Premier League Most Assists: Oppose KDB with 66/1 and 40/1 tips

• 9/43.25 De Bruyne a bigger price this term but still opposable

• 66/167.00 Kulusevski could be set for a great season

• 40/141.00 Rashford looks like being a key player for United

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De Bruyne fears proved correct

This time 12 months ago I wrote about Kevin De Bruyne being a terrible price at 13/82.63 to register the Most Premier League Assists during the 2023/24 season. Just days later, in Manchester City's opening 3-0 win at Burnley, the brilliant midfielder was ruled out for five months with a hamstring injury.

Ultimately then, my initial thinking was proved correct as one of the reasons I cited for De Bruyne's price being such poor value was that because of his age he'd be more susceptible to the muscle strains he regularly suffers from.

But sometimes you need a bit of luck when confidently opposing a short price favourite, and boy did we get it with that long-term injury.

De Bruyne returned to action in early January, and yet despite making only 15 Premier League starts during last season's campaign he still registered 10 assists, enough to finish tied third in the standings, three behind surprise winner Ollie Watkins.

Give KDB 25 starts last term and you'd have to think that he would have registered the most assists quite easily, just like he did in the 2019/20 and 2022/23 seasons.

And therein lies your problem if you're backing De Bruyne to register the Most Premier League Assists this term at the bigger price of 9/43.25.

Will the now 33-year-old start at least 25 games for Manchester City this season? If you think he will - and let's be honest, it's a complete guess-up as to whether he will or not - then it's impossible to rule him out of landing the spoils.

Kulusevski ready to peak

With the Betfair Sportsbook offering four places for each-way bets the way I want to approach this market is to back two big-price selections who, if staying injury-free, are likely to play regularly for a team that will be among the highest scorers this season.

Last term both of my pre-season tips finished in the places. That's the good news. The bad news was that Mo Salah at 12/113.00 and Martin Odegaard at 25/126.00 both tied for third... with seven other players!

That meant that dead-heat rules applied for the each-way return, and ultimately the two bets returned a small loss. But last season also showed that just getting into double digits for assists gives you a great chance of finishing in the top four at the very least.

So step forward Tottenham winger Dejan Kulusevski, who I believe is an unbelievable price at 66/167.00 in this market.

The 24-year-old arrived at Spurs on Transfer Deadline Day in January 2022 and went on to become an instant hit, scoring five goals and, more impressively, registering eight assists in just 14 Premier League starts. Those eight assists were enough to see Kulusevski finish second to Harry Kane (nine assists) in that statistic among Tottenham players despite starting 22 games fewer than the England striker.

Kulusevski had another good season in 2022/23, registering seven assists despite being in and out of the team, though last season his numbers dropped quite significantly, which is likely a huge contributor in his odds being so generous going into this season.

With no focal striker the goals arrived from all over the place for Tottenham last term and my gut feeling is that this season will be very different now that Dominic Solanke will lead the line.

And thankfully the market hasn't reacted to the Swede's pre-season form, when he was arguably Spurs' stand-out player, scoring three goals and registering three more in approximately 300 minutes worth of action. The fact that at 66/167.00 he's twice the price of team mate Brennan Johnson seems daft - but very generous - to me.

Given his pre-season form, I think there's every chance that Kulusevski becomes one of Ange Postecoglou's key players during this campaign, and an even better chance that he improves on those incredible numbers he achieved in just 14 Premier League starts when first arriving in north London.

Rashford chanced to rediscover his form

Another player I like in this market is Marcus Rashford, who could make a mockery of his 40/141.00 quote if rediscovering his 2022/23 form.

True, the England international only registered five assists during that season, but along with his 17 goals he was one of the Premier League's best players during that campaign, thanks largely to playing with confidence and freedom.

Now, I'll be honest, I don't have a clue whether he'll even be a United player come the end of August, and I regularly thought that his poor 2023/24 season was down to his attitude rather than a loss of form. That of course is a worry, because if it was his attitude then at the back of my mind is the thinking that it was because of a breakdown in relations with United boss Erik ten Hag.

If there's any truth in the above, and a poor relationship between player and manager remains, then this bet will be dead in the water, but like the Kulusevski price, I think Rashford's price is much bigger than it should be because of his poor numbers last term.

So the hope is that Rashford's head is screwed back on and that he's very much in Ten Hag's plans. If that's the case then the 26-year-old should be a regular starter on the left side of United's attack, and that could lead to plenty of assists.

And if pre-season is anything to go by, then we've got ourselves a very lively runner at 40/141.00. Rashford started four of United's five games and managed two assists and one goal. He also started in last Saturday's Community Shield clash against Man City.

Bruno Fernandes SuperBoost!

Betfair are kicking off the new season with a SuperBoost at Old Trafford, with the hope that Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes will be fouled 1 or more times.

Fernandes, who has just signed a new deal at the club, won 1 or more fouls in eight of his last 10 Premier League games for Manchester United at the back end of last season - winning 14 in total.

Fulham will know he is the main attacking threat and will have to stay tight to stop him pulling the strings.

Indeed, since his Manchester United debut in 2020, Bruno has been fouled more times than any other player a the club (180). Let's hope he can win one more, with the SuperBoosted price of 1/12.00 (up from 4/91.44)!

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