James Milner is expected to usurp Gareth Barry’s Premier League appearance record, but he will do so having played far fewer minutes.
If Milner plays for Brighton & Hove Albion at Aston Villa on Wednesday, he will equal Barry’s record of 653 Premier League appearances.
The 40-year-old would then have the remainder of the season, starting on February 21 at Brentford, to claim the outright record.
It should be noted that he has played 14,031 fewer minutes than Barry in the competition.
That equates to 155.5 full matches, or four full Premier League seasons in each match.
Milner also has far fewer Premier League starts than Barry. He has started 435 games, compared to Barry’s 618.
Milner already holds the record for most appearances off the bench in Premier League history with 217. Barry only came on 35 times.
For this season, and the last three, the Premier League rule on the number of substitutes allowed has increased from three to five, allowing greater opportunities to come off the bench.
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Milner’s Premier League career began with Leeds United when he came off the bench to replace Jason Wilcox, who is now Manchester United’s director of football.
He became the youngest scorer in the competition at 16 years and 356 days. He remains the second youngest, with James Vaughan holding the record since 2005.
He then played for Newcastle United, Aston Villa, Manchester City, Liverpool, Brighton and England.
Milner has won three Premier Leagues, two FA Cups and one Champions League.
Barry started with Aston Villa, Man City, Everton, West Bromwich Albion and England. He won the league with City.
ESPN Global Research contributed to this report.