Veteran Fantasy Premier League managers will be familiar with the problems caused to their teams from the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) but did you know the Asian Cup is also being played at the same time?
No? Us neither.
Well, now you know, you need to deal with it!
We will do our best to keep this page updated with all the FPL relevant news ahead of AFCON and the Asian Cup. In the meantime, here’s everything you need to know about AFCON and Fantasy Premier League.
How Do AFCON and The Asian Cup Affect the FPL Schedule?
Now, time difference can mess with this depending upon where you are reading this from. So, to be clear, all dates are based on the UK time zone.
I have found squad submission deadlines for AFCON but can’t find them for the Asian Cup just yet, but here are the key dates for your FPL diary.
| Date | Fixtures |
|---|---|
| 14 December | AFCON Provisional 55-man Squad Submission Deadline |
| 15 December | FPL Gameweek 17 Deadline |
| 21 December | FPL Gameweek 18 Deadline – Brentford, Man City Blank |
| 26 December | FPL Gameweek 19 Deadline |
| 30 December | FPL Gameweek 20 Deadline – Possible Double for Brentford and Man City |
| 3 January | AFCON 27-man Squad Submission Deadline |
| 6 January | FA Cup third round – All 20 PL teams to play |
| 8 January | Carabao Cup semi-final first legs |
| 12 January | Asian Cup begins |
| 13 January | FPL Gameweek 21 Deadline First match of AFCON |
| 13-27 January | Mid-season player break (half the teams play first weekend, half the second weekend) |
| 22 January | Carabao Cup semi-final second legs End of Gameweek 21 |
| 24 January | AFCON Group Stage Ends |
| 25 January | Asian Cup Group Stage Ends |
| 27 January | FA Cup fourth round – likely 15 PL teams play |
| 30 January | FPL Gameweek 22 Deadline AFCON Round of 16 ends |
| 31 January | Asian Cup Round of 16 Ends |
| 3 February | FPL Gameweek 23 Deadline AFCON Quarter-Finals End Asian Cup Quarter Finals End |
| 7 February | AFCON Semi-Finals End Asian Cup Semi Finals End |
| 10 February | FPL Gameweek 24 Deadline Asian Cup Final |
| 11 February | AFCON final |
| 17 February | FPL Gameweek 25 Deadline |
FPL Players Expected to be at AFCON or The Asian Cup
And here follows the full list of FPL players that are likely to be at either AFCON or the Asian Cup.
| Team | Player (Country) |
| Arsenal | Mohammed Elneny (Egypt), Thomas Partey (Ghana), Tomiyasu (Japan) |
| Aston Villa | Bertrand Traore (Burkina Faso) |
| Bournemouth | Dango Ouattara (Burkina Faso), Antoine Semenyo (Ghana), Hamed Traore (Ivory Coast) |
| Brentford | Bryan Mbeumo (Cameroon), Yoanne Wissa (DR Congo), Frank Onyeka (Nigeria), Saman Ghoddos (Iran) |
| Brighton | Tariq Lamptey (Ghana), Simon Adingra (Ivory Coast), Samy Chouchane (Tunisia), Karou Mitoma (Japan) |
| Burnley | Anass Zaroury (Morocco), Lyle Foster (South Africa) |
| Chelsea | Nicolas Jackson (Senegal) |
| Crystal Palace | Jordan Ayew (Ghana), Jeffrey Schlupp (Ghana), Cheick Doucoure (Mali) |
| Everton | Abdoulaye Doucoure (Mali), Idrissa Gueye (Senegal), Fodo Ballo-Toure (Senegal) |
| Fulham | Calvin Bassey (Nigeria), Alex Iwobi (Nigeria) |
| Liverpool | Joel Matip (Cameroon), Mo Salah (Egypt), Endo (Japan) |
| Luton | Issa Kabore (Burkina Faso), Pelly Ruddock Mpanzu (DR Congo) |
| Man City | |
| Man Utd | Andre Onana (Cameroon), Amid Diallo (Ivory Coast), Sofyan Amrabat (Morocco), Hannibal Mejbri |
| Newcastle | |
| Notts Forest | Serge Aurier (Ivory Coast), Willy Boly (Ivory Coast), Ibrahim Sangore (Ivory Coast), Ola Aina (Nigeria), Taiwo Awoniyi (Nigeria) Cheikhou Kouyate (Senegal), Moussa Niakhate (Senegal) |
| Sheff Utd | Yasser Larouci (Algeria), Benie Traore (Ivory Coast), Ismaila Coulibaly (Mali), Anis Ben Slimane (Tunisia) |
| Tottenham | Yves Bissouma (Mali), Pape Matar Sarr (Senegal), Heung Min Son (S. Korea) |
| West Ham | Saidd Benrahma (Algeria), Mohammed Kudus (Ghana), Maxwell Cornet (Ivory Coast), Nayef Aguerd (Morocco) |
| Wolves | Rayan Ait-Nouri (Algeria), Boubacar Traore (Mali), Hwang Hee-Chan (S. Korea) |
Yes we know some of these guys are injured but we don’t know if they will be fit by then. Apart from Awoniyi who looks like he is out for ages.
Which Countries are Likely to Go Deep Into the Tournaments?
The bookies haven’t yet opened the odds so we are reliant on our pretty poor knowledge of both Asian and African international football…
So, starting with AFCON, Senegal won the tournament last time against seven-time winners Egypt. Both of these teams are expected to perform well and, of course, Egypt have Salah. Morocco performed brilliantly in the World Cup in Qatar, being the first African side to reach a semi-final, and so we expect them to go deep.
As for the Asian Cup, its basically impossible for Iran, Japan and South Korea to make it out of the group stages. This is because 16 of the 24 teams who qualify for the tournament make it to the next round. Last time out, Japan lost in the final, Iran in the semis and South Korea in the quarter finals – we assume something similar will happen this time out.
FPL Big Boys at AFCON and The Asian Cup
So, who are the most owned FPL players going to AFCON and the Asian Cup?
- Mo Salah (49.9% owned) – The biggest of big boys. The Egyptian King doesn’t have an international cup competition to his name yet. At the ripe old age of 31, this is close to being his last opportunity so we know he will be really going for it.
- Heung Min Son (36.8% owned) – As one of the greatest finishers in world football, we expect he will lead South Korea deep into the tournament.
- Bryan Mbeumo (32.3% owned) – His native Cameroon finished 3rd in the 2021 AFCON. He’s probably going to be away for a while. Fortunately, he blanks in gameweek 18 which gives you a nice opportunity to sell him for Moussa Diaby (Villa play Sheffield United at home that week).
- Karou Mitoma (22.7% owned) – The Japanese maestro has been a bit lacklustre in recent weeks
- Andre Onana (15.0% owned) – A fellow Cameroonian. Maybe he refuses to play again and stays in England? We will see when the squads come out.
And a special mention for 4.0 enabler Issa Kabore (5.4% owned) who plays for minnows Burkina Faso. Their group is quite easy and they made the semis last time out, but they aren’t super high on FIFA rankings.
FPL Double Gameweek 20 For Man City and Brentford?
It’s not confirmed but in the event of the anticipated FPL DGW 20 confirmation involving Manchester City and Brentford, there is a potential scenario where the trio of Brentford players might be absent for the second game of the double gameweek if they are required to join their respective national teams before AFCON.
Is Ben White Nailed on in January?
Maybe Ben White is the biggest beneficiary of the two tournaments! Partey is currently injured but if he is fit and goes to AFCON and Tomiyasu goes to the Asian cup then White has no competition at right back. In theory, this means he is nailed but when you see the fixture pile up in January you have to question whether he plays every game.
How to Prepare Your FPL Squad for AFCON and The Asian Cup
Well, the simplest thing to do is to wildcard. I still have mine and plan to spread my Mo Salah money about with it in Gameweek 20. You get another wildcard after Gameweek 20, but you are going to want to hold that for doubles and blank gameweek planning later in the season.
So, if you don’t have the luxury of your first wildcard, then it depends upon how exposed you are to AFCON FPL players. There are five gameweeks between now and the start of the competition. I’d be impressed if you had five players but I guess it’s feasible. That gives you enough time to make transfers to fix your situation.
Your best bet is to use a tool like FPL.team to plan out your transfers.
If you have Kabore or someone similar (cheap, cheerful and benchable) then you can conceivably hold them through the tournament and have a squad of 14.
If you have Onana then he’s got to go.
If Dubravka starts for Newcastle this week then I would just jump on him straightaway to lock in his price. If not, then Raya is your man and he has less chance of being replaced in January.