Manchester City return to Premier League action when they visit Selhurst Park to face Crystal Palace, who will be looking to stun a City side riding high on confidence after four consecutive victories, the most recent being a crucial win over Real Madrid in midweek.

The Eagles are also in good form, having claimed three wins in their last five games in all competitions and sitting in the top four of the domestic league with 26 points.

However, Oliver Glasner's side will have to contend with a squad that boasts one of the most fearsome strikers in the league in the form of Erling Haaland and, surprisingly, Guardiola also has the league's best assist provider in Rayan Cherki in his ranks.

The playmaker, with 15 official appearances so far this season, seven of which have been as a starter, has been taking on an increasingly important role under Pep Guardiola. The former Olympique Lyon player has scored three goals and provided six assists so far, five of which have been in the Premier League.

Cherki is the player who needs the fewest minutes to assist a goal in the competition, far ahead of the second-placed player. The France international averages one assist every 80 minutes in the domestic league, ahead of Bruno Fernandes and Jeremy Doku, who assist every 224 and 236 minutes respectively.

Although the Manchester United captain has provided the most assists in the league so far with six, Rayan Cherki has clearly demonstrated his effectiveness in creating goals, as despite having one fewer assist, he needs a third of the minutes that stars such as the Portuguese, Doku or Kudus need to provide an assist.

The former Lyon player is gradually making a name for himself in Pep Guardiola's regular starting line-up, having started in the Sky Blues' last two matches, which resulted in victories against Sunderland (2 assists) and Real Madrid.

Therefore, the Eagles' defence, which is the second best in the league with only 12 goals conceded so far, will need to remain as solid as it has been until now to try to prevent the French international's ingenuity and class from finding a teammate to set up for a goal.

Premier League assists leaders per minute - 4 assists at least*

Rayan Cherki: 5 assists - 79.6 minutes
Bruno Fernandes: 6 assists - 223.7 minutes
Jeremy Doku: 4 assists - 235.8 minutes
Kudus: 5 assists - 242.8 minutes
Jack Grealish: 4 assists - 292.5 minutes
Hartman: 4 assists - 312.3 minutes
Yankuba Minteh: 4 assists - 321.5 minutes
Granit Xhaka: 4 assists - 333.3 minutes

Rayan Cherki

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