The Premier League Golden Boot race already looks as though it will be a tight run affair this year with Harry Kane and Sergio Aguero leading the way on eight goals each, but a pack of five players behind them on seven strikes. Harry Kane is seeking to win the award for a third consecutive season, following a stunning campaign last year in which he scored 29 goals in 30 Premier League matches. As you can see, the England ace is the favourite to retain the award with bet365 and perhaps the only thing that could stop him would be a serious injury.
Indeed, the two men at the top of the list, Harry Kane and Sergio Aguero are arguably the two most injury prone players in the top ten, but also the most natural goalscorers. The odds of 7/4 on Kane are very short, but at the end of the day, he has done the business time and time again and he is the main man at Spurs. That is something which could hold Sergio Aguero and Gabriel Jesus back; Pep Guardiola seems to want to rotate between the two strikers and you never really know which one is going to start the next game. A return of eight and seven goals respectively shows you just how dangerous these two strikers are and if I was to back one of them, it would be Gabriel Jesus at 6/1. The young Brazilian has a knack for being in the right place at the right time and that will see him get plenty of goals this season.
Another man who has scored seven times this season is Romelu Lukaku. That haul is even more impressive considering the giant Belgian has failed to find the net in any of his last seven matches for Manchester United. Lukaku was the man who pushed Kane all the way last season in the Golden Boot race and he can be relied upon to go the distance again this season. Zlatan Ibrahimovic is reportedly approaching a return to fitness for Manchester United, but Jose Mourinho will back Lukaku for as long as possible and at odds of 11/2, he could well be a good bet for the award considering the players he has playing with him and his strong fitness record.
Along with Lukaku, Alvaro Morata of Chelsea and Mohamed Salah of Liverpool are two more men with seven goals to their name. Morata has struggled with injuries this season and that is enough to put the young Spaniard out of the race for me. I think in years to come he will be a real force to be reckoned with, but I don’t see him staying fit enough this season to break the 20 goal barrier. As for Salah, he is held back by the fact that he is not an out and out striker. The Egyptian winger has been brilliant for Liverpool this season, finding the net 12 times in all competitions and if you wanted an outside bet, then he would be my man at odds of 33/1.
It’s very hard to look past one of Kane, Aguero, Gabriel Jesus or Lukaku winning the award though and in terms of the best value bet available right now, I would have to back Gabriel Jesus. If the young Brazilian can stay fit and keep Aguero out of the team, then there is no reason he can’t score 25+ goals this season for a rampant Manchester City side.
Gabriel Jesus to win Golden Boot – 6/1 (Ladbrokes)