MX23RW : Wednesday, July 1 20:12:15| >> :120:11406:11406:

How the Championship Golden Boot race is shaping up

Ahead of the Championship's return on Saturday, Sports Mole looks at how the Golden Boot race is shaping up, with Aleksandar Mitrovic leading the way.

Having witnessed the Premier League get back underway with two matches on Wednesday night, it is now the turn of the EFL as the 24 Championship teams look to fulfil their remaining nine fixtures.

As is typical with any second-tier campaign, there is still much to be decided at both ends of the table, while the race for the four playoff spots is as hotly contested as ever.

Away from team matters, a number of players still have ambitions with regards to the Golden Boot, particularly the two attackers who have broken away from the rest of their rivals and, coincidentally, feature in the first fixture on the new schedule.

Here, Sports Mole takes an in-depth look at how the battle to be top scorer is shaping up.



Aleksandar Mitrovic celebrates scoring a hat-trick for Fulham on October 23, 2019© Reuters

As it stands, Fulham forward Aleksandar Mitrovic has got his nose in front of Brentford counterpart Ollie Watkins by just the one goal, netting 23 times from his 34 appearances.

However, the Serbia international perhaps deserves more credit for remaining ahead of the Bees striker having started three games fewer and featured for 270 minutes less than his rival.

The two frontmen have recorded one hat-trick apiece, both of which came before the end of October, but Watkins has four doubles to his name in comparison to two for Mitrovic.

Nevertheless, that arguably puts Mitrovic in a better light, with the physically-imposing 25-year-old having contributed a goal in 19 of his 34 outings.

Brentford's Ollie Watkins celebrates after he scores their third goal against Barnsley on September 29, 2019© Reuters

Although both players have failed to keep up with their earlier ratios in front of goal since the turn of the year, Mitrovic still has five from 10 outings and Watkins seven from 12.

The pair have still been able to maintain a clear advantage over the chasing pack, which is headed by Nottingham Forest's Lewis Grabban.

While 17 goals have come from 36 appearances, the 32-year-old has been far from consistent this season, netting just once from his eight most recent starts for the East Midlands side.

Grabban has only scored in consecutive matches on three occasions, while two of his four doubles for the season came over the Christmas and New Year period.

Queens Park Rangers' Nahki Wells celebrates scoring their sixth goal on January 1, 2020© Reuters

With Jarrod Bowen out of the running because of his January transfer to West Ham United, Karlan Grant and Nahki Wells are the next two players on the list.

Grant's return of 16 goals for Huddersfield Town is all the more impressive due to over half of his appearances coming out on the left flank, with the 22-year-old also chipping in with four assists.

Meanwhile, having switched from Queens Park Rangers to Bristol City in January, Wells has registered a total of 15 strikes for two different clubs.

All but two of those goals came during 26 games for QPR, meaning that a return of just two efforts from eight matches for the Robins is considerably down on his previous ratio.

ID:402925:
Share this article now:
Leeds United's players celebrate Tyler Roberts' goal against Hull City on February 29, 2020
Read Next:
The Championship returns: How every club has fared so far this season
>
Latest Sports Video
Did you know...?
Sports Mole Logo
Enter your email address to subscribe to Sports Mole's free daily transfer newsletter! Sent twice a day during the transfer window.

rhs 2.0
Tables
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Leeds UnitedLeeds40229960332775
2West Bromwich AlbionWest Brom402014666382874
3Brentford402091170333769
4Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest401813953401367
5Fulham4019101154441067
6Cardiff CityCardiff40151695751661
7Derby CountyDerby401612125552360
8Swansea CitySwansea401415115047357
9Preston North EndPreston40169155250257
10Blackburn RoversBlackburn401511145550556
11Millwall401317104744356
12Bristol City401510155359-655
13Sheffield WednesdaySheff Weds401410164953-452
14Wigan AthleticWigan401311164550-550
15Queens Park RangersQPR40148185966-750
16Reading401310174848049
17Birmingham CityBirmingham401213155163-1249
18Charlton AthleticCharlton401210184654-846
19Huddersfield TownHuddersfield40129194963-1445
20Middlesbrough391014153950-1144
21Stoke CityStoke40127215061-1143
22Hull City39119195267-1542
23Barnsley401011194562-1741
24Luton TownLuton40117224673-2740

Subscribe to our Newsletter


Transfer Talk Daily
Match previews - twice weekly
Morning Briefing (7am UTC)
Ultra close-up image of Kevin De Bruyne [NOT FOR USE IN ARTICLES]Get the latest transfer news, match previews and news direct to your inbox!