Unbeaten Leverkusen sit four clear of second-placed Bayern, who have a game in hand, but need to do without the AFCON-bound Odilon Kossounou, Edmond Tapsoba and Amine Adli.
A fourth, Nigerian striker Victor Boniface, who was supposed to play in his AFCON but injured his groin during training and will be out until April after undergoing surgery.
The tournament begins on Saturday and will run through Feb. 11.
This era includes league fixtures at home against Bayern and away against fourth-placed RB Leipzig, as well as a German Cup quarter-final with Stuttgart in top form.
Alonso’s side have won 22 games and drawn 3 of 25 this season, thanks in large part to their African contingent.
Boniface has stood out since his arrival this summer, scoring 10 goals and seven more in La Liga.
Czech striker Patrik Schick returned in time and will have to intervene in the Nigerian’s absence.
His six goals in nine games in all competitions, at the rate of one goal every 40 minutes, adding a hat-trick in his last start in a 4-0 win over Bochum, will give Leverkusen fans hope.
AFCON will not just impact Leverkusen up front however.
The Alonsos have conceded 12 goals in 14 games this season, the lowest overall in the league, with centre-backs Kossounou and Tapsoba forming a strong partnership alongside German foreigner Jonathan Tah.
Tapsoba, who will form Burkina Faso, told a group of journalists in December, adding to AFP, that Leverkusen had enough intensity to get through this difficult period.
“We take our teammates for granted and they all work hard”
“You can see that the coach is looking to combine the team in every game and I think everyone will take their chances.
“So we probably don’t worry too much about that. “
Alonso shared that sentiment, in December “we are wasting some players but we have noticed that all our players can play”.
“I’m not crying and I’m not a victim. We have enough players.”
Leverkusen sporting director Simon Rolfes said last month AFCON should be moved, saying it has an impact on whether clubs sign African players.
“Of course, all European clubs need to take this into account,” Rolfes said.
“You can’t have 15 African players in your squad and then in January you don’t have any players left.
“We would love to have the African Cup during the summer holidays, but that’s the way it is. “
To watch: Jadon Sancho (Borussia Dortmund)
Jadon Sancho returned to Borussia Dortmund on loan until the end of the season on Thursday, hoping that the familiar environment at the club where he made his name will revitalise his career.
Sancho scored 50 goals and provided assists in 137 appearances for Dortmund before his first move to Manchester United in 2021.
Sancho was unlucky at United, scoring 12 goals in 82 games before falling out with manager Erik Ten Hag.
Fifth-placed Dortmund have pinned their hopes on the winger.
One of Sancho’s last games in a Dortmund shirt was the 4-1 2021 German Cup win over RB Leipzig, where he scored two goals and another for Erling Haaland.
“Great memories” Sancho told Dortmund’s in-house media on Thursday.
“Start winning games, start scoring goals, start helping. . . (I’m) ahead to begin with. “
Key Stats
Six: Dortmund are six points adrift of fourth place. The last time Dortmund finished away from home in the top four was in 2014-15, Jurgen Klopp’s final year at the club.
Six: Leverkusen have dropped just six points from a conceivable 48 this campaign. Every team with 40 or more issues at this point in the season has won the title.
Six: Six (Wolfsburg, Bochum, Union Berlin, Mainz, Cologne and Darmstadt) have scored fewer than Harry Kane’s 21 goals this season.
Calendar (2:30 p. m. GMT unless otherwise noted)
Friday
Bayern Munich-Hoffenheim (1930)
Saturday
Freiburg vs. Union Berlin, Mainz vs. Wolfsburg, Augsburg vs. Bayer Leverkusen, RB Leipzig vs. Eintracht Frankfurt, Cologne vs. Heidenheim, Darmstadt vs. Borussia Dortmund (17:30)
Sun
Bochum v Werder Bremen, Borussia Moenchengladbach v Stuttgart (1630)