Premier League Star player to watch – Riyad Mahrez

Football fans look forward to seeing one of Africa’s top footballing sons, Riyad Mahrez, to continue his excellent form in the Premier League this coming weekend.

The Algerian star was at his brilliant best when Manchester City crushed Aston Villa 6-1 in Birmingham this past weekend, scoring the opening two goals and providing an assist for Sergio Aguero’s hat-trick strike (which saw the Argentine become the Premier League‘s highest-scoring non-Englishman [177 goals] and rack up a record 12^th hat-trick).

Mahrez has not been a permanent fixture in Pep Guardiola’s starting line-up this season, but his Premier League statistics are nonetheless excellent: seven goals and seven assists from 18 appearances (only 12 as a starter), a passing accuracy of 89.9 per cent and a shots-per-game average of 2.4.

The Citizens have been without Leroy Sane for much of the campaign, but the excellence of Mahrez means that the German winger’s absence has not been the cause for the significant gap which has developed between them and Premier League leaders Liverpool.

Mahrez has won two Premier League titles, one with Leicester City and one with Man City, though it appears unlikely that this season will bring a third, with the Reds a full 14 points clear of the defending champions (while also having a game in hand).

Mahrez will be in action this coming Saturday when City host Crystal Palace at the Etihad Stadium for a Round 23 Premier League clash.

The Algerian is also an Africa Cup of Nations champion, having helped the Fennec Foxes to glory in mid-2019, while he has racked up over 50 caps since making his international debut ahead of the 2014 World Cup.

The French-born Mahrez continues to go from strength to strength and will be looking to add to his impressive Premier League stats between now and the end of the current campaign.