When you've started the season exceptionally and reminded everyone of your capability in both the Premier League and Champions League, the last thing you want is two of your players jetting off around the world in January for an international tournament.
Unfortunately, that's the case for Liverpool this season, with Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane both set to feature at the Africa Cup of Nations which starts in January. Naby Keita will also be there.
With Salah arguably the best player in the world right now and Mane an incredible supporting forward, their absences could hit the Reds hard if their respective nations - Egypt and Senegal - enjoy good runs in the tournament.
The competition starts on 9 January and runs until the final on 6 February.
27 December is the official release date for players called up to their national team squads, meaning the pair will most likely play in the Boxing Day clash with Leeds.
However, Liverpool are trying to push back and have asked Salah and Mane to tell their coaches they won't be leaving until early January. If that proves successful, they would be free to face Leicester two days after the Leeds match and then Chelsea in a massive fixture on 2 January.
The official line from FIFA is "clubs and associations concerned may agree a longer period of release or different arrangements", so different sides may be able to negotiate different timelines for their players.
Liverpool only have three Premier League games slated for January - against Chelsea, Brentford and Crystal Palace - with two rounds of the FA Cup also crammed into the first month of the year. Salah and Mane likely wouldn't feature in those cup games anyway, with manager Jurgen Klopp often selecting shadow sides for those matches.
The semi-finals of the Carabao Cup also take place in January, though the Reds still need to come through the fourth round and quarter-finals for that to be taken into consideration.
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Source : 90min