Premier League Golden Boot 2018/19 Predictions

We're now approaching the home straight of the Premier League season and there's still plenty to be decided. The title race, top 4 and relegation spots are all still firmly wide open, along with the battle for the Golden Boot. This award is given to the player who finishes at the top of the goalscoring standings at the end of the 38 game season and it's one of the most prestigious individual awards on offer. Premier League Golden Boot winners of the past include Thierry Henry, Alan Shearer, Luis Suarez and Cristiano Ronaldo which shows the level required to win it.

Last years race for the Golden Boot was a two horsed one involving Liverpool's Mohamed Salah and Tottenham's Harry Kane - which went right down to the wire. A brace from the World Cup 2018 Golden Boot winner Kane wasn't enough on the final day to pip the Egyptian to the gong, who rounded off a record breaking campaign with a strike against Brighton. Salah's return of 32 goals set a new PL record, eclipsing Alan Shearer's feat of 31 from the 1995/96 season which highlights just how incredible his return to England was following his move from Roma.

Whilst 2017/18's race was dominated by two players, this years looks much more wide open and difficult to predict. Salah and Kane are once again involved but also entering the fray are Manchester City's Sergio Aguero and Arsenal's Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who've both been regular fixtures in our Anytime Goalscorer Tips this season. There's just 3 goals separating the four of them coming into the final 12 games of the season and it looks like we're in for a rollercoaster ride.

The current outsider with the bookmakers is Spurs & England man Harry Kane, who despite winning the Premier League Golden Boot twice is available at odds of 10/1 with SkyBet. The 25 year-old is always in and around the summit of the scoring charts and he made up for the disappointment of missing out on last seasons award to win the World Cup 2018 Golden Boot after a magnificent summer captaining the Three Lions in Russia.

This season has also been fruitful for him with him spearheading Spurs' title challenge as usual and netting 14 PL goals in the process, but it's been a testing few weeks for him. Kane hasn't featured for the North Londoners since picking up an ankle injury in Tottenham's 1-0 home defeat to Manchester United back on January 13th, but this week he returned to training so he could be back in action in the very near future.

He's returning just at the right time which is fantastic news for Spurs fans as they approach the crucial end-of-season run-in and a welcome distraction from matters off the pitch. Spurs are still without their new stadium so they're set to play out the remainder of the season at their temporary home of Wembley, but they do have some excellent looking fixtures to come which will have Kane licking his lips.

Crystal Palace, Brighton, Huddersfield, West Ham and Everton all have to visit the national stadium before May 12th so there's plenty of potential for Kane to make up the three-goal margin in the Golden Boot race - however we're expecting him to come up just short for the second season running. Kane's injury has given him a little bit of ground to make up and the quality of the forwards he's up against means it's going to be very difficult to win his 3rd EPL Golden Boot in 4 seasons - but if anyone is capable of doing it then it's him.

Just ahead of Kane in the scoring standings with 15 goals is North London rival and Gunners hitman, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. The Gabon international has been an absolute revelation since making his club record transfer to Arsenal 13 months ago and he's looking in great shape to add another Golden Boot to his trophy cabinet - after winning the Bundesliga edition with Borussia Dortmund back in 2017. It's very much been a season of transition for Arsenal following the departure of club legend Arsene Wenger, who's since been replaced by Unai Emery. You never really know what you're going to get from the Gunners and its had a bit of an impact on their no. 14.

This is Auba's first full season in an Arsenal kit and he's clearly relishing the challenge of competing in the worlds best division, which was highlighted by him winning the Premier League Player of the Month award in October. But one slightly worrying note is how his goals have started to dry up ever so slightly over the last few weeks, with him netting just twice in his previous six games. Alarm bells won't be ringing just yet as his the Gunners have been out of sorts recently, but they have some very winnable games coming up which gives him the chance to get back on track.

But despite this he's still only just 2 goals off top spot so he has a big chance of catching up Sergio Aguero and Mohamed Salah in the race for the Golden Boot. Aubameyang's pace, eye for goal and knack for being in the right place at the right time makes him a menace for defenders but our prediction is that he's going to miss out on the award.

Arsenal have some decent fixtures to come but their away form (one win in six) makes grim reading for their supporters and he could well end up being let down by his teammates. However, if you feel that Aubameyang has what it takes to win the award he's available at odds of 11/2 with SkyBet - putting him third favourite in the market.

Close second favourite and current Golden Boot holder, Mohamed Salah, comes in next. The Egyptian has been a real force to be reckoned with since making his return to England two summers ago, with the £35m transfer fee paid to Roma by Liverpool looking like an absolute bargain. He was signed by Jurgen Klopp initially as a winger but the 26 year-olds goalscoring ability has seen him spend a lot of his time through the middle as a striker, and the results have been devastating. 49 Premier League goals in just 62 appearances shows the incredible consistency he's produced during his time at their Anfield Stadium and he's carried that through into the 2018/19 campaign.

There might not have been as many blockbuster performances from Mo Salah this season but he's still the goalscoring machine that we saw before the injury he picked up in the Champions League Final. 17 goals in 25 starts in the PL is a fantastic return for someone who's not regarded as an out-and-out no.9 and his form is reflected in the betting, with him priced up at 6/4 with SkyBet to win back-to-back Premier League Golden Boots.

After being dumped out of both The FA Cup & EFL Cup, Salah has just two available pieces of silverware up for grabs this season with the Premier League very much the centre of the Reds' attention. They're currently just three points behind leaders Manchester City on goal difference but with a game in hand, their destiny is very much in their own hands as we approach the business end of the campaign.

Liverpool's fixtures will give both their supporters and Salah confidence that they can complete a league and Golden Boot double, with games against the likes of Huddersfield, Cardiff, Newcastle and Fulham all to come over the next couple of months. The Reds haven't been as prolific as they were last term but the goal threat they carry is huge, with Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino completing a formidable forward line which is capable of blowing away any side in European football - so expect Salah to be right up there come May.

It will come as little surprise to you that a Manchester City player is at the top of the standings, and even less of a surprise that it's Sergio Aguero who is indeed that man. The Argentina international is held in the highest of regard at the Etihad Stadium, with him seen by many City fans as one of (if not the) best players in the clubs history. Last season he became their all-time record goalscorer and despite being at the age of 30 he shows no signs of slowing down if this years performances are anything to go by.

Kun Aguero so far has 17 goals to his name in the PL which ties him level with Mohamed Salah at the summit of the standings, however he's managed to achieve that total in just 21 starts which is immensely impressive. He's currently the man in the form in the top flight, netting 11 goals in his last 10 appearances in all competitions as Man City continue their hunt for an unprecedented quadruple under Pep Guardiola. Last year was a historic one for a number of reasons, winning the EFL Cup and the Premier League which saw them accumulate 100 points along with also being part of their very own documentary - All or Nothing Manchester City.

And clearly Pep's thirst for silverware evidently hasn't been quenched, with the Citizens going all out to achieve domestic and continental success just like his old Barcelona team - which is great news for Man City fans. For Aguero, his goals-to-game ratio is up there with the best in Premier League history so if he starts the majority of City's remaining games, he's in with a fantastic chance of picking up his second Golden Boot. His previous award came back in the 2014-15 campaign when he netted 25 league goals - his best PL return in a City shirt.

Manchester City's fixture list makes good reading for him too, they've won all but one of their games at the Etihad this season and still have matches against Watford, Cardiff and West Ham to come which are all extremely winnable. Add to that the fact they are the divisions leading scorers by some distance (15 goals) with 74 to their name and Aguero looks like a fantastic choice to end the campaign with the most PL goals.

So there we have it, all-in-all there's 4 fantastic contenders who'd all be worthy winners of this seasons Premier League Golden Boot. All 4 have different motivations and different scenarios which can either work for or against them, but we've reached our decision as to who's going to go all the way. It was very much a toss-up between Mohamed Salah and Sergio Aguero, who're both as prolific as they come in world football. Salah has the experience of winning it last term but this year with different pressures and a change in system from Jurgen Klopp, we can see him being pipped by the Manchester City man.

Sergio Aguero continues to take his game to new heights under Pep Guardiola and his recent performances back that up, with him on fire at the moment. He seems to score in almost every game he plays and being part of a City side that arguably boasts the most creativity in Europe, we're not expecting his goalscoring to slow down anytime soon. The Citizens are competing on four fronts this season so rotation across their forward line is a concern, but with them in a title race with Liverpool we're expecting the Argentine to feature heavily and score a lot of goals.