In the past week the Great British betting public has gone crazy for Sergio Aguero to win the Golden Boot following his hat-trick at Watford. More than half of all bets have been placed on him at 4/1, and the next most popular choice is Tottenham’s Harry Kane, also at 4/1. But Romelu Lukaku remains the favourite and looks a great option at 3/1 to claim finish the season as the league’s top scorer.
Amid all the praise being heaped upon the noisy neighbours’ attack, it is easy to forget that Man Utd have scored just as many goals as City this season. A return of 16 goals from five games is sensational and a real departure from some of the turgid displays we witnessed last season. What’s more, Aguero has to share the limelight with Gabriel Jesus in a striking partnership, while Lukaku is the main man at Old Trafford. Of course, Marcus Rashford is in the mix and Anothony Martial is waiting in the wings, but they play out wide and Lukaku leads the line from the centre. Everything goes through Lukaku in Utd’s attacking play and he is perfectly poised to finish top of the pile this season.
Lukaku also has a strong record of staying injury-free in recent seasons, which gives him a distinct advantage over Aguero as the Argentinean is hugely injury-prone. Gabriel is also inexperienced and it is probably too early for him to win the Golden Boot. They have some fantastic creative talent behind them in the likes of Kevin De Bruyne, David Silva, Bernardo Silva and Raheem Sterling. But Utd are on song, with Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Rashford, Martial, Paul Pogba and Juan Mata all upping their game when it comes to assists.
Lukaku finished second in the goal scoring charts last season at Everton, but he should benefit from greater service at Man Utd this campaign and deliver a better tally. The man that beat him to the title last season, Kane, will be a real threat this time around. Like Lukaku, he is the main centre forward and goal threat at his club and will get plenty of chances from the likes of Christian Eriksen and Dele Alli. But Spurs are really struggling at home this season as they cannot seem to shake off their Wembley hoodoo. They have scored just seven goals to Utd’s 16, and Kane is already three goals behind Lukaku in the charts.
You can still get odds as long as 3/1 on Man Utd winning the title this season, as the bookmakers are all high on City. Many have Pep Guardiola’s men as odds-on favourites, while the best price available is evens, but the 3/1 on Man Utd looks better value as the Red Devils have been in impressive form. Considering the blend of power, height and intelligence in the starting 11 and the strength in depth that Jose Mourinho has at his disposal this season, it all bodes well for the club’s chances of returning to the summit of English football once more.