Premier League Golden Boot race: How does Chelsea’s Diego Costa shape up against his rivals?
Thierry Henry, Alan Shearer, Didier Drogba, Michael Owen, Robin van Persie and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink – six players to have won the Golden Boot more than once since the Premier League began in 1992.
Last year’s winner, Harry Kane, could become the seventh name on that illustrious list. However, there are five players looking to spoil his party.
Daily fantasy football game Oulala.com have analysed this season’s candidates, using stats from Opta.
One of Kane’s major rivals for the honour is Chelsea’s Diego Costa.
He was the Premier League’s top scorer in the first half of the season, scoring 14 times in his first 18 games.
However, the Spain striker appears to have lost that killer touch since the turn of the year.
Amid a behind-the-scenes row with the Blues’ coaching staff, and rumours of interest from the cash-rich Chinese Super League, Costa has found the back of the net just once in five appearances in 2017.
He could yet have a Premier League winners’ medal, of course, but will he do the double as top scorer? Here’s how the top marksmen are shaping up.
Tottenham forward Kane, the current holder of the honour, sits three goals off the pace, having missed five games through injury earlier in the season.
Arsenal’s Alexis Sanchez leads the way with 17 goals after netting a brace against Hull City at the weekend.
Manchester United striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic tops the Premier League rankings for shots (103), but has been struggling with his shot accuracy (55%) and conversion rate (15%).
Sunderland’s survival hopes will depend largely on Jermain Defoe’s goalscoring form – he has netted 14 of their 24 goals (58%), the biggest contributor in the Premier League to any club’s total goal tally.
Seven of Romelu Lukaku’s 16 strikes have come in just two games – against Sunderland (three) and Bournemouth (four) – but he is making a strong claim for the award, topping the table for both shot accuracy (65%) and conversion rate (25%).
Of the six candidates, Sanchez has scored the most goals with his right foot (12). Lukaku leads the way as the top left-footer (nine), while he and Ibrahimovic have been the most deadly in the air, both scoring four goals with their heads.
