AFCON 2023: Top 5 European teams that will be most affected by the tournament

The 34th Africa Cup of Nations is just weeks away.

European clubs are getting ready to release some of their players for the tournament, which is set to take place between January 13 to February 11 in Cote d'Ivoire.

Some of these teams will be hit hard after releasing the players, and it may have serious repercussions on their campaigns.

Some of the best players this season, like the recently crowned African Footballer of the Year, Victor Osimhen, Liverpool's Mohamed Salah and Bayer Leverkusen's Victor Boniface, will be at AFCON.

For some teams, these players will only miss a handful of games in the cup and league. But which team will be the most affected?

Teams challenging for a league title and those fighting for survival will feel the most pain. Sports Brief looks at the top 5.

Teams most affected by AFCON

Bournemouth, Brentford, Stuttgart, Eintracht Frankfurt, and West Ham could also feel the pain.

5. Ligue 1 teams, Nice, Marseille, Monaco

Most Ligue 1 teams will perhaps lose multiple players during the Africa Cup of Nations. The most affected will probably be Nice, who are second in the table this season. They will lose Jeremy Boga (Ivory Coast), Hicham Boudaoui(Algeria), and Youcef Atal (Algeria).

French giants Marseille will lose the likes of Chancel Mbemba (DR Congo), Illiman Ndiaye (Senegal), Azzedine Ounahi (Morocco), Pape Gueye (Senegal), Amine Harit (Morocco), and Ismaila Sarr (Senegal). Monaco and Lille will also lose key players.

4. Nottingham Forest

The English side are celebrating a rare victory over Manchester United. They will be without several key players during AFCON, which could affect the early momentum under new boss Nuno Espirito Santo.

They will lose Serge Aurier, Willy Boly, Ibrahim Sangaré, Moussa Niakhaté, and Cheikhou Kouyaté. These players could miss key matches during that period. They face Brentford, Arsenal, Bournemouth and Newcastle before the tournament ends. If all their teams progress deep into the tournament, they will be hit hard.

3. Napoli

The Italian champions will lose their best player and reigning African Footballer of the Year, Victor Osimhen and ever-present Cameroon midfielder Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa.

Losing your best player for several weeks when you're having a difficult season will deeply affect the team. Napoli have won just eight of their last 11 games, and things could get worse when Osimhen joins the Super Eagles camp.

2. Liverpool

The Reds are challenging for the title this season, and playing huge games without their best player, Mohamed Salah, could seriously dent their hopes for the Premier League title. Liverpool have lost Slah to AFCON several times, but they have done well. However, this time, they have a different team meaning his absence could be felt.

1. Bayer Leverkusen

Leverkusen have made a historic start in the Bundesliga. They are unbeaten in their first 16 games and occupy the top spot ahead of giants Bayern Munich.

They will release key players, including star striker Victor Boniface (Nigeria), Edmond Tapsoba (Burkina Faso), Odilon Kossounou (Ivory Coast) and Amine Adli (Morocco).

They face Bayern in a top-of-the-clash on February 10th, so they could be without most of their players during that game which could potentially alter their season.