In mid-January, the Africa Cup of Nations and the Asian Cup will kick off, which will have a big impact on Europe's top five leagues. In the Premier League, in particular, a full 17 teams have been selected for these two cup competitions. Only Manchester City, Burnley and Newcastle are unaffected.
In the Premier League, Nottingham Forest have the highest number of departures, with six of them missing multiple games in January, and are currently 15th in the table, five points clear of the relegation zone, and hopefully this will not affect their relegation efforts.
The Africa Cup of Nations and the Asian Cup will not only affect the relegation teams, but will also become a new variable in the Premier League championship. It is reported that Liverpool has 2 people who have been transferred, they are Salah and Endo. In Liverpool, although Endo is only a substitute, but he is highly used by Klopp, he has made 24 appearances so far this season, considering that the Japanese team is strong and will win the Asian Cup at any time, Endo may have to miss a month, during which Liverpool's midfield depth must be weakened.
Even more uncomfortable for Liverpool is Mohamed Salah, a wing superstar who has scored 18 goals in 27 appearances this season, in addition to eight assists, and his role up front is irreplaceable. Mohamed Salah currently tops the Premier League scoring charts and assists charts and would have a huge impact on Liverpool if he reached the Africa Cup of Nations final with Egypt, and if Liverpool's results fluctuated during that period, Manchester City could replace him.
Compared to Liverpool, Manchester City does not need to worry about non-combat attrition, in fact, Manchester City not only has 0 people leaving the team because of 2 major cup competitions, they will also welcome 2 superstars back. Prior to this, De Bruyne and Haaland were recovering from injuries, and now these two are very close to healing, and the return of these two people, Manchester City is equivalent to bringing in two strong reinforcements in the winter window.
You know, Haaland has scored 19 goals in all competitions this season, and his attacking ability is stronger than Salah. City have relied on the likes of Alvarez and Phil Foden to share the pressure during Haaland's injury, and the Norwegian phenom's return will see their attacking prowess return to peak quality.
As for De Bruyne, as the number one attacking midfielder in football today, there is no doubt about his ability. With him passing the ball up front, Haaland definitely didn't have to worry about no chance to score. These two are the guarantee of Manchester City's attack, they are both back from injury, Manchester City will be more crazy to grab points, although Liverpool is currently leading by 5 points, but there must be a lot of pressure.
As for the race for the four, United have three departures, including Onana, Diallo and Amrabat. As the team's main goalkeeper, Onana has always been highly used by Ten Hag, and he can only trust the backup goalkeeper. Tottenham has three people including Son Xingmin leaving, as the team's captain and top scorer, Son Xingmin's short departure may have a great impact on Tottenham's fight for the fourth.
Because of the two major cups in Africa and Asia, the next championship and the top four in the Premier League may be chaotic, especially Liverpool, if they are overtaken by Manchester City, it will be a tragedy!