After grabbing his third brace of the season, Ibrahimovic is now two goals behind Costa
As we approach Christmas and almost at the half-way point of the season, the race for the Golden Boot is proving to be incredibly tight. The top four are covered by three goals and each player will do all they can to become this season’s Premier League top scorer.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic (6/1) might be 35 but he consistently proves that he is one of the best strikers in the world. He has already scored 11 league goals and Mourinho will be reluctant to drop the Swede over the busy Christmas period. That period will include a relatively kind run of fixtures, with Sunderland (H), Middlesbrough (H) and West Ham (A) up next for the Red Devils.
He has also scored three goals in his last two matches and going into the second half of the season, United will continue to rely on his goals. That means he will not be at risk of being rotated, with a good suspension and injury record behind him.
Arsene Wenger has moved Alexis Sanchez (4/1) into the middle of the front three this season and it’s been a success. The Chilean already has 12 goals to his name and Arsenal look like a better team with him leading the line.
With the Gunners struggling of late though, Wenger could bring Giroud back into the first 11, which could push Sanchez out wide, possibly affecting his goal output. Arsenal are another with kind fixtures coming up though, with West Brom (H), Crystal Palace (H) and Bournemouth (A) in their next three.
Sergio Aguero (4/1) is currently serving a four match suspension but he has still managed to score 10 goals. Aguero has the best minutes per goal ratio out of the four and since his move to England in 2011 he has scored 112 league goals in only 162 appearances.
With City slightly struggling for goals in his absence, it's difficult to see Aguero being rotated too much during the second half of the season, unless he picks up an injury like last season or another suspension.
Diego Costa (6/4) is the favourite after finding his goal-scoring form again this season and the Spaniard currently has the best shots on target ratio out of the top four and he’s the top scorer with 13 goals.
His disciplinary record has always been called into question but he seems to have mellowed this season. He does serve a one-match ban for the Boxing Day fixtures but after that, with Chelsea in red hot form, he should find the net plenty of times between now and the end of the season.
