Everton are set to be without both Alexi Iwobi and Idrissa Gueye at the start of 2024 due to their involvement in the Africa Cup of Nations.
AFCON is set to take place between January 13 and February 11th next year, having initially been due to be held this summer. A decision was taken by the Confederation of African Football to reschedule the tournament to be played in winter due to concerns over extreme heat.
Gueye, Senegal’s vice-captain, will be representing his country on the biggest stage after securing their qualification for the competition with two games to spare. Iwobi’s international side, Nigeria, are on the verge of also booking their place at AFCON, requiring one win from their final two qualifiers.
Abdoulaye Doucoure, who switched international allegiance from France to Mali last year, is unlikely to be involved at the tournament despite his country currently topping Group G. The Blues’ midfielder has been left out of Mali’s 28-man squad for their upcoming AFCON qualifier versus Congo on Sunday and has not featured in any other of their group games.
Regarding matches Gueye and Iwobi could miss, this all depends on when the pair decide to link up with their international team-mates ahead of the tournament start date.
The FA Cup third round always takes place during the first weekend of the New Year, ensuring games are set to be held on January 6/7 2024, one week prior to the start of AFCON. Whether or not the Everton midfielders would be risked for this fixture remains to be seen, as would be the case for the Carabao Cup semi-final first leg that would be contested days later – provided Sean Dyche’s side make it to this stage of the cup.
Below is an overview of the seven fixtures Everton could be without Gueye and Iwobi for, a figure which will change depending on whether or not Nigeria and Senegal progress deep into AFCON and how far the Toffees go in the Carabao Cup.
Potential fixture list in early 2024
FA Cup third round – January 6/7
Carabao Cup semi-final first leg – w/c 8 January 2024
January 13 – Aston Villa (H) – *This fixture is subject to change to the weekend of January 20th due to the PL mid-season break
January 13-20 – Mid-season break
Carabao Cup semi-final second leg – w/c 21 January 2024
January 30 – Fulham (A).
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