Born in the south east of Ireland, Simon put his life-long love of football to good use when he started a successful independent blog in 2010. That opened up an alternative route to a career in journalism, and having had work published across a number of sites and publications, Simon joined the staff at Spotlight Sports Group in 2018.
As we enter the second half of the 2018/19 Premier League season, the race to finish as the competition’s top marksman is starting to heat up.
Currently topping the charts as Premier League’s joint leading scorers with 14 goals apiece are North London rivals Harry Kane and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
However, with 17 games still to play this season, the highly-talented chasing pack behind them have ample time to close the gap.
You can check out our selection of who we think are some of the likeliest and best value candidates to win the Premier League’s Golden Boot this season below.
Remember, you can back any of our selections at 1/4 each way odds with bet365!
Read more: Premier League 2018/19 Mid-Season Betting Tips – Title Winners and Relegation Predictions
Harry Kane – 9/4
Current season goal total: 14
Last season goal total: 30
Goals at same stage last season: 18
Tottenham Hotspur and England centre forward,Harry Kane was always likely to be among the front-runners for the Premier League’s Golden Boot this season.
Our analysts tipped Kane to finish as the division’s most lethal frontman last summer, and the 25-year old has certainly lived up to his billing as favourite this term.
In his last 4 Premier League campaigns, Kane has won the Golden Boot twice, and those awards were sandwiched in between two seasons as the league’s second highest scorer in 2014/15 and 2017/18.
It’s worth noting, that since becoming a mainstay in the Tottenham Hotspur side in the 2014/15 season, Kane’s final goal tally has improved year on year.
Kane scored 21 goals in 2014/15, 25 in 2015/16, 29 in 2016/17 and 30 last season during an incredibly productive 2017/18 individual crusade.
The Spurs academy graduate incentives to win the Golden Boot again this season are numerous. Alongside his desperation to wrestle his goal-getting title back from Mohamed Salah this term, Kane can become only the third player in Premier League history, after Alan Shearer and Thierry Henry, to complete a hattrick of Golden Boot wins.
Even at odds of 9/4 with bet365, Harry Kane is still a terrific bet to outscore his rivals this season.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – 10/3
Current season goal total: 14
Last season goal total: 23 (Bundesliga & Premier League combined)
Goals at same stage last season: 13
Arsenal attacker and Gabon international Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is a footballer with an incredible goal-scoring pedigree.
The 29-year old hit at least 25 goals in each of this last 4 seasons, and the rapid forward has plundered 24 goals in just 34 Premier League matches for Arsenal since he moved to the Emirates from Borussia Dortmund in January 2018.
Remarkably, Aubameyang has registered his 14 Premier League goals this season from relatively few attempts on goal.
The former AC Milan youngster has hit just 2.6 shots on goal per game on average this season, which falls considerably short of Harry Kane’s (3.3), Sergio Aguero (3.9) and Mo Salah’s respective equivalent totals (3.3).
Aubameyang has had a razor-sharp clinical edge for Arsenal since joining the Gunners, though it might be a tough ask to maintain and match that strike rate over the course of the entire season.
However, as of yet, Aubameyang’s accuracy has shown little sign of diminishing and at odds of 10/3, the Arsenal star still represents great value in the top goalscorer stakes.
Best of the Rest
Mohamed Salah – 3/1
Current season goal total: 13
Last season goal total: 32
Goals at same stage last season: 17
Last season’s top scorer Mohamed Salah is handily placed in the Premier Leagues top scorer charts, just 1 goal shy of Kane and Aubameyang’s totals.
The Egyptian winger has sparkled a little less brightly in 2018/19 than he did his phenomenal debut season, though Liverpool as a collective have played a little less expansively than they did last term.
There is further statistical evidence that hints at a slight reduction in Salah’s powers this season. The Egyptian scored more than once in a Premier League game on just one occasion for Liverpool so far in 2018/19. Last season he scored 2 or more goals in 6 separate league matches for the Reds.
The flip side of that of course, is that Salah is just 1 goal short of top spot in the charts despite the fact that he’s not firing on all cylinders. And while his rivals are peaking, Salah’s performances can go up another level in the final months of the season. That makes him an interesting option to finish as top scorer at 3/1 odds with bet365.
Sergio Aguero – 9/1
Current season goal total: 10
Last season goal total: 21
Goals at same stage last season: 13
Lurking ominously just outside the top 3 places in the leading goalscorers charts is Manchester City’s Argentine hitman Sergio Aguero.
The 30-year old explosive striker bagged his 10 goals from only 16 Premier League starts this season, and had the lethal finisher started as many games as Kane (20), Aubameyang (19) or Salah (20), his goal total might have surpassed all 3 at this stage.
With Aguero having firmly established himself as the first-choice central striker at Man City ahead of Gabriel Jesus, the goals should start to flow for him between now and the end of the season. Aguero is priced an incredibly generous looking 9/1 with bet365 to win the Golden Boot.
Great value each way outsiders
Eden Hazard – 20/1 each way
Current season goal total: 10
Last season goal total: 12
Goals at same stage last season: 6
Chelsea’s talismanic Belgian schemer Eden Hazard has scored 10 goals this season, and he already looks well on his way to eclipsing his 12-goal total from 2017/18.
The 28-year old has been freed from all defensive responsibility this year by new Chelsea coach Maurizio Sarri, and Hazard has used that freedom to install himself as the Blues biggest goal scoring threat.
Chelsea are reportedly in the market for midfield reinforcements during the January transfer window, and if their desired targets are acquired, new supply lines could be opened up in the second half of the season for Hazard.
If the Belgian can hammer his way into the top 3 places in the goalscoring charts this season, there could be a potentially lucrative payout for those who backed him each way at 20/1 with bet365.
Raheem Sterling – 50/1 each way
Current season goal toal: 9
Last season goal total: 18
Goals at same stage last season: 14
Similarly, Manchester City’s Raheem Sterling has been priced at massive 50/1 odds by bet365 to finish as the competition’s leading scorer.
And while his chances of actually topping the pile are admittedly slim, Sterling’s much improved finishing under Pep Guardiola could conceivably push him into the final chart’s top 3.
Sterling rattled home a career-high 18 league goals last season, and the fleet-footed wide attacker has already netted 9 goals so far this term.
With City aiming to push through the 100-goal ceiling again this season, there should be plenty of opportunity for Sterling to boost his individual numbers.
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