If Kevin De Bruyne gets an assist at home against Southampton, he will reach double-figures at an unprecedented pace and increase the threat of one of the competition's longer-standing records being broken.
The Manchester City playmaker is on nine assists already after just 10 matches, almost halfway to Thierry Henry's single-season record of 20.
And De Bruyne already has a head-start of five on Henry, who set up only four goals in Arsenal's opening 10 matches in 2002/03.
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Incidentally, the two players who reached 10+ assists in the quickest time were the men who have come closest to knocking Henry off his perch.
Cesc Fabregas and Mesut Ozil did so in the 12th match of 2014/15 and 2015/16 respectively.
Most assists in a season
| Player | Season | Total | Assists after MW10 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thierry Henry | 2002/03 | 20 | 4 |
| Cesc Fabregas | 2014/15 | 19 | 9 |
| Mesut Ozil | 2015/16 | 18 | 7 |
| Frank Lampard | 2004/05 | 18 | 5 |
| Kevin De Bruyne | 2016/17 | 18 | 5 |
Yet after quick starts the Chelsea and Arsenal midfielders stuttered and fell short of Henry's record.
History suggests that, fitness aside, De Bruyne will not suffer such a drop in form.
When he won the inaugural Cadbury Playmaker of the Season award in 2016/17, he had accrued only five assists at this stage of the campaign.
But he ended with nine in City's last 10 matches, the same rate he has started at this season.
If he maintains this pace Henry's record of 17 years will fall.