As the season nears its end, so too does the race for the Premier League Golden Boot. Last year’s winner Jamie Vardy appears he will not be able to defend his title as he trails current leader Harry Kane by eight goals with just three matchdays remaining for Leicester City.
Kane’s nearest competitor for the Golden Boot is Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah, who trails the Tottenham Hotspur player by just one goal. With only one goal separating the two goalscorers, it promises to be an exciting finish to the race for the Golden Boot.
Premier League Golden Boot Race Down to a Select Few
Kane and Salah Lead the Way
The two frontrunners, Kane and Salah, appear they will be the ones who will vie for the Golden Boot. As it stands, Kane has scored 21 goals this season and Salah has 20 goals. Behind these two players are Manchester United‘s Bruno Fernandes and Kane’s Tottenham teammate Son Heung-min.
Both Fernandes and Son have scored 17 goals apiece and are tied for third place. Everton’s Dominic Calvert-Lewin rounds out the top five with 16 goals.
Kane and Salah will have more opportunities ahead to add to their totals in the coming weeks as the season nears its end. Kane still has three more fixtures to play while Salah has four more matches remaining. For this reason, it’s looking like they will be able to hold off the remainder of the top five who will likely need to have multiple matches where they record at least two goals. Despite Kane only having a four-goal advantage over the two players in third place, it should be enough to hold them off. As for Salah, that is where it gets interesting.
Looking Ahead to the Final Weeks
When looking at the remaining fixtures for Kane and Salah, the Liverpool forward appears to have the more favourable schedule. Three of Liverpool’s four remaining fixtures will be against clubs that currently rank in the bottom half of the table in terms of goals conceded. Tottenham’s three remaining opponents will feature two clubs that rank in the top half of the table in goals conceded.
Salah will get to face Crystal Palace again, which was an opponent he scored two goals against in December. Additionally, West Bromwich Albion awaits and they have conceded the most goals in the Premier League this season. Having already won the Golden Boot twice before in his career at Liverpool, it appears Salah could be on the verge of becoming the league’s top scorer once more. He narrowly finished in first place in the 2017/18 campaign when he recorded just two goals more than Kane. In the 2020/21 edition of the Premier League Golden Boot race, it could be another narrow victory for Salah.
Main Photo
