Iwobi set to make 250th Premier League appearance as Fulham hosts Crystal Palace
Alex Iwobi will be looking to make his 250th Premier League appearance when his side, Fulham hosts Eberechi Eze’s Crystal Palace Saturday evening at Craven Cottage.
The Nigerian made his Premier League debut in October 2015 and has gone on to feature 249 in the competition times to move joint level with Chelsea legend, Mikel Obi who featured in 249 games for his west London side.
Iwobi will relegate Mikel to fifth in the all-time appearance list and will be just two games away from moving joint third with Yakubu Aiyegbeni with the Fulham midfielder having three more games to play in the competition.
The 27 year old will also be seeking for another assist to stand alone as the Nigerian player in Premier League history with the most assists. He equalled Aiyegbeni’s record of 29 when he bagged an assist in Fulham’s defeat of West Ham.
If he bags two more, he may also end the season as the Nigerian with the most assists in a Premier League season for the second straight season. His seven assists last season were the joint most provided by a Nigerian in Premier League history.He has provided two assists this season, one behind Taiwo Awoniyi.
Iwobi is also seeking to become Nigerian top scorer in a Premier League season for the first time and will need to score at least twice to supplant the injured Awoniyi who has netted six times this season but has not played a single minute of Premier League football since early March when he featured for just 18 minutes in Nothingham Forest’s 1-0 defeat at the Amex stadium to Brighton.
The former Arsenal midfielder has featured in 1,983 minutes of football this season, the most by a Nigerian. He has also made 28 appearances this season, also the most by a Nigerian.
