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Martin Tyler's stats and facts: Who has Cesc Fabregas assisted the most?

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Martin Tyler brings you his latest teaser ahead of the EFL Cup final at Wembley

From Cesc Fabregas' main beneficiary to Tottenham's record against Stoke, Martin Tyler presents the best stats from the latest round of games.

Send your questions to Martin in one of the following ways...

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Tyler's Starting Stats

On Sunday I enjoyed commentating on the 57th League Cup final. It was 50 years since the first at Wembley, which also finished 3-2 between QPR and West Brom.

There were 292 goals in this year's tournament from 93 games, which is more than three per game. Manchester United took their total of goals to 14, which made them the top scorers in the tournament and Zlatan Ibrahimovic's four goals made him the joint top individual scorer along with Daniel Sturridge of Liverpool.

United's three goals were the first conceded by Southampton in the competition, having not conceded in their previous five games. The only previous team to achieve that feat was Spurs in 1981/82 when they played seven games without conceding - but also conceded three in a losing final against Liverpool.

Also See:

Manolo Gabbiadini has five goals in three appearances, the first Southampton player to score in his first three games for the club since Henri Camara in 2005.

Manchester United won their 44th major trophy, equalling Liverpool's all-time record. Southampton remain on one.

It was also their fourth game at Wembley in less than a year, all won by a one-goal margin (2-1 FA Cup semi-final v Everton, 2-1 FA Cup final v Crystal Palace, 2-1 v Leicester in Community Shield). All were won with late goals.

Two years ago Manchester United's entire season ran 44 games, but on Saturday they will play in their 44th game of this season live on Sky against Bournemouth. They still have Europa League, FA Cup and 12 Premier League games after that!

Manchester United started by beating Northampton and finished by beating Southampton, so there was some nice symmetry there.

Fabregas to thank

Cesc Fabregas has just gone level with Frank Lampard with 102 Premier League assists, but which player has he assisted the most? David Vardigans

MARTIN SAYS: For Fabregas to move level with Lampard is an incredible feat and puts him second on the all-time Premier League list for assists. Should he stay in England for the next few years, you can see that record of Ryan Giggs' (162 assists) coming under threat.

Emmanuel Adebayor has been the main beneficiary of a Fabregas assist, scoring 13 times when set up by the Spaniard during their time at Arsenal.

Cesc Fabregas has moved to second alongside Frank Lampard on the list of most Premier League assists after Chelsea's 3-1 win over Swansea in February 2017
Image: Cesc Fabregas has moved to second alongside Frank Lampard on the list of most Premier League assists after Chelsea's 3-1 win over Swansea in February 2017

In just over two-and-a-half seasons, Fabregas has already assisted Diego Costa on 10 occasions at Chelsea, while Eden Hazard has scored from five and Pedro four.

Ahead of Hazard however sits another two Arsenal strikers - Robin van Persie scored seven goals thanks to Fabregas, while Thierry Henry netted six before moving to Barcelona in 2007.

Players Cesc Fabregas has assisted most often:

Emmanuel Adebayor (13)

Diego Costa (10)

Robin van Persie (7)

Thierry Henry (6)

Eden Hazard (5)

Andrei Arshavin, Pedro (4)

I wonder if he will be involved in Monday Night Football against West Ham this week, having started against Swansea? I will be commentating on that one live on Sky Sports 1.

Free-scoring Spurs

Tottenham scored four goals against Stoke yet again - the third time in a row in the Premier League. How many times has that happened in Premier League history? Leo Masters

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Tottenham 4-0 Stoke

MARTIN SAYS: Only three teams have scored four or more goals against the same opposition in three consecutive Premier League games, while no club has managed this feat four times in a row.

The first to do so were Manchester United, who beat Bradford City 4-0, 4-0 then 6-0 between 1999 and 2000.

Since then, Arsenal managed it against Blackburn (winning 4-0, 4-0 and 6-2 between 2008 and 2009), while Manchester City scored four or more against Bournemouth in their first three meetings following the Cherries' promotion to the top tier - with scores of 5-1, 4-0 and 4-0.

Spurs have managed three 4-0 wins against Stoke in a row - a fourth next season would be unparalleled.

Stoke's next away game is against Manchester City, live on Sky Sports, and they will try to avoid this happening again. They have lost their last two fixtures have been 4-1 and 4-0 defeats...

Boro's barren run

Middlesbrough have scored just 19 goals this season but are still outside of the drop zone. What is the lowest number of goals a team have scored while surviving in the Premier League? Ollie Fletcher

MARTIN SAYS: Middlesbrough have scored 19 goals in their 26 Premier League matches this season and, as you say Ollie, are not currently in the relegation zone.

The team that scored the fewest in a Premier League season and survived were Leeds United in 1996/97. They managed just 28 goals in 38 matches, but that was enough to pick up 11 wins and 46 points as they finished in 11th - six points clear of the drop.

Premier League Goals and Survived

Team Season Goals scored Final position
Leeds Utd 1996/97 28 11th
Man City 2006/07 29 14th
Sunderland 2001/02 29 17th
Sunderland 2014/15 31 16th
Aston Villa 2014/15 31 17th
Wolves 2009/10 32 15th
Blackburn 2004/05 32 15th
C Palace 2013/14 33 11th

Middlesbrough are scoring 0.73 goals per match at the moment, which is actually lower than that Leeds team (0.74 goals per game). At present, Aitor Karanka's men are on course to score 27.7 goals so could take that record from Leeds unless they start scoring a few more!

Fraser on the spot

Ryan Fraser has won four penalties this season. What is the record for one Premier League season? Geraint Halliday

MARTIN SAYS: Ryan Fraser earned Bournemouth a fifth-minute penalty when he was brought down by Allan Nyom in the defeat at West Brom. You're right to say that was the fourth penalty he has earned in the Premier League this season, more than any other player.

Opta have been keeping data on players who have won penalties since the 2003/04 season and in that time we've seen five players win more than four penalties in a completed season.

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West Brom 2-1 Bournemouth

Ashley Young (2010/11), Darren Bent (2009/10) and Luis Suarez (2012/13) all won five penalties in a season, while Jamie Vardy won seven penalties for Leicester last season.

However, the record belongs to Andrew Johnson who won EIGHT penalties for Crystal Palace in 2004/05. Those penalties helped the striker to score an impressive 21 goals in that season.

Most penalties won by one player in a single season:

EIGHT: Andrew Johnson (2004/05)

SEVEN: Jamie Vardy (2015/16)

FIVE: Ashley Young (2010/11), Darren Bent (2009/10), Luis Suarez (2012/13)

FOUR: Didier Drogba (2009/10), Ryan Fraser (2016/17), Luis Suarez (2011/12), David Silva (2014/15)

In fact, those eight penalties mean that Andrew Johnson has won more penalties than anybody else since Opta's records began in 2003/04.

The eight players to have won 10 or more penalties in that period are:

Andrew Johnson (14)

Luis Suarez, Gabriel Agbonlahor (13)

Ashley Young (12)

Darren Bent, Peter Crouch (11)

David Silva, Jamie Vardy (10)

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