After years of speculation, Liverpool now know precisely what kind of a test they will have this January. Last night, against the cavernous backdrop of the Palais de Congres in Yaoundé, Cameroon, the draw for the African Cup of Nations 2022 was made, and the fixture dates confirmed. A tournament loaded with current and future stars has frustratingly been treated as a hindrance by the British football public due to its place in the calendar.This inconvenience has mutated into a lack of respect, with fans often expecting Africans to retire from international football at an age not expected of those from Europe or South America. For Liverpool a club that has drawn pride and global acclaim thanks to a collection of Africas brightest stars the situation is more complex. From January 9th - February 6th 2022, there will be exacting obstacles for Jürgen Klopp and his team to overcome, if not necessarily those initially anticipated. Memories remain strong of January 2017, where the departure of Sadio Mané pulled the rug from beneath a promising start to the season. Four defeats in five games, each more hapless than the last, left Liverpool out of contention for all three trophies available to them that year. Considering the club has since added Mohamed Salah & Naby Keïta, this tournament has loomed large as a potential hurdle ever since the decision to host the tournament after the European season was reversed. Liverpool fans may be more inclined to watch the action from the edge of their seats this time instead of through their fingers, as the draw has thrown up some exciting ties. There's an inter-club battle as Sadio Mané's Senegal are in the same group as Naby Keïta's Guinea, while Mohamed Salah's Egypt side face a Nigeria team with ferocious support and a host of familiar Premier League faces.Read MoreRelated ArticlesRead MoreRelated ArticlesSenegal and Egypt are among the tournament favourites, alongside holders Algeria led by Manchester City's Riyad Mahrez. After disappointment in this summer's international finals, the third time could be the charm for Liverpool players when it comes to the feel-good factor of bringing winner's medals back to Kirkby. That would undoubtedly help change the narrative that AFCON is not to be enjoyed but endured, on Merseyside at least. It's an issue the Confederation of African Football (CAF) has been desperately trying to solve. After attempting to align with their European and South American counterparts in 2017 by changing to a summer tournament, the extreme heat of Egypt 2019 left players dealing with dangerous levels of dehydration. Coupled with the new and improved Club World Cup being earmarked for that time, it became clear the tournament had to return to January. That move has had a considerable knock-on effect on Liverpool's transfer strategy, with the tournament cited as the prime example of why Klopp needs more convincing backup options in attack.As it turns out, the fixture computer has worked in the club's favour an outcome that will have been met by Klopp with a roar, and a few fist pumps to boot. So often since arriving in England, scheduling has been the biggest thorn in the Germans side. This time around, Liverpool has only two league matches during the tournament a home fixture with newly-promoted Brentford, plus a return to Selhurst Park a year after slicing Crystal Palace to pieces with seven outstanding goals. With the spectre of Covid-19 lingering, ready to render all best laid plans irrelevant, the quarantine rules for the tournament are yet to be confirmed. However, based on the exemption granted in March by CAF to all players involved in qualifiers, there is only a slim chance that the visit to Stamford Bridge on New Year's Day would be affected. Read MoreRelated ArticlesRead MoreRelated ArticlesThe remaining weekends in January are for the 3rd and 4th rounds of the FA Cup and potentially two legs of a League Cup semi-final. With the greatest respect to Brentford, Palace, and Liverpool's run of high profile cup draws, none of those games appear unmanageable. Roberto Firmino, Diogo Jota & Takumi Minamino have enough quality to trouble any side, while for the domestic cups, Harvey Elliot, Divock Origi should he remain at the club and Kaide Gordon come into contention. For Liverpool, the danger is not at home but in Africa.Along with every football federation on the planet at present, CAF has been seduced into tournament expansion. Bigger tournaments mean more matches, more adverts and ultimately more money for everyone involved. As I'm sure Klopp will mention a few times before the tournament's end in February, there is not infinite space to keep adding matches, and the players will be the ones to suffer through injuries.With AFCON 2022 now comprising 24 teams, they have decided to employ the unsatisfactory qualification parameters that drew criticism during Euro 2020. 36 group games will eliminate just eight teams in order to add a last-16 round. Consequently, all four semi-finalists will have played seven games by the time they return to their clubs.For Salah and Mané playing for teams for whom the last 4 is a realistic target the maximum games they would play in England over that period is six, and in reality, it's only four. If Liverpool reached the League Cup semi-final, they would surely be stood down from the FA Cup ties.Read MoreRelated ArticlesRead MoreRelated ArticlesOnly one of those six has the potential for extra time, as opposed to the four knockout matches in Cameroon. With both the final and 3rd place play-off taking place on Sunday, February 6th, should either of Liverpool's deadly strike duo go the distance, it would seriously jeopardise their ability to start a potentially pivotal game at Anfield against Leicester City less than 72 hours later. That said, it would be a mistake for Liverpool fans to become paranoid over these hypotheticals. Leicester will arguably be in a worse position, with Daniel Amartey, Wilfred Ndidi and Kelechi Iheanacho all likely to be involved. Meanwhile, the matchup between Mané and his ' little brother ' Keïta will be fascinating. They are far from the only stellar names on show, with the likes of Mahrez, Hakim Ziyech, Achraf Hakimi & Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang capable of providing a feast of football. The African Cup of Nations deserves to be held in the same esteem as its global peers in Europe and South America and may even end up being of benefit to Liverpool.The risk of injury remains at the forefront of most minds, but conversely, the tournament may allow our African stars to maintain a rhythm not possible in a January calendar that could feature just three Liverpool games. Salah has developed an insatiable appetite for playing football and would much prefer to be fighting for trophies than running up dunes in Dubai.Mané will be desperate to go one better than last time, after losing a final to the Algerians' only shot of the match, in the second minute, in 2019. For Keïta, it may be a chance to make that run of consecutive starts that many believe will unlock his potential. It may be his only chance, considering the elite options his club manager can call upon. For a variety of reasons, AFCON 2022 promises to be a compelling watch.Read MoreRelated ArticlesRead MoreRelated Articles