BREAKING: Mo Salah to Miss Pivotal Liverpool Fixtures for AFCON — Major Title Race Impact? 😳⚽
🚨 Mo Salah Set to Miss Key Liverpool Clashes as Egypt Call Him Up for AFCON Duty! 🇪🇬🔥
Thankfully for Liverpool fans, Mo Salah will still be at Anfield next season—something that wasn’t guaranteed until he put pen to paper on a new two-year deal back in April.
The Egyptian forward topped the Premier League scoring charts in the 2024/25 campaign with 29 goals, playing a key role in helping the Reds cruise to the title. Now, with next season’s fixtures officially released, Arne Slot and his team can start preparing for what’s ahead.
One major challenge Liverpool will face is the absence of their star man during the festive period, as Salah will be representing Egypt in the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON). Unlike in recent years, this edition kicks off just before Christmas and runs through mid-January, meaning the 33-year-old will miss several games.
When is AFCON 2025?
Egypt begin their AFCON campaign against Zimbabwe on 22 December, followed by clashes with South Africa on Boxing Day and Angola on 29 December.
If they progress beyond the group stage—a strong possibility given Egypt are the third-highest ranked team—their round-of-16 match will take place on 3, 4, or 5 January. The quarter-finals are set for 9 and 10 January, semi-finals on the 14th, and the final on 18 January.
In short, Liverpool should brace for life without Salah during a crucial part of the season.
Which Liverpool games will Salah miss due to AFCON 2025?
Even though Egypt’s first AFCON match isn’t until 22 December, the team is expected to assemble at least a week earlier, meaning Salah will almost certainly be unavailable for Liverpool’s final three Premier League fixtures of 2025:
Tottenham (away)
Wolves (home)
Leeds (home)
His availability in January depends on how far Egypt go in the tournament. If they reach at least the quarter-finals, Salah will likely miss back-to-back away games in London against Fulham and Arsenal.
Should Egypt make it to the semi-finals and beyond (whether the final or third-place playoff), Salah would still be in Morocco when Liverpool host Burnley on 17 January. That means his first game back could be the trip to Bournemouth the following weekend.
In summary:
Definitely out: Spurs (A), Wolves (H), Leeds (H)
Very likely to miss: Fulham (A), Arsenal (A)
Possibly absent for: Burnley (H)
All things considered, this isn’t the worst run of fixtures for Liverpool to manage without their talisman. That said, his presence would be sorely missed at the Emirates, a crucial clash early in the new year.