5 Ligue 1 clubs that may suffer due to the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON)

#3 Stade Rennais

Stade Rennes have a large contingent of African players

Stade Rennais is one team the timing of AFCON will bother this year. The French side are high up in fourth place in Ligue 1 after an impressive start to the season, only two points behind second-placed OGC Nice.

Three of their stars have been called up to represent their respective countries at AFCON. Morocco's Nayef Aguerd, Mali's Hamari Traore, Ghana's Kamaldeen Sulemana and Senegal's Alfred Gomis have been invited to the tournament.

Traore and Aguerd are both regulars in the side's back four that protects goalkeeper Alfred Gomis, and teenage sensation Sulemana is a winger with frightening potential. Between them, the quartet have made 98 appearances this season for Rennes, with 10 goals and seven assists to show for their efforts.

Rennes will face RC Lens, Bordeaux, Clermont Foot and Stade Brest in their games that will take place alongside AFCON between January and February.

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#2 Olympique Lyonnais

Olympique Lyonnais are struggling in Ligue 1 this season

Despite being one of the biggest sides in French football, Olympique Lyonnais have really struggled in Ligue 1 this season. They are currently in 13th place with only 24 points after 18 matches, and are only eight points above the relegation zone.

To add insult to injury, two of their top strikers have been summoned by their respective national teams for AFCON. Algerian striker Islam Slimani and Cameroon's Karl Toko-Ekambi have made 16 and 23 appearances respectively, scoring four and 11 goals each.

The French side will be left with Moussa Dembele as their only out-and-out striker for the duration of AFCON. In this period, they will face leaders Paris Saint-Germain, Troyes, Saint-Etienne and AS Monaco in an important run of fixtures that may define their season.

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#1 Saint-Etienne

Club captain Wahbi Khazri will be at this year's AFCON

For a club as neck-deep in crisis as Saint-Etienne, AFCON could not have come at a worse time. Despite being one of the biggest teams in the history of Ligue 1, they currently find themselves at the bottom of the pile halfway through the campaign.

Saint-Etienne have won only two games all season and are five points from safety in the league. The quartet of Ryad Boudebouz, Wahbi Khazri, Denis Bouanga and Saidou Sow will be away on international duty at AFCON with Algeria, Tunisia, Gabon and Guinea respectively. Between them, the quartet have made 63 appearances this season, with 12 goals and three assists to show for their efforts.

Saint-Etienne face an important stretch of matches against Angers, Lens, Olympique Lyonnais and Montpellier, and will be without their captain Khazri and three other influential players due to AFCON.