EPL Top Scorer Race the Best in Years

When Erling Haaland started banging in the goals early in the season, it seemed a foregone conclusion that he would finish the season as the EPL top scorer for the third consecutive season.

When the wheels came off the Manchester City title challenge it took everyone by surprise, and Haaland hit a dry spell compared to his usual standards. After hitting 36 goals in his debut Premier League Season and 27 last year, he is deservedly still among the favourites, but it is not as clear cut as it could have been.

With 19 goals, Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah leads Haaland in the goalscoring charts by one. This has helped to create an exciting market for fans who like betting on football. With so much competition in the goalscorer market, there is a lot of value at present.

There isn’t much between Salah and Haaland with prices around 10/11 and even money for each. Liverpool’s excellent form at home and in Europe under new manager Arne Slot has helped Salah return to top goalscoring form, and he has also chipped in with 13 assists this year making 32 goal contributions in just 22 games.

Haaland’s goalscoring prowess has never been in doubt, but questions about his overall play have raised questions. Just 2 assists from his 23 league appearances underline this.

Haaland undoubtedly suffered from City’s loss of form, and the team find themselves in a state of transition with Guardiola allowing Kyle Walker to leave on loan to AC Milan and rumours of De Bruyne departing for the US also gathering pace.

While Salah and Haaland are the obvious choices, there is value elsewhere with Newcastle’s record signing Alexander Isak showing his class with 17 goals and 5 assists in 21 games.

This has helped Newcastle into 5th place, level on points with Manchester City and has seen the club scramble to put together a long-term contract to tie the striker to the club for the foreseeable future.

Isak is the 5/1 third favourite to finish top scorer this year after finishing in third place behind Haaland and Palmer last season.

Chelsea’s Cole Palmer surprised everyone by finishing last season with 22 goals, second only to Haaland. This year the midfielder has 14 goals and 6 assists from 23 games. As Chelsea’s main penalty-taker, he is likely to add to this tally before the end of the season. However, odds of 20/1 reflect how unlikely it is that he can overtake the front runners.

Perhaps the biggest surprise package of the season has been Nottingham Forest who sit in third place in the league table. Key to these performances has been the form of 33-year-old New Zealand striker Chriss Wood.

His 14 goals and 2 assists have been instrumental in helping Forest reach these dizzying heights. His goalscoring form has also helped him reach the exclusive club of being one of only two players to be the all-time top Premier League scorer for two clubs, Burnley and Nottingham Forest. Only Alan Shearer can claim the same thing for Blackburn and Newcastle.

At 40/1, bookmakers don’t expect Forest or Wood to maintain this form, but stranger things have happened in football and injuries can make a big difference to the goalscoring charts by the end of the season.

Just outside these five players, Brentford’s Bryan Mbuemo and Yoane Wissa are joined by Justin Kluivert, Matheus Cunha, and Ollie Watkins, but it is unlikely that any of these will be able to overturn the lead that Salah and Haaland already have on them.

EPL Top Scorer Race the Best in Years