The group stages of both the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) and the Asian Cup are over, so we now know which Premier League players are in line for a Gameweek 22 return.
As well as rounding up the names we can expect to see back available in Fantasy Premier League next week, we’ll also take a look at which countries have the best chance of progressing in the knockout stages.
AFCON, ASIAN CUP + FPL CALENDAR
Before we get down to business, a reminder of how the Fantasy Premier League (FPL) calendar corresponds to the tournaments in Ivory Coast and Qatar:
THE PLAYERS WHO ARE DUE BACK IN GAMEWEEK 22
| Country | Premier League players | Last game was on… |
| Algeria | Yasser Larouci (Sheffield United), Rayan Ait-Nouri (Wolves) | Tue 23 Jan |
| Ghana | Antoine Semenyo (Bournemouth), Jordan Ayew (Crystal Palace), Mohammed Kudus (West Ham) | Mon 22 Jan |
| Tunisia | Anis Ben Slimane (Sheffield United) | Wed 24 Jan |
The early elimination of Algeria, Ghana and Tunisia at AFCON means we should see the above six players back in Gameweek 22, fitness permitting.
Antoine Semenyo (£4.5m), indeed, was on the bench for Bournemouth’s cup win over Swansea City on Thursday night.
Rayan Ait-Nouri (£4.5m) meanwhile comes back into the squad for Wolves’ FA Cup tie against West Bromwich Albion on Sunday.
Mohammed Kudus (£6.8m), who has delivered eight attacking returns in his last nine run-outs for the Hammers, is the most interesting name among the returnees from a Fantasy perspective.
WHO EACH FPL ASSET FACES IN THE LAST 16
ASIAN CUP
| Country | Premier League players | Next plays | When | Bookies’ probability of progression |
| Indonesia | Justin Hubner (Wolves) | Australia | Sun 28 Jan | 8.5% |
| Iran | Saman Ghoddos (Brentford) | Syria | Wed 31 Jan | 84.6% |
| Japan | Takehiro Tomiyasu (Arsenal), Kaoru Mitoma (Brighton), Wataru Endo (Liverpool) | Bahrain | Wed 31 Jan | 86.7% |
| South Korea | Son Heung-min (Spurs), Hwang Hee-chan (Wolves) | Saudi Arabia | Tue 30 Jan | 66.2% |
South Korea could have had an easier route to the quarter-finals, as they face fellow World Cup 2022 qualifiers Saudi Arabia in the last 16.
South Korea are favourites for that tie but if you look at the bookies’ percentages for Iran and Japan, by comparison, they have a stiffer test on paper.
If Saudi Arabia do come out on top, there’s every chance that Son Heung-min (£9.7m) and Hwang Hee-chan (£5.6m) could be back in Gameweek 23 (February 3rd/4th).
Australia would likely await in the quarter-finals if South Korea do progress, so it’s not a straightforward path to the final four.
AFCON
| Country | Premier League players | Next plays | When | Bookies’ probability of progression |
| Burkina Faso | Bertrand Traore (Aston Villa), Dango Ouattara (Bournemouth), Issa Kabore (Luton) | Mali | Tue 30 Jan | 41.1% |
| Cameroon | Andre Onana (Man Utd) | Nigeria | Sat 27 Jan | 38.5% |
| DR Congo | Yoane Wissa (Brentford) | Egypt | Sun 28 Jan | 44.0% |
| Egypt | Mohamed Elneny (Arsenal), Mohamed Salah (Liverpool) | DR Congo | Sun 28 Jan | 56.0% |
| Ivory Coast | Simon Adingra (Brighton), Serge Aurier (Nottm Forest), Willy Boly (Nottm Forest), Ibrahim Sangare (Nottm Forest) | Senegal | Mon 29 Jan | 44.2% |
| Mali | Yves Bissouma (Spurs), Boubacar Traore (Wolves) | Burkina Faso | Tue 30 Jan | 58.9% |
| Morocco | Sofyan Amrabat (Man Utd), Nayef Aguerd (West Ham) | South Africa | Tue 30 Jan | 74.2% |
| Nigeria | Frank Onyeka (Brentford), Calvin Bassey (Fulham), Alex Iwobi (Fulham), Ola Aina (Nottm Forest) | Cameroon | Sat 27 Jan | 61.5% |
| Senegal | Nicolas Jackson (Chelsea), Idrissa Gueye (Everton), Fode Ballo-Toure (Fulham), Moussa Niakhate (Nottm Forest), Chekihou Kouyate (Nottm Forest), Pape Matar Sarr (Spurs) | Ivory Coast | Mon 29 Jan | 55.8% |
Mohamed Salah (£13.1m) may not kick another ball at AFCON because of injury, although he could return for the final if Egypt get that far.
The Pharaohs certainly aren’t overwhelming favourites to beat DR Congo (a 56% chance of progression, the bookies say) in the last 16 in their talisman’s absence.
Nevertheless, there are more daunting routes to the last four elsewhere: it’s Equatorial Guinea or Guinea next for Egypt if they make it to the quarter-finals. Salah and co would have settled for that before the big kick-off.
With Cameroon in action as early as Saturday and unfancied by the bookmakers, Andre Onana (£4.8m) could very well be back for Gameweek 22 – if that happens, he wouldn’t have missed a single league game.
