Opening-day brace leaves familiar face at head of Premier League Golden Boot race

We’re so back. The 25/26 Premier League season is up and running, and even though we’re only halfway through the opening weekend there’s already been significant early jostling in the marathon-not-a-sprint for the Golden Boot.

There’s already a very strong, very familiar favourite heading a group of contenders featuring plenty of new names.

Here are the 10 current favourites for the big shiny shoe, according to oddschecker.com, with each player’s current goal tally in brackets.

10) Richarlison (2)
A surprise that he is still at Spurs to start the season, and might very well have been shipped out by now had Dominic Solanke not been injured. Instead, he started on the opening day against Burnley, and promptly sauntered halfway to matching his 24/25 Premier League goals tally while also making an audacious early bid for goal of the season.

9) Benjamin Sesko (0)
Not since Robin van Persie in 2012/13 has a Manchester United player got their hands on the Golden Boot, and Sesko will need United’s general attacking play to be far less moribund than last year’s if he is to have any chance. Still, like Van Persie all those years ago, he is in his first season at the club so maybe that’s a good omen. Although unlike Van Persie, he didn’t score 30 Premier League goals the previous season.

8) Ollie Watkins (0)
Among the most consistently reliable Premier League goalscorers since making his debut in the competition back in 2020, always reaching double figures but never yet cracking the 20-goal barrier. Based on the very early evidence this weekend, you are going to need to crack the 20-goal barrier to be in the frame.

7) Cole Palmer (0)
One of two members of Chelsea’s Club World Cup heroes to make this top 10. Much is expected of Chelsea – and Palmer – this season.

6) Hugo Ekitike (1)
Has made a flying start to his Liverpool career but might he just prove a bit too ‘scorer of great goals, not great goalscorer’ across an entire campaign? Also very hard to know exactly what everyone’s favourite palindromic striker’s season might look like until the Alexander Isak Situation is resolved.

5) Joao Pedro (0)
Has any player made a greater contribution to a club before even playing a league game? His role in Chelsea’s Club World Cup triumph after rocking up halfway through the tournament was stunning.

4) Alexander Isak (0)
Two fairly significant questions here. Where, exactly, will he be attempting to score the necessary Premier League goals to secure this prize? And how much of a headstart will he give some pretty tasty rivals before we know the answer to question one?

3) Viktor Gyokeres (0)
The Proper Striker to finally deliver the title to Arsenal?

2) Mohamed Salah (1)
Faded towards the end of last season but already had this award in the bag long before that. Early evidence suggests he won’t have to shoulder quite such a goalscoring burden at Liverpool this season, but also that he’ll still get/create a vast number of opportunities.

1) Erling Haaland (2)
Looking to reclaim his crown after last season’s ‘struggles’ and made – as he generally does – a rapid start to the season with a couple of goals on the opening day as the familiar focal point of a new-look Man City side.