghana)
Dango Ouattara (Burkina Faso)
Hamed Traore (Ivory Coast)
Brentford
Bryan Mbeumo (Cameroon)
Yoane Wissa (DR Congo)
Frank Onyeka (Nigeria)
Saman Ghoddos (Iran)
Brighton
Simon Adingra (Ivory Coast)
Tariq Lamptey (Ghana)
Carlos Baleba (Cameroon)
Karou Mitoma (Japan)
Burnley
Lyle Foster (South Africa)
Anass Zaroury (Morocco)
Chelsea
Nicolas Jackson (Senegal)
Crystal Palace
Jordan Ayew (Ghana)
Jeffrey Schlupp (Ghana)
Cheick Doucoure (Mali)
Everton
Abdoulaye Doucoure* (Mali) - has decided not to go (TBC)
Idrissa Gueye (Senegal)
Fulham
Alex Iwobi (Nigeria)
Calvin Bassey (Nigeria)
Fodo Ballo-Toure (Senegal)
Liverpool
Mohamed Salah (Egypt)
Waturo Endo (Japan)
Luton Town
Issa Kabore (Burkina Faso)
Pelly Ruddock Mpanzu (DR Congo)
Manchester United
Andre Onana (Cameroon)
Sofyan Amrabat (Morocco)
Hannibal Mejbri (Tunisia)
Nottingham Forest
Taiwo Awonyi (Nigeria)
Ola Aina (Nigeria)
Serge Aurier (Ivory Coast)
Willy Boly (Ivory Coast)
Ibrahim Sangare (Ivory Coast)
Moussa Niakhate (Senegal)
Cheikhou Kouyate (Senegal)
Sheffield United
Ismaila Coulibaly (Mali)
Anis Ben Slimane (Tunisia)
Benie Traore (Ivory Coast)
Yasser Larouci (Algeria)
Tottenham
Pape Matar Sarr (Senegal)
Yves Bissouma (Mali)
Heung Min Son (South Korea)
West Ham
Mohammed Kudus (Ghana)
Said Benrahma (Algeria)
Nayef Aguerd (Morocco)
Maxwell Cornet (Ivory Coast)
Wolverhampton Wanderers
Rayan Ait-Nouri (Algeria)
Boubacar Traore (Mali)
Hwang Hee-Chan (South Korea)
Who Benefits?
Here are some players to target who will be the prime beneficiaries of these forced absences...
Arsenal
Zinchenko (Tomiyasu's absence)
Bournemouth
Luis Sinisterra/David Brooks (less competition from Semenyo & Outarra)
Brentford
Neil Maupay (Mbeumo's absence)
Brighton
Joao Pedro & Buonanotte (Adingra & Mitoma absences)
Chelsea
Broja/Nkunku or new ST (Nicolas Jackson absence)
Fulham
Wilson/Cairney/BDCR/Adama (Iwobi's absence)
Liverpool
Darwin Nunez/Gakpo/Jota (Salah's absence)
Nottingham Forest
Felipe (no Boly or Niakhate)
Tottenham
Richarlison/Brendan Johnson/Veliz (Son's absence)
Giovanni Lo Celso (less competition from Sarr & Bissouma)
West Ham United
Tomas Soucek/Pablo Fornals (Kudus & Benrahma out)
Wolves
Sarabia/Sasa (Hwang's absence)
Bueno (RAN's absence)
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