Leeds United are one of only three Premier League teams who will not lose any players to the Afica Cup of Nations next month
Richard Garnett Central Audience Sport Content Editor
06:00, 15 Nov 2025
Sean Longstaff of Leeds United is challenged by Ibrahim Sangare of Nottingham Forest
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Sean Longstaff of Leeds United is challenged by Ibrahim Sangare of Nottingham Forest(Image: Photo by Matt McNulty/Getty Images)
Leeds United could do with any advantage they can get over the next few months as Daniel Farke tries to find a way to get his team upwardly mobile.
The Whites have won only once in their last six outings and face daunting fixtures against Man City, Chelsea and Liverpool in their next three outings.
Sitting just a point above the relegation zone, the signs are not good for Leeds as they look to consolidate their top-flight status, but a small ray of hope could be around the corner.
The Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) gets underway on Sunday, December 21 in Morocco, where 24 of the continent's countries will come together to thrash out a tournament winner over four weeks of international action.
The competition had originally been planned to take place during the summer, to avoid impacting the traditional domestic club season. However, the expansion of the FIFA Club World Cup necessitated a change in the proposed dates to the winter.
The Premier League is littered with African footballers and as a result, the majority of the clubs in the top-flight will be without some of their star players for up to four weeks either side of Christmas.
Liverpool will have to manage without their talisman, Mohamed Salah, while Newcastle United will not be able to call on Yoane Wissa. Ivory Coast are the reigning AFCON champions and that means that winger Evann Guessand will be missing for Aston Villa.
In fact, there are only three Premier League teams that will not lose players for up to a month to the tournament and Leeds United are one of them, alongside Chelsea and Arsenal.
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The day before AFCON gets underway, Leeds are set to host Crystal Palace, but the Eagles won't be able to field Ismaila Sarr, Cheick Doucoure or Christantus Uche.
Farke's side then travel to Sunderland on December 28, where the Black Cats could be without the services of as many as nine players. Noah Sadiki and Arthur Masuaku (DR Congo), Simon Adingra (Ivory Coast), Chemsdine Talbi (Morocco), Reinildo Mandava (Mozambique), Ahmed Abdullahi (Nigeria), Habib Diarra (Senegal), Blondy Nna Noukeu (Cameroon), and Bertrand Traoré (Burkina Faso) are all expected to be at AFCON, in a huge boost to Leeds.
On New Years' Day, there will be no Salah for Liverpool at Anfield and three days later, Manchester United will likely come to Elland Road without Bryan Mbeumo, Amad and Noussair Mazraoui.
Depending on how the tournament unfolds, clubs could still be impacted well into January. When Leeds travel to Newcastle United on January 7, they could still be missing Wissa, if DR Congo reach the later stages. And if Nigeria reaches the final, Fulham won't be able to field Alex Iwobi, Calvin Bassey or Samuel Chukwueze against Farke's side on January 17.
The mass inconvenience for Leeds' rivals could be just the advantage they need to get their season back on track at a crucial stage.
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