Luis Suarez may be ahead at the top of the Premier League top scorer charts, but Al Hain-Cole thinks that last year’s leading marksman is unlikely to give in without a fight
While his controversial reputation may hamper Luis Suarez’s chances of winning any Player of the Year awards this season, the Golden Boot is completely in his own hands.
The Liverpool striker has simply exploded this term, making the question marks that were previously raised over his finishing ability look slightly ridiculous.
With 22 goals to his name, the Uruguayan maestro is currently three clear at the top of the goal-scoring charts, making him the big favourite at 4/9 (1.44) with Coral to finish the season top of the pile.
Next in the list is last year’s leading marksman Robin van Persie, who has fallen behind due to a run of just one goal in his last six league games.
Nevertheless, the Netherlands international had fired in 11 goals in just 10 matches prior to that relative dry patch, and is more than capable of hitting that type of form yet again to make up for lost ground on Suarez.
With no Champions League distractions to worry about, Sir Alex Ferguson is less likely to rest the former Arsenal man from now until the end of the season, and with nine games still to play, it could be worth having a bet on some generous 9/4 (3.25) odds for Van Persie to overhaul his Liverpool counterpart.
Along with that pair, Gareth Bale is generally seen as the other standout performer this season, and his recent goal-scoring exploits make him a strong contender for personal awards in May.
However, the Spurs man’s albeit impressive return of 16 goals leaves him six short of Suarez, and that deficit seems just too great for a player that does not play up front to overturn, hence the 20/1 (21.00) odds on him finishing as top scorer.
In fact, while he trails Bale by one goal, Demba Ba’s position at the spearhead of the Chelsea attack makes him a slightly shorter price at 16/1 (17.00) to come out on top, although a return of one goal in his last 10 appearances does not inspire confidence.
Surprise package Michu also has 15 goals to his name, but seems to be winding down for the season along with his Swansea team-mates following their Capital One Cup victory, and is a serious long shot at 33/1 (34.00).
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Al Hain-Cole is a Liverpool fan, experienced tipster and avid follower of European football. He specialises in accumulators and if you would like to read more from Al you can follow him on Twitter here.
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