Champions League: Golden Boot race - Cristiano Ronaldo leads the way, Harry Kane close behind
Cristiano Ronaldo remains the firm favourite to secure the Champions League Golden Boot as Real Madrid sit in a commanding position against Paris Saint-Germain.
Madrid’s main man currently sits on 11 goals during this European campaign, and it will take a big effort for someone to take that top spot away.
Despite sitting four goals clear in first, joint second-placed Roberto Firmino and Harry Kane both see their teams with one foot in the next round of the draw.
Our Tom Carnduff looks at the current favourites, along with odds from Sky Bet, and who could secure that top-scorer title at the end of the European campaign.
Cristiano Ronaldo, Real Madrid – 1/2 with Sky Bet
Current tally: 11 goals
It comes as no surprise that Ronaldo sits top of the scoring charts in Europe’s top club competition.
The 33-year-old is the competition’s all-time leading scorer and is showing no signs of stopping the number rising on that tally.
The Portuguese forward scored a brace in last week’s 3-1 victory over Paris Saint-Germain at the Santiago Bernabeu, a result that sees Real Madrid have a two-goal advantage for the second leg.
Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo is 20/1 to win the World Cup 2018 Golden Boot.
He has won the Champions League Golden Boot for five consecutive seasons and already finds himself one goal behind last season’s total of 12.
With Real Madrid enduring a disastrous La Liga campaign, the Champions League is viewed as their main objective this season. Zinedine Zidane will be looking to win a third straight title, giving Ronaldo plenty of opportunities to score more goals.
Harry Kane, Tottenham – 6/1
Current tally: 7 goals
He’s favourite for the Premier League’s Golden Boot, and if it wasn’t for the exceptional form of Ronaldo in this competition, he’d be leading the betting for this accolade as well.
The 24-year-old scored one goal in Spurs’ 2-2 draw with Juventus in Italy last week, putting his side firmly in the driving seat for the second leg at Wembley.
The England international has seven goals to his name already in the Champions League this season, scoring one every 72 minutes.
Harry Kane is 5/1 to become England Senior team's all time top goal scorer.
Domestically, Kane sits on 23 goals for Mauricio Pochettino’s outfit in England’s top flight, demonstrating he has no intention of going on a goal drought.
If Tottenham are to continue to progress in Europe this season, they’ll be looking for Kane to be the man to fire in the goals for the north London side.
Champions League top goalscorer odds (Sky Bet)
Cristiano Ronaldo – 1/2
Harry Kane – 6/1
Lionel Messi – 10/1
Edinson Cavani – 16/1
Neymar – 16/1
Robert Lewandowski – 20/1
Mohamed Salah – 25/1
Roberto Firmino – 25/1
Lionel Messi, Barcelona – 10/1
Current tally: 3 goals
Seen by many as the best player in world football, Lionel Messi has failed to hit his usual heights in the Champions League this season.
He has scored just three times during the group stages, despite being a regular feature in the Barcelona side.
A stark contrast to his LaLiga form, where he has netted 20 times in 24 games so far this season.
Argentina's Lionel Messi is 10/1 to win the World Cup 2018 Golden Boot award
Despite this form though, we all know the quality of the Argentinian forward and he is capable of terrifying the best defenders in the world.
Barca sit 17 points clear of their rivals Real Madrid in the Spanish top flight, and will be eager to ensure they also pip them to European glory.
Neymar, Paris Saint-Germain – 16/1
Current tally: 6 goals
The world’s most expensive footballer has, as expected, hit the ground running with the French giants but faces an uphill task in helping his team progress to the next stages.
The Brazilian made the switch to Paris from Barcelona for the small fee of £200m in the summer, and has lived up to his price tag with 19 goals and 12 assists in just 18 Ligue 1 games so far.
Add in the six goals he has on the European stage and it’s clear to see why the cash-rich club were eager to prize him away from Spain.
If he is to add to that tally, PSG will have to overcome a two-goal deficit in their second leg tie with Real Madrid, after losing the first leg 3-1.
Despite appearing to be an uphill task, this is a Paris side who scored 15 goals in their three home games in the group stages of this competition so they are more than capable of pulling out a result.
If they were to progress, they’d become one of the favourites to lift the trophy, giving Neymar plenty of opportunity to close the five-goal gap on Ronaldo.
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