It’s still early days in the race for the Premier League Golden boot but there are already a few surprise names at the top of the table.

The race for 30 goals

Any player who is aiming for 30 goals this season will need a strike rate of 0.78 goals per game. With just four games played so far, that equates to a total goal tally of 3.15. So which players are already ahead of that target strike rate?

A quick look at the table reveals that just three players are on track for a 30-goal haul with Bafétimbi Gomis of Swansea City, Riyad Mahrez of Leicester and Callum Wilson of AFC Bournemouth, all having managed four goals so far this term. So which of those players can be expected to keep up their current goal-scoring rate and challenge for the Golden Boot?

Maintaining consistency

Of those three players, only Callum Wilson has managed 20 goals or more in a single season and he also happens to be the youngest. In 2013-14, the Coventry-born striker netted 21 league goals in 37 appearances for Coventry City in League One, and he followed that up with 20 goals in 45 games during his first season on the South Coast at Championship level. With four goals already this season, the 23-year-old remains on course to break the 20-goal barrier for the third straight season across three different divisions.

Mahrez has already equalled his tally for the whole of last season and is the least likely of the three to maintain his current hit-rate. Meanwhile, Gomis has never managed more than 16 league goals in a season despite successful spells at Lyon and Saint-Étienne. However, the 30-year-old front man is currently in the form of his life and seems perfectly suited to the Swans attacking style of play. His team is also the most likely of the three to remain in the top-half of the table.

Each-way value

Callum Wilson can be backed at 25/1 each-way in the top goal scorer market with Betfair. That equates to 25/4 for the Bournemouth player to finish as a top-four striker come the end of the season. Gomis can be backed at 16/1 each-way with Bet365, which at a quarter of the odds gives a price of 4/1 for the Frenchman to bag a top-four place in the goal-scorer table.

The favourites

Before the season began, there were a few obvious candidates for the top scorer award, so let’s take a quick look to see how they are faring in the current Premier League campaign.

Sergio Aguero was 3/1 before the start if the season but despite only finding the net once so far, his price has already shortened to 9/4 thanks to Man city’s good form. Meanwhile, Arsenal’s Alexis Sanchez has drifted from his pre-season price of 20/1 and can now be backed at 25/1 with Bet365, making the Chilean great value for an each-way bet.

Thanks to Chelsea’s stuttering start, Diego Costa can now be backed at 10/1, while Wayne Rooney can now be backed at 33/1 with Bet365 after failing to impress in a forward role for Manchester United.

Liverpool’s Christian Benteke has shortened from 16/1 to 14/1 despite having only scored one goal so far and Spur’s striker Harry Kane has drifted out to 33/1.

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