In mid-November, we published a massive study exploring which players could be good players in the Fantasy Premier League (FPL) in the short term, while certain teammates are absent from the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).
A month later, and now that we know who made a call and who didn’t, we’re going to come back to this topic.
HOW MANY PREMIER LEAGUE PLAYERS ARE AT AFCON?
There are 33 players heading to AFCON, all but one of whom will no longer be able to play club football from Gameweek 17. Habib Diarra (£5.3 million) is the only exception; he won’t leave until after this weekend.
This list includes Mohammed Salah (£14.0 million), Bryan Mbeumo (£8.2 million), Indian education (£6.3 million), Ismail Sarr (£6.4 million) and Reinildo Mandava (£3.9 million).
However, countries such as Ghana, Gambia and Guinea-Bissau did not qualify. That holds Antoine Semenyo (£7.6 million), Mohammed Jerusalem (£6.4 million), Yankuba Minteh (£6.1 million) and Beto (£5.0 million) on British soil.
HOW LONG WILL THEY BE GONE?
As previously seen, they will all be absent for at least three FPL Gameweeks during the group stage.
Still, those representing the semi-finalists will miss out on six, which won’t be available until Gameweek 23 at the end of January.
POTENTIAL AFCON REPLACEMENTS
Firstly, five Premier League clubs remain unaffected. No one from Arsenal, Bournemouth, Chelsea, Leeds United or Newcastle United has been called up to take part.
Here’s a club-by-club guide to which FPL assets are in their country’s squads, along with some players who could step up and get more playing time.
| TEAM | AND AFCON | POSSIBILITIES |
|---|---|---|
| ASTON VILLA | Evann Guessand (Ivory Coast) | Guessand has only started once in the last six Gameweeks, so his absence will not be keenly felt. |
| BRENTFORD | Dango Ouattara (Burkina Faso) Frank Onyeka (Nigeria) | FPL defender Keane Lewis Potter (£4.8m) or Travel Nelson (£4.8m) could replace Ouattara wide, but Onyeka has not started a league match since 2023/24. |
| BRIGHTON | Carlos Baleba (Cameroon) | The fit-again Age setting (£4.8m) is likely to return straight to the Brighton XI this weekend. |
| BURNLEY | Axol Tanzebe (D Congo) Lyle Foster (South Africa) Hannibal Mejbri (Tunisia) | Mejbri rarely starts, but Foster’s departure leaves a small hole; he has been playing on the wings in recent weeks, so Jaidon Anthony (£5.2m) or Loum Tchaouna (£4.9m) could face a recall. More minutes are expected for budget-friendly defender Hjalmar Ekdal (£3.9m) with Tuanzebe gone. |
| C PALACE | Ismaila Sarr (Senegal) | There is no mystery about who will take Sarr’s place this week, and Oliver Glasner confirms that Eddie Nketiah (£5.4m) wants to start! |
| EVERTON | Hydrissa Guee (Sengal) Ndiaye Education (Senegal) | Combined with Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall’s hamstring problem (£5.1m) we could see more of Carlos Alcaraz (£5.2 million), Dwight McNeil (£5.5 million) and/or Tyler Dibling (£5.3m) in attack. Irogbunam team (£4.8m) likely to replace Gueye. |
| FULHAM | Calvin Bassey (Nigeria) Alex Iwobi (Nigeria) Samuel Chukwueze (Nigeria) | Wednesday’s strong EFL Cup line-up came in Jorge Cuenca (£4.3 million), Now Lukic (£5.0 million) and club record signings Kevin (£5.8 million). It is possible that this is a semi-popular budget product Joshua King (£4.5m) could also take a hit, with Emile Smith Rowe (£5.6m) moving to the left to cover Chukwueze. |
| LIVERPOOL | Mohamed Salah (Egypt) | Salah hadn’t started in the last four matchweeks anyway, so Liverpool’s team aren’t too affected! With Cody Gakpo (£7.4m) injured, we could see more of the 4-4-2 diamond – as seen in Milan – pairing Hugo Ekitike (£8.6 million) and Alexander Isaac (£10.3 million). Unfortunately for Isak, that probably won’t happen this weekend. |
| MAN CITY | Omar Marmoush (Egypt) Rayan Ait-Nouri (Algeria) | There is now less rotational threat to it Nico O’Reilly (£5.3 million), a starter in 12 of the last 13 league matches. Marmoush had little influence Erling Haaland‘s (£15.0m) minutes anyway, but it’s an alternative less wing Phil Foden (£8.8m) and Rayan Cherki (£6.5 million). |
| MAN UTD | Bryan Mbeumo (Cameroon) Amad Diallo (Ivory Coast) Noussair Mazraoui (Morocco) | Wing-back decimation could result Patrick Dorgu (£4.1m) a potential bargain, although he has been out of form and favor of late. The ‘xMins’ of Matheus Cunha (£7.9 million), Mason Mountain (£5.9 million) and Benjamin Sesko (£7.2m) suddenly looks much better now that ’10’ options Mbeumo and Amad are gone. |
| NOTTM FOREST | Willy Boly (Ivory Coast) Ibrahim Sangare (Ivory Coast) | Douglas Luiz (£4.9m) is, however, the most likely replacement for Sangare Nicholas Dominguez (£5.0m) also remains pending. Boly is peripheral anyway. |
| WITHOUTLAND | Bertrand Traore (Burkina Faso) Noah Sadiki (DR Congo) Arthur Masuaku (DR Congo) Chemsdine Talbi (Morocco) Reinildo Mandava (Mozambique) Habib Diarra (Senegal) | Diarra has been missing since Gameweek 4, while Masuaku is barely used. This means that the wingers, central midfield and left back positions are most affected. That’s a small boost Simon Adingra (£4.9m) isn’t possible, so he can start as wide as he could Enzo Le Fee (£4.9 million) and Romaine Mundle (£4.9 million). Trai Hume (£4.5m) is more likely to play as a left back then Dennis Cirkin (£4.0m) while we could see Lotharel Geertruida (£4.5m) out of position next Granit Xhaka (£5.2 million). |
| TOTTENHAM | Yves Bissouma (Mali) Pape Matar Sarr (Senegal) | Bissouma has been injured or out of favor all season, but Sarr is getting minutes. Central midfield is still too difficult to call from week to week as it could be any combination of them Rodrigo Bentancur (£5.3 million), Joao Palhinha (£5.5 million), Archie Gray (£4.8m) and Lucas Bergvall (£5.3 million). |
| WEST HAM | Aaron Wan-Biska (DR Congo) El Hadji Malick Diouf (Senegal) | This almost certainly brings with it versatility Kyle Walker Peters (£4.2m) in one of the full-backs/full-backs, with Ollie Scarles (£4.3m) possibly in line for the other. |
| WOLVES | Emmanuel Agbadou (Ivory Coast) Tawanda Chirewa (Zimbabwe) | There have been just 21 minutes of league action for Chirewa, but centre-back Agbadou has started the last five. Or Ladislav Krejci (£4.5m) shifts there from midfield, or Santiago Bueno (£4.4m) could enter the fray. He was a regular starter before Rob Edwards took over. |
HIGHLIGHTS
The absence of Rayan Ait-Nouri should mean more minutes for Manchester City Nico O’Reillyand that of West Ham United Kyle Walker Peters will almost certainly come on while full-backs Aaron Wan-Bissaka and El Hadji Malick Diouf are away.
After starting five of Manchester United’s first six, Patrick Dorgu has fallen out of favor. Now just £4.1m, it could be him and Diogo Dalot as the full-backs?
There is a small chance that Ruben Amorim will change formation, something we have seen Arne Slot experiment with recently. With Salah gone and Cody Gakpo injured, Liverpool will become partners Hugo Ekitike of Alexander Isaac? We don’t think this will happen this weekend, but it is one to watch out for.
It was interesting to see the FPL defender Keane Lewis Potter on the left wing during Kevin Schade’s one-match ban (£7.0m) in Gameweek 16. The latter is back, but perhaps Lewis-Potter could start on the right of the attack, as he did in Gameweek 1.
To be honest, there is a lot of uncertainty about Sunderland, and so many are disappearing. It should at least bring Simon Adingra back into the mix.
Finally, at Everton, their positive match swing begins in Gameweek 18. Their upcoming line-up against Arsenal could provide clues as to which differential midfielders David Moyes will use.
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