Home of football statistics and historyThe 2021-22 Premier League season is well underway, with some of the best players in the world in the top division of English football on show. Having long claimed to be the best league in the world, it may now actually be genuine. The league now possesses the best coaches, a plethora of world-class players, and a deep pool of teams vying for success.
With so many talented players and coaches best equipped to get the most out of them, we have seen some stellar play from individuals. However, which players are most likely to lead the major statistical categories.
Top scorer favourites
With so many exceptional forwards in the league at the moment, it’s hard to outline a clear favourite to win the Golden Boot. Most of the time, the winners of this award have just played a season for a team that has cemented a top-four finish. The most recent exception was in 2020 when Jamie Vardy won and Leicester City finished 5th. This season, Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah is the favourite to win the Golden for a third time in the latest football odds, priced at 5/6. West Ham’s Michail Antonio cannot be ruled out, with the best football tips suggesting that West Ham could finish in the top four after their strong start to the campaign.
Antonio is now the main striker for West Ham and scored six goals in his first 10 games of the season. However, he has never bagged more than 10 in a Premier League season, something he will be expecting to change this time around.
Since joining Chelsea, Timo Werner has been misfiring, and star signing Romelu Lukaku has been hampered by injury. Manchester City score plenty of goals but don’t operate with a recognised number 9. Harry Kane only scored one goal in his first 10 Premier League games of the season and looks off the mark this season after a summer full of transfer speculation. Although new Spurs boss Antonio Conte could get the best out him, it seems unlikely Kane will finish among the top scorers this campaign.
That leaves Manchester United and Leicester. Bruno Fernandes is a threat from midfield, but it is expected that Ronaldo will be the team’s focal point going forward. Vardy is leading the line well for Leicester and has proven he can go the distance in the scoring charts.
Assists
The top assist makers are also usually from top clubs, but it isn’t uncommon to see a player from a team lower down the table end up as the best provider. We see Paul Pogba and Salah as the pace-setters in this department. However, it will be difficult for Pogba to maintain his spot near the top of the charts with injury troubles not helping his form.
Salah could very well capture this award, but he is usually finishing chances. He is a great playmaker and capable of remaining the top assist maker, but his ruthless nature will lead him to try and score more goals than setting them up. His teammate Trent Alexander-Arnold could become the assist leader. He holds the record for the most assists for a defender in a single season and will be out to beat his own record.
Gabriel Jesus could be a shock winner. Usually deployed as a striker, he is used to being the one to score, not setting other players up. However, with his new role as a right-winger and within Pep Guardiola’s system where wide players often get assist with drag backs, he is in with real contention.
Most clean sheets
It would be a toss-up between two of the best goalkeepers in the division in Édouard Mendy and Ederson. They are both excellent shot-stoppers and have a solid defence in front of them. However, it appears that Thomas Tuchel has created an impervious defence this season, and therefore, it would be the most logical to feel that Édouard Mendy would finish on top. Liverpool’s Alisson Becker cannot be ruled out either, but his sights will be firmly set on major trophies with Liverpool rather than personal awards.
It’s all to play for in the Premier League with a range of awards up for grabs. It’ll be interesting to see who finishes on top at the end of the season.
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