Jamie Vardy ended the 2018/19 Premier League season with 18 goals to his name which left him 4 goals behind top goal scorers Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mané and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. Prior to the 24th game week of the current season, Vardy leads the way at the top of the goalscoring charts with 17 goals.
This suggests the Leicester City striker is going to easily beat his total from last season which was good enough to finish 5th in the standings. However, a recent dip in form has seen Vardy go 4 matches in all competitions and 3 games in the Premier League without a goal. This has allowed those behind him to close the gap and the pressure is on Vardy to get back to his goal scoring ways quickly.
Following the home match against West Ham United, forthcoming fixtures does not look particularly great for Leicester City as they face Chelsea at home, Wolverhampton Wanderers away and Manchester City at home. Therefore, it could be vital for Vardy to find the back of the net in the match against West Ham United ahead of the difficult run of games.
If he fails to do so, there are several players waiting to move above him in the top goal scorer table.
Perhaps the most notable is Sergio Aguero, who has been struggling with an injury this season but recently returned to the Manchester City team with 5 goals in just two matches. This is the kind of explosive form Aguero is capable of and should he continue in a similar fashion until the end of the season, the Argentine striker is highly likely to move ahead of Vardy in the race for the Golden Boot.
Fortunately for Vardy, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang picked up a red card during Arsenal's game at Crystal Palace having previously scored a goal in the match. This has seen the Gabon striker suspended for 3 games and he is therefore being unable to take full advantage of Vardy’s lean spell in-front of goal.
Joining Aubameyang on 14 goals are Danny Ings and Marcus Rashford. The former has enjoyed a fantastic spell with Southampton and having scored against Everton on the 9th of November 2019, Ings has found the back of the net in all but 3 of his last 12 Premier League matches prior to the meeting with Crystal Palace on the 21st of January. It will be interesting to see if Southampton can continue their good form through to the end of the season or will the goals dry up for Ings?
Good news for Vardy but bad news for Manchester United is the injury to Marcus Rashford. The England international is expected to be out for a few months meaning he will definitely not be adding to the 14 Premier League goals he has scored this season for some time. His England international colleague, Harry Kane, is also on the treatment table and will not be adding to his 11 goals anytime soon.
This leaves Tammy Abraham, Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mané and possibly Raheem Sterling as contenders to move above Vardy before the end of the season. Out of these four players, the Liverpool duo probably have the best chance given their strong push for the title.