Mirror: Only Arsenal and Chelsea in the Premier League are not affected by the African Cup of Nations. Sunderland may be short of 9 players

On November 16, the "Mirror" reported that only the first teams of Arsenal, Chelsea and Leeds United in the Premier League will not be affected by the African Cup of Nations, while Sunderland may have as many as nine players leaving the club during the tournament.

The return of the Africa Cup of Nations means Premier League clubs may once again be without some of their stars for up to a month. The biennial tournament will kick off on December 21 and run until January 18, which is traditionally a dense period of England's schedule.

While some teams can handle attrition with relative ease, others may lose large numbers of players. Premier League leaders Arsenal, for example, currently do not have a single African star in their first-team squad, while Sunderland could see up to nine players depart for the competition.

That difference is enough to make or break a season, and some clubs can't afford such a loss at this time of year. Only three teams are not at risk of missing players, with Chelsea and Leeds United the other two currently without African stars.

A total of 24 teams will participate in the 2025 African Cup of Nations, and the host Morocco is the favorite to win. Manchester United, Bournemouth, Sunderland and Crystal Palace each have a Moroccan player in their squads, with all four clubs likely to be missing key players from their winter schedule if the teams go deep into the competition.

Manchester United may end up being the English powerhouse most affected by the Africa Cup of Nations, and while most major teams will only have one or two players out for a period of time at most, Amorim may have to face the absence of up to four players.

Luckily for him, if Cameroon goalkeeper Onana is called up, the impact will be minimal as he is currently on loan at Trabzonspor. However, it would be a completely different story if the in-form Mbemo goes far with Cameroon, with Amad (Ivory Coast) and Mazraoui (Morocco) also included in the squad.

Liverpool's only player who may participate in the event is also an important figure, Salah is preparing to travel with the Egyptian team. The four-time Premier League Golden Boot winner has dipped in form this season, but his absence will undoubtedly hurt Slott's hopes of successfully defending his title.

If Malmouche is selected as scheduled, Manchester City will also be short of their own Egyptian players. Egypt has reached the finals of two of the past four African Cups and cannot rule out another shot at this year's title.

However, no team comes close to the size of Sunderland in terms of the number of players likely to be absent, with up to nine players likely to be out for the duration of the Africa Cup of Nations. These include Moroccan winger Shemsdine Talbi, Senegalese midfielder Habib Diarra, regular starter Simon Adingla (Ivory Coast) and Mozambique veteran Reinildo Mandava.

Potential Premier League African Cup call-ups:

Bournemouth: Amin Adély (Morocco)

Arsenal: There are currently no African players in the first team

Aston Villa: Ewan Guessan (Ivory Coast)

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

Brighton: Carlos Baleba (Cameroon)

Burnley: Axel Tuanzebe (Democratic Republic of Congo), Manuel Benson (Angola), Lyle Forster (South Africa), Hannibal Mejebri (Tunisia)

Chelsea: No African players currently in the first team Players

Crystal Palace: Ismaila Sarr (Senegal), Christantus Uche (Nigeria), Cheick Doucoure (Mali), Shadi Riad (Morocco)

Everton: Iliman Ndiaye (Senegal), Idrissa Gueye (Senegal)

Fulham: Calvin · Bessie (Nigeria), Alex Iwobi (Nigeria), Samuel Chukwueze (Nigeria)

Leeds United: There are currently no African players in the first team

Liverpool: Mohamed Salah (Egypt)

Manchester City: Omar Marmouche (Egypt), Rayan Ait-Nouri (Algeria) Leah)

Manchester United: Nussel Mazraoui (Morocco), Amad Diallo (Ivory Coast), Andre Onana (Cameroon), Brian Mbemo (Cameroon)

Newcastle: Yoan Visa (Democratic Republic of Congo)

Nottingham Forest: Sangare (Ivory Coast), Awo Niyi (Nigeria), Willy Boli (Ivory Coast), Ola Aina (Nigeria)

Sunderland: Shemsdine Talbi (Morocco), Brandi Na Nuku (Cameroon), Renildo Mandawa (Mozambique), Habib Diarra (Senegal), Simon Adingla (Ivory Coast), Arthur · Masuaku (Democratic Republic of Congo), Noah Sadiki (Democratic Republic of Congo), Ahmed Abdullahi (Nigeria), Bertrand Traore (Burkina Faso)

Tottenham Hotspur: Yves Bissouma (Mali), Pappu Matar Sarr (Senegal)

West Ham United: El. Alhaji Malik Diouf (Senegal), Wan-Bissaka (Democratic Republic of Congo)

Wolves: Marshall Munezi (Zimbabwe), Emmanuel Agbadu (Ivory Coast), Tolu Arokodare (Nigeria), Tawanda Chirewa (Zimbabwe), Jackson Chachawa (Cameroon)