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The 2025/26 Premier League fixtures have been announced in full this Wednesday morning, with the Reds starting their title defence against Bournemouth at Anfield.

Arne Slot’s men certainly have a tough opening run of games to start out with.

Newcastle United, Arsenal, and Everton all form part of Liverpool’s opening five Premier League fixtures next term.

With the 2025/26 Premier League campaign scheduled to kick off in mid-August, Mohamed Salah faces an interruption to his season for the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Morocco.

Egypt have been drawn in Group B alongside Zimbabwe, South Africa, and Angola, guaranteeing at least three group-stage matches between December 21, 2025, and December 29, 2025.

So, Arne Slot will have to navigate at least three games in Brighton, Tottenham Hotspur, and Wolverhampton Wonderers without his talisman:

Date.

The official AFCON 2025 group stage is from December 21–29, 2025.

However, Egypt may require Salah to join camp early, so he could miss matches from mid-December which could also mean Leeds away on the 6th of December.

Should Egypt advance beyond the group stage, Salah would be at risk of missing additional rounds

The schedule for the knockout phase is:

Round of 16: January 3–6, 2026
Quarter-finals: January 9–10, 2026
Semi-finals: January 14, 2026
Final / Third-place match: January 17–18, 2026

As a result, the 33-year-old could miss a key fixture against Arsenal should the Pharaohs make it to the knockout stage – with Salah potentially missing fixtures until mid-January:

Stage

(No domestic fixtures scheduled)

(No Premier League matches clash)

Missing up to seven key fixtures – particularly December’s crucial matches against top-half sides and January clashes with Fulham and title contender Arsenal – could test Liverpool’s squad depth.

In the past, the likes of Sadio Mane stepped up to help shoulder this burden – notbaly in the 2021/22 campaign.

With how detailed Arne Slot is, he may well already have a plan to address his star man not being around for the middle of this coming season.

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