Manchester City could have an advantage in the English Premier League title race in the coming weeks as their rivals face up to losing key players to the Africa Cup of Nations and Asian Cup.
As the Premier League emerges from a frantic set of festive fixtures with only six points separating the top five, managers will be busy drawing up contingency plans.
Some will likely deem it necessary to dip into the transfer market to make up for the loss of some top performers.
But while Liverpool will lose Egyptian star forward Mohamed Salah and Tottenham Hotspur will have to make do without their talismanic South Korean captain Son Heung-min, City will be unaffected.
The champions are third in the standings on 40 points, five behind Liverpool and two behind Aston Villa, albeit with a game in hand.
Arsenal are level on points with City but trail on goal difference, while Tottenham are fifth on 39 points.
City boss Pep Guardiola does not have a single player jetting off to either the Ivory Coast or Qatar for the continental tournaments that start on Jan 13 and Jan 12 respectively and run for almost a month.
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