Posing the question because the better teams are likely to have more players World Cup bound.

It brings into question what sort of shape players are going to be in, on their return to their clubs after The World Cup.

Time Line of the 2022 FIFA World Cup

These are the 32 nations playing in Qatar, sorted by group:

Group A: Qatar, Netherlands, Senegal, Ecuador

Group B: England, USA, Wales, Iran

Group C: Argentina, Poland, Mexico, Saudi Arabia

Group D: France, Denmark, Tunisia, Australia

Group E: Germany, Spain, Japan, Costa Rica

Group F: Belgium, Croatia, Canada, Morocco

Group G: Brazil, Switzerland, Serbia, Cameroon

Group H: Portugal, Uruguay, Ghana, Korea Republic

November 13th: Premier League goes on break
November 21st: World Cup starts
December 2nd: End of the group stages
December 3rd: Round of 16 begins
December 6th: Round of 16 ends
December 9th & 10th: Four Quarterfinal games
December 13th & 14th: Semifinals
December 17th: 3rd place game
December 18th: World Cup finals

December 20th/21st: Carabao cup fourth round(Return of English club football)
December 26: Premier League resumes

Premier League players not going to the World cup are now expected to have a 41-day break during the middle of the season.

We could have a real kooky Top 4/6 at the end of the season. It's going to be imperative that the traditional Top 6 teams start well.

In going through the lists of players for the traditional Top 6 teams, Liverpool do have a bit of an advantage with players not taking part for their national teams at this stage. Obviously with the transfer window being open it could change a bit for some of those teams.

Liverpool will be one of the teams that benefits the most with a host of key players missing out on going to the World Cup including Salah, Diaz, Keita, Robertson, Matip, and backup options Kelleher and Tsimikas. Generally, Liverpool are the most impacted team when the Africa cup of nations are held so it’s a reverse of fortunes for us.
We can also add in the likes of Gomez, Milner, Jones, Carvalho, Elliott and Bobby who probably won't be part of their National team squads at The World Cup.

I've highlighted Liverpool's advantage here but there is potential for some teams to be gaining that 41 day break, keeping fresher than most to go again for the 2nd half of the season.

Who do you think can muscle into the traditional Top 6 or maybe even challenge for the PL Title?