With the start of the English Premier League season now just days away it is your last chance to place a bet on the winner of the Golden Boot award before the season kicks off. Tottenham Hotspur’s Harry Kane has picked up the award in each of the last two seasons, scoring 25 and 28 goals respectively.
Last season he was extremely impressive in notching his 28 goals in just 30 games and he starts this season as the favourite to win the award again with odds of 3/1 (Ladbrokes). In this preview we’ll take a look at some of the main players gunning for the award as well as a couple of outside picks.
The Star Men
The Star MenThe usual suspects make up the favourites for the award with Harry Kane, Romelu Lukaku and Sergio Aguero all available at short odds. Kane and Lukaku finished first and second last season and Lukaku could well go on to score even more with the likes of Paul Pogba feeding him this time around. If Aguero can stay fit and can keep his place in the team ahead of Gabriel Jesus, then you’d fancy him to score a hatful of goals this season. Both of those things are big if’s though and his Manchester City teammate, Gabriel Jesus, could be a more tempting bet at 9/1. In his short career so far he has shown a real goal scoring instinct but, like Aguero, he will have a battle on his hands to keep his place in the side.
Liverpool’s Flyers
All of the Liverpool forwards are available at pretty long odds considering the amount of goals the team scorers, Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah and Daniel Sturridge are all 40/1 to pick up the award, whilst Roberto Firmino is 50/1. The Brazilian Firmino is expected to lead the line in the number 9 role for Jurgen Klopp’s side next season and even though he is not a natural goal scorer like Kane or Aguero, you would expect him to get a host of chances playing in a highly talented attacking team. Sadio Mane scored 13 times in 27 appearances in the Premier League for Liverpool last season despite struggling with a number of injuries. If the Senegalese winger can stay fit, then you would expect him to score at least 20 goals this season. Overall though, Liverpool really share the goals around and that will probably stop any of their players from scoring the 25+ goals required to win the Golden Boot.
Battle of the New Number 9’s
All three of Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United have brought in big money players to play up-front for them this season. Alexandre Lacazette, Alvaro Morata and Romelu Lukaku are all expected to be in the mix for the Golden Boot award. Lacazette certainly outperformed Morata in the Community Shield game and he could well be a decent bet at odds of 12/1. If Lacazette can form a partnership with Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil, then it could be a really exciting season at The Emirates for Arsenal fans.
The Outsiders
One player who could be worth a look is Michy Batshuayi who is available at odds of 50/1. The Belgian striker has been impressive in pre-season so far and with Morata looking well off the pace, you would expect Batshuayi to keep his place up front for last seasons Premier League champions as the new campaign begins. West Ham United have brought in Javier Hernandez this summer and the Mexican finisher is available at 40/1 to pick up the award. Even though he is a proven goal scorer, those odds are probably just too short to be worth a punt.
My Pick
I think this could be the season Kane struggles a bit and with Lukaku moving to a new side and Aguero and Gabriel Jesus battling it out at Manchester City to start, the smart move could be on someone different to win the award. Lacazette has shown a real eye for goals in the French league and if he can hit the ground running, I think he could be worth a bet at 12/1.
Golden Boot Winner – Alexandre Lacazette 12/1