A data-driven look at which Premier League players are creating the most chances this season. Using key passes, expected assists, and big chances created to rank the top playmakers beyond just raw assist numbers.

The best chance creators in the Premier League right now

Everyone knows who scored. Most people know who got the assist. But what about the player who created four other chances that the striker didn't convert? That’s called chance creation. And right now, a few players in the Premier League are putting up big numbers worth paying attention to. If you want to find out who is actually pulling the strings this season, here’s what you need to know. 

What makes a great chance creator?

The best chance creators see runs developing before they happen, which is what turns a decent pass into a threatening one. 

But seeing it is only half the job. The position a player operates in matters just as much. Attacking midfielders and inverted wingers tend to dominate the stats charts because they operate between the lines, where they can receive, turn, and place a pass into dangerous areas of the pitch. A striker held up by a centre back rarely gets those same opportunities.

Quality of chance matters just as much as volume, which is where the stats get interesting. Key passes count every pass that leads to a shot. Expected assists, or xA, measures the quality of those chances based on where the shot came from, and how likely it was to result in a goal. Big chances created is a stat that tracks the opportunities where the recipient was expected to score. 

A player who consistently appears across all three of those metrics is dangerous, and the 2025/26 season has a handful of players to prove it. 

The top chance creators in the Premier League 2025/26

The top chance creator in the 2025/26 season is Bruno Fernandes, who leads the Premier League with 92 chances created and 14 assists. Manchester United are having a decent season, sitting third in the table, and Fernandes is a big reason why.

Behind him is Dominik Szoboszlai, who sits second with 56 chances created for Liverpool. Szoboszlai doesn't always get the credit his output deserves, but the numbers make a strong case for him being one of the most consistently creative midfielders in the division.

Declan Rice is third on 55 for Arsenal. That stat alone tells you something about how much his game has developed. He arrived at Arsenal known primarily as a defensive midfielder, but he’s now one of their main creative outlets, generating chances through a range of passing and forward thinking that his West Ham years barely hinted at.

Further back we’ve got Bukayo Saka, who’s pushing some impressive numbers from his high number of wide and threading passes for Arsenal's runners. Between him and Rice, it’s easy to see why Arsenal are where they are in the table.

How chance creation stats differ from assists

An assist only counts when the chance is converted. Everything else vanishes from the record. A player can create five clear opportunities in a match and finish with nothing in the assist column if their teammates can't finish. Chances created records all of it.

The gap between a player's assists and their chances created is where the most interesting conversations are. A midfielder sitting on a modest assist tally but leading the division in chances created is probably being let down by the forwards around them, rather than playing poorly themselves. The creative work is there, but the finishing isn't.

It's also why recruitment has changed. Clubs are no longer just looking at assists when they assess a playmaker. They want to know how many chances a player creates in total, how good those chances are, and whether the numbers hold up across different teams and different seasons. A player consistently generating 80 or 90 chances a season is valuable regardless of how many chances become goals.

Track the stats that matter with Match Bingo

The assist chart only tells part of the story. The players at the top of the chances created table are doing the work that makes goals possible in the first place, even in the weeks when it doesn't show up in the final score.

Stay across all the key stats and performances throughout the season. Download now!