King Fernando 9/2 to reign
Fernando Torres to be top Premier League goalscorer – 9/2
Fernando Torres is ready to be crowned king of the Premier League goal scoring charts this season, with the Spaniard a stand-out 9/2 punt to take over the mantle held last season by Cristiano Ronaldo.
With the Manchester United ace currently sidelined with an ankle injury, Torres could well build up a sizeable lead before Ronaldo gets back into action and a few early goals will see punters licking their lips – and you can bet that that 9/2 with Betdaq won’t be hanging round for long.
Torres has a huge weight of expectation on his shoulders. The Liverpool frontman managed 24 League goals in his first season in English football, before scoring the winning goal as Spain beat Germany to lift Euro 2008 crown – and I confidently predict he will sweep all before him yet again this season and beat Ronaldo to the Golden Boot.
No doubt about it though, Ronaldo will be firing in the goals this time round. Although not an out-and-out striker like the usual suspects who top the charts, the Portuguese winger’s talent is simply world class. Whether he matches the 31 goals from last season is another matter, but he is certainly one to watch at 10/1.
Meanwhile, Torres now has a new strike partner in Robbie Keane and there could be plenty of goals to come from Liverpool’s forward pair.
Keane himself could benefit from the partnership and could be a good outside bet to top the charts at 25/1. His old strike partner, Dimitar Berbatov, will be looking to add to his 15 goals from last season and his price of 14/1 is definitely worth interest – whether he stays at Spurs or makes the move to champions Manchester United.
Another striker likely to bang in the goals, although possibly a surprise choice as second-favourite at 9/1, is Arsenal and Togo forward Emmanuel Adebayor.
Adebayor managed 24 last season and was a big hit at the Emirates Stadium, although many Gunners fans will be hoping that another hair cut is not on the cards after the last re-style halted his net-busting abilities. And don’t write off Didier Drogba either, a decent price at 14/1. The Ivory Coast striker only managed eight League goals last time out after an injury-plagued season, but with the ‘Abramovich Allstars’ squad getting ever bigger since the arrival of new coach Luiz Felipe Scolari, big things are expected of Drogba and Chelsea.
Lampard is often among the goals for the Blues and is one of the Premier League’s highest scoring midfielders, despite being priced at 90/1.
Last season’s FA Cup finalists, Portsmouth, could also provide two good shouts. Livewire striker Jermain Defoe bagged eight goals in just 12 matches for Portsmouth last season, and his price of 22/1 is definitely one for the shortlist.
New strike partner Peter Crouch is 35/1, although the lanky forward is likely to set up more goals than he scores.
For any punters wanting to take a huge risk, new Fulham signing Andy Johnson could be the dark horse this year at a massive 105/1. Many don’t expect Johnson to claim the Golden Boot, although there is no question of his goal scoring ability, but can he find his scoring form again after a relatively poor career with Everton and reinvent himself with Fulham?