• Skip to main content
bwin news
  • Football
    • Premier League
    • Accumulators
    • Champions League
    • Europa League
    • Transfer betting odds and news
    • Championship
    • FA Cup
    • EFL Cup
    • Bundesliga
    • La Liga
    • Serie A
    • International football
    • Interviews
  • Horse Racing
  • Tennis
  • Other Sports
    • NBA
    • Boxing
    • Cricket
    • Golf
    • Rugby
    • F1
    • Darts
    • NFL
    • Esports
    • UFC
    • Snooker
    • Cycling
    • MotoGP
  • Insights
    • Infographics
    • Novelty Bets
    • Politics
  • Sports Betting
    • Football betting
    • Tennis betting
    • Live betting
    • Promotions
£20 Backup Bet!Log in
Sport prediction » Football » Leagues » Premier League » Who will miss their African stars the most?

Who will miss their African stars the most?

Andrew McDermott | 10.01.2017
1 Your selection
2 Start Playing
Register, deposit £10 or more and place a Sport bet (3+ selections) up to £20, each with odds of 1/2 (1.5) or greater.
3 Get your FreeBet
If it’s not a winning bet, you’ll get up to £20 back as a FreeBet. T&Cs apply
Bet now! Log in
X

With clubs around Europe having waved goodbye to most of their African stars – departing for three weeks to the African Cup of Nations in Gabon – there will be a few holes for managers to fill.

The graphic below outlines which squads in the major European leagues will be most heavily affected, based on how many starts the absent players have made this season:

 

France

Ligue 1 will be the hardest hit by the exodus to Gabon, with 18 of the 20 clubs having at least one representative at the tournament. Angers, Lorient and Metz have the biggest gaps to fill and with all three sitting in the bottom five there could well be repercussions in the relegation battle.

Angers will be without four players – more than anyone else across the leagues featured above – who have collectively registered 55 Ligue 1 starts and, more devastatingly, scored 12 of their 15 league goals so far.

At the top, league leaders Nice could also experience a wobble as their two absentees have contributed 11 Ligue 1 assists between them. Diminutive Ivorian midfielder Jean Seri has contributed eight of these and the disruption to the supply lines could be keenly felt by the likes of Mario Balotelli further forward.

England

England’s top flight is the next most affected, with reigning champions Leicester likely to experience a further setback in their doomed title defence. The Foxes’ three absentees have made 44 starts and contributed to 15 Premier League goals so far – nine goals and six assists – so avoiding relegation is likely to remain the most pressing objective for Claudio Ranieri.

Elsewhere, Liverpool may only be losing Sadio Mane but he has almost matched the output of the three Leicester absentees by himself: he’s the Reds’ top scorer with nine goals and also has four assists to his name.

Belgium

The Belgian title race could also be decided a continent away, with Anderlecht’s three absentees having registered 51 starts between them. The loss of Algeria’s Sofiane Hanni robs them of the services of a man who has been an ever-present this season with six goals and six assists to his name already.

Their chances of catching current leaders Club Brugge – who have no representatives in Gabon – look far slimmer as a result.

Italy

In Serie A, third-placed Napoli are by far the most affected, losing the services of two regular defensive fixtures in Faouzi Ghoulam and Kalidou Koulibaby, with 30 starts, three assists and a goal between them so far, so their 10-match unbeaten run in all competitions may not last much longer.

Fellow title contenders Roma could also stumble without the presence of Egypt’s Mohamed Salah, who has thrived in Serie A after leaving Chelsea with eight goals and four assists this season.

Germany

Few German-based players are heading to Gabon, but the most prominent absence will be keenly felt. Dortmund’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang already has 16 goals and an assist in just 15 Bundesliga starts so far in a squad where nobody else has netted more than four times, so climbing from their current sixth position without him may be a big ask.

Elsewhere, Schalke are the only team who will have to do without two first-team regulars: former Premier League pair Nabil Bentaleb and Baba Rahman.

Spain

Lastly in Spain the ripples will barely be felt, with only five travelling players who have racked up a double-digit number of appearances. The most significant loss may be Granada’s Mehdi Carcela-Gonzalez, who has bedded in well in his first LaLiga season.

The Moroccan is the relegation battlers’ second highest scorer despite being a midfielder so they are unlikely to have exited the bottom three by the time he returns.

  •  
  •  
Miami at Pittsburgh: Dolphins can push Steelers
South African Open: Five to follow
Author

Andrew McDermott

Andrew works at the PA news agency as part of the sport betting editorial team, having previously worked on the Teletext Sport desk and been editor of the England cricket team’s website. A lifelong Huddersfield Town fan, his preferred way to unwind is to head for the hills on his bike. Meet our other bwin editors

Related posts

Tony Kelshaw 26.01.2021
Tottenham vs Liverpool: Spurs value to end Reds hoodoo
Andrew McDermott 26.01.2021
Analysis: Who are the 10 best snooker players in the world?
Tony Kelshaw 25.01.2021
Crystal Palace vs West Ham: Go for Selhurst stalemate

Security & Trust

Sports
  • Sports betting
  • Live betting
  • Football betting
  • Premier League betting
  • Champions League betting
  • Tennis betting
Corporate Links
  • About us
  • Affiliate program
  • Entain
  • Investor Relations
  • Press Events
About Us
  • Privacy & Cookie Policy
  • User Policy
  • General Terms and Conditions
  • Imprint
  • bwin news
  • Our editors
  • Sponsorships
  • Betting guide



18+!© 2021 ElectraWorks Limited Suite 6, Atlantic Suites, Europort Avenue, Gibraltar

ElectraWorks Limited, the provider of this website, is licensed by the Government of Gibraltar and regulated by the Gibraltar Gambling Commissioner under the Gambling Act 2005. ElectraWorks Limited has been granted a fixed-odds licence (RGL No. 051) and casino licence (RGL N0. 50) for the operation of remote gambling.

Furthermore, ElectraWorks Limited is licensed by the UK Gambling Commission under the Gambling (Licensing and Advertising) Act 2014. ElectraWorks Limited has been granted License No. 000-039011-R-319371-001 for the operation of remote gambling in Britain.

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.Ok