Who Will Win The Premier League Golden Boot?
Every team in the Premier League has now played seven games, and the table is duly beginning to take shape. As many expected before a ball had been kicked, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester City make up the top three.
The title race is not the only event worth watching, though. The battle to finish as the Premier League's top scorer could be just as hard-fought, with five main contenders leading the way. Let’s run through each candidate’s credentials and take a look at the odds after seven games.
Premier League Golden Boot Betting Odds
| Player | Odds |
|---|---|
| Mohamed Salah | 5/2 |
| Romelu Lukaku | 11/4 |
| Cristiano Ronaldo | 11/4 |
| Harry Kane | 16/1 |
| Jamie Vardy | 16/1 |
| Michail Antonio | 25/1 |
Mohamed Salah – 5/2
Mo Salah recently joined the Premier League 100 club, becoming the 30th player to reach triple figures in the top flight since 1992. Only three members of that distinguished group have a better goals-per-game ratio than the Egypt international: Harry Kane, Sergio Aguero and Thierry Henry. Given that he has only missed seven Premier League games since moving to Anfield in 2017, it is no surprise to see the bookmakers rank Salah as the favourite.
The Liverpool forward is in the form of his life too. He has scored six goals in his first seven outings this term, including that fabulous solo strike against Manchester City last time out. Diogo Jota, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino are all excellent players in their own right, but Salah is Liverpool’s main man and the focal point of their attack.
The 29-year-old is as close to a guarantee of goals as you can get at Premier League level, and he will be confident of winning a third Golden Boot in five seasons.
Romelu Lukaku – 11/4
Lukaku’s goals fired Inter to the Serie A title last term and he is now looking to repeat the trick at Stamford Bridge. The Belgium international is familiar with the Premier League and required little adaptation time upon returning to England. Lukaku notched three goals in his first three appearances of the campaign, although he has now gone three league games without finding the net.
It is inevitable that Lukaku will start scoring again, and Chelsea’s return to a 3-4-3 formation after the international break should aid his cause. With Olivier Giroud and Tammy Abraham having departed this summer, Chelsea are short of alternatives up top. That means Lukaku will play whenever he is fit, which bodes well for his chances of finishing top of the scoring charts.
This is Lukaku’s eighth full season in the Premier League, and he has only broken the 20-goal barrier once before. That is perhaps the only doubt surrounding the 28-year-old, but Lukaku has come on leaps and bounds in the last few seasons and should be right up there at the end of the campaign.
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Cristiano Ronaldo – 11/4
The sight of Ronaldo trudging down the tunnel after Manchester United’s 1-1 draw with Everton on Saturday shows how desperate the Portuguese is to succeed in his second spell at Old Trafford. His return to the club in August looks set to increase the pressure on Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who has yet to win a trophy as United boss.
Ronaldo is one of the greatest football players ever, but fitting him into the team has not proved easy. Yet while there are legitimate questions about whether the likes of Mason Greenwood, Bruno Fernandes and Jadon Sancho can shine as brightly in Ronaldo’s shadow, there is no doubt that the 36-year-old will hold up his end of the bargain by scoring goals on a regular basis.
Ronaldo finished as the Premier League’s top scorer in 2007/08 and has already grabbed three goals in four games in 2021/22. Regardless of how well United do, Ronaldo will almost certainly score more than 20 times – and that makes him a leading contender in this particular race.
Harry Kane – 16/1
It is fair to say that Harry Kane has yet to get going this season. Tottenham Hotspur’s talisman has failed to make the net bulge in any of his first six appearances, which represents his longest Premier League goalless streak since the start of 2015/16. Still, he should not be overlooked in the Golden Boot race: Kane ended the 2015/16 campaign with 25 goals, more than any other player in the division.
There are tentative signs that the England captain is getting back to his best after a summer of speculation about his future. Kane is clearly disappointed that he failed to secure a transfer to Manchester City, but he must now banish that from his mind. His last couple of outings suggest he is set to remain higher up the pitch going forward, despite his success when dropping deep last term.
Kane is an outsider given he is already six goals behind Salah, but the last few seasons show he should never be written off.
Jamie Vardy – 16/1
Vardy scored 15 Premier League goals last season, which is his second-lowest tally since Leicester City’s title-winning campaign. The majority of those strikes came in the first half of 2020/21; from January onwards he only found the net four times, and was often overshadowed by Kelechi Iheanacho.
Yet the 34-year-old Vardy has started this season brilliantly, reminding everyone that he still has plenty left to give at the highest level. The Leicester legend is level with Salah on six goals so far – and that is despite the fact that Brendan Rodgers’ side have been rather dysfunctional up to now.
The only doubt over Vardy is whether he can score at a prolific rate with Iheanacho alongside him. Rodgers finally paired the two strikers against Crystal Palace and is likely to stick with that shape in the coming weeks. Vardy, the archetypal lone frontman, must show he can also thrive in a partnership.
Michail Antonio – 25/1
A longshot, of course, but Antonio deserves to be included in this list given his superb start to the season. The West Ham United marksman has scored more goals than anyone but Salah and Vardy so far, as David Moyes’ side seek another top-six finish. With a lack of alternatives up front, Antonio is a nailed-on selection every week. If an outsider is to win the Golden Boot this year, it will probably be him.
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