Harry Kane vs Diego Costa vs Sergio Aguero: Premier League Golden Boot has three main contenders... but who will win it?
The Premier
League Golden Boot is one of the most sought-after individual prizes in
the game - and this season’s competition is delicately poised for the
final run-in.
The
three main contenders - Chelsea’s Diego Costa on 19, Tottenham
Hotspur’s Harry Kane on 19 and Manchester City’s Sergio Aguero on 17 -
are all in with a chance of winning it.
Will
it go down to form? Will it be rocked by injury and suspension? Will it
have the fairytale conclusion that so many would love to see?
Sportsmail takes a look at the runners and riders in the race for the Golden Boot...
The race for the Golden Boot seems to be between Harry Kane (left), Diego Costa (centre) and Sergio Aguero
Harry Kane, Tottenham Hotspur
Can Harry Kane’s whirlwind season continue right until the end or will it run out of air?
His
hat-trick against Leicester in Tottenham’s last league match just goes
to show how quickly the goalscorers chart can change as he leapt to
catch Diego Costa within the space of 90 minutes.
Ultimately,
any Englishman and most neutrals would want to see Kane top at the end
of the campaign, regardless of which team they support, given his story.
Kane’s
main downfall will be his lack of experience. Hopefully his youthful
exuberance will not fade into nervous tension. Costa, 26, and Aguero,
26, are seasoned experts compared to the 21-year-old, more aware of what
is required to find the back of the net after a long campaign when the
thighs ache and the quads burn.
Tottenham Hotspur's Kane was 500/1 to be the Premier League's top goalscorer at the start of the season
This zonal map shows where Kane scored his 19 goals this season for Tottenham in the Premier League
This pitch view map shows where Kane scored his goals from around the 18-yard box for Tottenham
Diego Costa, Chelsea
The
snarling, street-fighting Chelsea striker is joint-top of the
goalscorers chart, but has played fewer games to reach his total goals
tally and has one more to play than his two main rivals.
Forget Kane and Aguero, however, Costa’s main adversary is himself.
His
aggressive style of play means he is the most likely of the three to
pick up a suspension. He is already on eight domestic yellow cards for
the season and was retrospectively banned for three matches for a stamp
on Liverpool’s Emre Can.
Chelsea
also have a tougher run-in than Tottenham and Manchester City. They
still have to face Manchester United and Liverpool at home and Arsenal
away.
Having
said that, Costa has already scored against Arsenal and Liverpool this
season and is yet to face United who have had an unstable defence.
Chelsea striker Costa is among the best signings of the season and has 19 goals in the Premier League
This zonal map shows where Costa scored his 19 goals this season for Chelsea in the Premier League
This pitch view map shows where Costa scored his goals from around the 18-yard box for Chelsea
Sergio Aguero, Manchester City
He is the rank-outsider, but one who you would bet against at your peril.
Aguero
is trailing the other two by two goals, but he has scored four in one
game this season, against Tottenham who he will face again in City’s
remaining eight games.
Of the three strikers, Aguero is by far the best finisher who can conjure a goal, or two, from nowhere in a game.
He
has already scored eight times against the last eight teams City have
to face - the same amount as Costa and Kane’s record put together in
their last fixtures of the season.
Injury
will be Aguero’s main concern. The knee injury he suffered in December
cost him a month out and he has failed to consistently string together
games since he moved there four years ago.
Manchester City striker Aguero has 17 goals and is just two behind the leading Premier League goalscorers
This zonal map shows where Aguero scored his 19 goals this season for City in the Premier League
This pitch view map shows where Aguero scored his goals from around the 18-yard box for City
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