The 2011 Asian Cup is fast approaching and, although fixtures such as North Korea against Iraq sound more like political hot potatoes than games of football, the tournament will come as a blow to Fantasy Managers as a host of players are plucked away, potentially missing the entire month of January.

Australia and South Korea (Korea Republic) are represented by key Premier League players, causing selection headaches for David Moyes, Sir Alex Ferguson, Owen Coyle, Mark Hughes and whoever happens to be in charge at Blackburn. This will lead to a shuffle of resources and Fantasy Managers need to be aware of the problems and opportunities this could create.

This round-up hopes to shed some light on the likely absentees, which games they could miss and the impact of their absence…

The Tournament

The tournament is held in Qatar between January 7 and January 29. Teams are free to name provisional squads at any time, but each country’s final 23-man squad must be submitted by 16 December. In the circumstance of an injury Nations have up until 24 hours before their first game to make replacements. FIFA regulations state that clubs must release their players 14 days before the start of the competition. That’s the bit that hurts.

Australia

The squad will meet-up before the tournament for a training camp in mid-December and will play a friendly with the United Arab Emirates on 5 January. The Socceroos will be one of the favourites and have all the potential to make the final on 29 January.

Their opening games are:

Australia vs. India 10/01/11

Australia vs. South Korea 14/01/11

Australia vs. Bahrain 18/01/11

Tim Cahill

Cahill has without doubt been Everton’s most prolific performer this season and his loss will come as a bitter blow to David Moyes and Fantasy Football owners alike. Cahill, owned by 20.0% of Managers on the Fantasy Premier League (FPL) game, is the second top scoring midfielder with 88 points, as well as being the Toffee’s top scorer, making up for his clubs lacklustre strikers by finding the back of the net 8 times this season.

David Moyes has been rather vocal with his frustration over losing his midfield maestro…

“I just feel in this world where the money is so tight for clubs, someone might say if you want to play in that tournament then there will be no wages in that month. We can’t stop you playing for your country, but maybe there are no wages. All I hope is that I get as much time with him before he goes away or sadly you start hoping they get knocked out of the tournament because you get them back quicker. These competitions in the middle of the season are really a hindrance.”

He has since revealed that Everton will keep Cahill for the rest of the year…

“I am due to see someone from Australia soon, but Tim has told us that he will stay until after the New Year.”

With this information it seems likely that Cahill will certainly miss all the games from 5 January and possibly the game on New Year’s Day against Stoke City. Should Australia progress to the final held on 29 January, it could be too close for the player to return to make the tricky fixture away to Arsenal on 1 February. So we know that he will certainly miss two fixtures (TOT, live) but it could potentially be more (stk, TOT, liv, WHM, ars).

Moyes is left with a major void to fill in Cahill’s absence. A long-time supporter of a 4-5-1 with Cahill used in support of Louis Saha or Yakubu, the Everton boss would seem unlikely to turn to a 4-4-2 given his failing striking options. Jermaine Beckford could get more opportunities but it seems more likely that Marouane Fellaini will be pushed forward into the Cahill role, with Mikel Arteta, Jack Rodwell and Leon Osman competing in the central midfield area. We need to monitor this one – Fellaini at 6.2 would certainly warrant attention if he is charged with supplementing the attack with his height.

Mark Schwarzer

It is unclear when Schwarzer will depart, but if it is as early as late December then he could be set to miss up to six Premier League games (stk, tot, WBA, wig, STK, NEW), he will certainly be out of at least two (WBA, wig).

Fulham manager Mark Hughes has taken a much more understanding stance than that of David Moyes…

“From our point of view we will look at it purely selfishly and we will lose an important player. Mark is a proud Australian and we would never try to stop him. We can’t anyway. These fixtures have to take place sometime.”

Schwarzer’s 5.1% of owners don’t have to look far for a replacement; David Stockdale will return to the Fulham starting line-up and priced at £4.0million on the FPL game he would bank you some money to spend on other areas of your team. The youngster will be keen to emulate the form that saw him impress in the opening games of the season and he’ll be looking to keep Schwarzer out of the side when he returns from the tournament.

Brett Emerton

The Blackburn Rovers man is in the same position as his Australian counterparts mentioned above and at the moment it is unclear when, exactly, he will be leaving the UK. This report believes that the midfielder will play his last game for Rovers on December 28 before flying out to meet the Aussie squad ahead of the tournament. If this is the case he will definitely miss (sun, LIV, che) and depending on how far the Nation progresses (sun, LIV, che, WBA, TOT).

With an ownership of just 1.2% on the FPL game the player shouldn’t cause too much concern for Fantasy Managers out there. Emerton’s absence is however likely to result in starts for David Dunn, who will be a temptation for some if he can maintain fitness. Dunn has been largely used from the bench on his return from injury and, having proved an effective Fantasy purchase in the past, could be worthy of some attention, although his 6.2 price tag, compared to Morten Gamst-Pedersen at 5.9, will likely temper interest.

And the rest…

Some other Premier League players who could be Qatar-bound include Liverpool back-up goalkeeper Brad Jones,Shane Lowry of Aston Villa, Blackburn Rover’s defensive midfielder Vincenzo Grella and David Carney of Blackpool – all of which will have little or no impact on our Fantasy selections.

South Korea

A pre-tournament training camp in December will not trouble the European players in the squad, but by Fifa rules they will be required to join their colleagues at least five days before their first match on January 10. Cho Kwang-Rae’s men will certainly be in with a good shot, as long as the manager can decide on his best players; the preliminary squad is a made up of a whopping 47 men.

Their opening fixtures are:

South Korea vs. Bahrain 10/01/11
South Korea vs. Australia 14/01/11
South Korea vs. India 18/01/11

Lee Chung-Yong

Bolton have been performing above all expectations so far this season, advancing from the old Allardyce and Megson-styles of yore and playing an easy-on-the-eye passing system which has certainly been encouraged by the Reebok faithful. Lee Chung-Yong has been influential in this resurgence and this is particularly evident in the FPL game, having scored an impressive 60 points to date. That has failed to translated to investment however; he holds a surprisingly low FPL ownership of 3.3%.

It has been reported that the player will not have to report to the pre-tournament training camp, but must arrive at least 5 days before his nation’s first game. This would therefore mean that the midfielder will certainly miss (WIG, stk) and could potentially be out of (liv, WIG, stk, CHE, WOL) subject to his exact departure and South Korea’s advancement.

Lee’s absence could mean starts for Spanish youngster Rodrigo Moreno, the loanee from Benfica, or Owen Coyle could switch either Martin Petrov or Matt Taylor to the right. The Bolton boss may prefer to start Mark Davies out wide, with Stuart Holden and Fabrice Muamba taking up the central midfield roles. That would open Davies up as an option at just 4.2 in the FPL.

Ji-Sung Park

Often considered one of the most underrated performers in the Premier League, Park has consistently put in selfless displays throughout his time at Old Trafford and this was recently typified with his performance and winning goal in the recent 1-0 victory over Arsenal. Surprisingly the South Korea captain has a meagre ownership of just 1.9% on the FPL game. Park still isn’t seen as permanent fixture in the United midfield, although Sir Alex does seem to depend on his work rate and temperament in the big games.

Park will miss 6 Premier League games (bir, wba, STK, tot, BIR, blp) including the rescheduled game against Blackpool, the seventh is an FA Cup fixture with Liverpool. Sir Alex will likely look to the likes of Ryan Giggs and Anderson as options and both players could feature more prominently on our radars as a result. Gabriel Obertan is another possible alternative and, as he is available for just 4.5 in the FPL, that’s a possibility we will need to watch for.