Mohamed Salah is in pole position to win the Premier League Golden Boot this season, having scored 22 goals so far in 2021/22.
Harry Kane is the defending champion after he held off a long challenge from Salah to narrowly finish first in the top-flight scoring charts with 23 last season.
READ MORE: European Golden Shoe: 2021/22 standings and award history
That was the third success for Kane, matching the total of Golden Boot triumphs held by the all-time EPL record goalscorer Alan Shearer.
This year Kane will be seeking what would be a record-equalling fourth crown.
Salah and Bruno Fernandes, who each made the podium last season, entered the campaign hoping to challenge again, while a proven Premier League scorer, Romelu Lukaku, returned to Chelsea after a prolific spell in Serie A with Inter.
READ MORE: Who will be the European Assists King for 2021/22?
Man Utd then brought Cristiano Ronaldo back to Old Trafford in a sensational return, making 2021/22 look like the most competitive Golden Boot race in years.
Former winner Jamie Vardy, Leeds striker Patrick Bamford, Everton’s Dominic Calvert-Lewin, West Ham star Michail Antonio and Aston Villa duo Ollie Watkins and Danny Ings are part of a strong contingent from outside England’s ‘big six’ teams who were rated as contenders when the season began.
Keep this page saved throughout the season as we take an in-depth look at the latest standings for the players who have the most EPL goals.
Mohamed Salah has taken a huge step towards winning the Premier League Golden Boot award for a third time after he increased his advantage in the standings this week.
Tottenham forward Son Heung-min had previously cut Salah’s lead at the top to just three goals after scoring a ruthless hat-trick when Spurs won 4-0 at Aston Villa.
But he has been unable to score in the two matches since against Brighton and Brentford, with Tottenham being held without a goal in both contests.
Salah, meanwhile, scored a double as Liverpool thrashed rivals Man Utd 4-0 on Tuesday.
Even though he had to settle for an assist in the 2-0 win over Everton in the Merseyside derby on Sunday, he still ended the week with a five-goal advantage.
Liverpool only have five top-flight matches remaining, next back in action at Newcastle on April 30, and it would take a remarkable turn of events for Salah to be denied now.
His 22 Premier League goals have come from 31 appearances (29 starts).
The double against Man Utd represented the only two goals Salah has scored in his previous five games, but his stellar start to the season means he has proven difficult to catch.
Son still sits second, with six goals in as many outings taking him up to 17 for the campaign.
Man Utd star Cristiano Ronaldo is now in outright possession of third place in the standings with 16 goals.
Ronaldo missed the clash against Salah’s Liverpool for personal reasons but returned with a goal in the 3-1 defeat at Arsenal on Saturday.
The 37-year-old previously scored a hat-trick which included a free-kick winner as his side made hard work of a 3-2 home win over Norwich City and is finishing the campaign strongly despite his team’s struggles.
Salah’s Liverpool team-mate Diogo Jota remains in golden boot podium contention with 15 goals for the 2021/22 campaign, although he did not find the net against either United or Everton.
Three of the top five players in the goalscoring charts in England represent Liverpool, with Sadio Mane fifth on 14 after improving his own total in the Man Utd rout.
Former Golden Boot winner Harry Kane is level with Ivan Toney on 12 goals and a tie for sixth place in the standings.
Like Son, Kane was disappointingly held scoreless against Brighton and Brentford.
He will not have ruled out grabbing a place in the top three, but any faint hopes of catching Salah and defending his title are now over as the season reaches its final weeks.
England captain Kane has gone five Premier League games without a goal, although he has registered five assists in that time.
Kevin De Bruyne and Riyad Mahrez are the top Man City players with 11 goals each, level with Crystal Palace forward Wilfried Zaha and Arsenal star Bukayo Saka.
2021/22 EPL top goalscorers
Who are the past winners of the Premier League Golden Boot?
EPL Golden Boot winners
The record for most goals in a season is shared by Alan Shearer (1994/95) and Andy Cole (1993/94).
Both players scored an astonishing 34 goals, though the season was longer then – Shearer did it in 42 matches and Cole in 40.
Mohamed Salah came close to that record in 2017/18, scoring 32 times in 36 outings, producing the best Premier League goalscoring season for 13 years.
The Golden Boot winner with the best goals per game ratio in a season is Harry Kane.
England’s captain netted 29 times in just 30 games to win the 2016/17 title, averaging 0.97 goals per game.
Arsenal and Liverpool have had the most Premier League Golden Boot winners, with six each. Man Utd have had five while Tottenham and Chelsea are on four.
There are only three players who have scored the most goals in the EPL more than twice.
Shearer won the Golden Boot three times, once with Newcastle and twice with Blackburn Rovers, while Kane’s win in 2020/21 was also his third.
Thierry Henry holds the record, though, having been named the top scorer in the Premier League on four occasions for Arsenal.
Cristiano Ronaldo and Luis Suarez have both won the award, scoring 31 goals in 2007/08 and 2013/14 respectively.
The Premier League began from the 1992/93 season.
Prior to that, Ian Wright was the last highest goalscorer in England when it was the old First Division.
Gary Lineker and Alan Smith were also winners in the 1990s before the league was rebranded.
Premier League: Player stats including appearances, goals and assists
Who are the Premier League top scorers of all time?
Alan Shearer is the highest goalscorer in Premier League history, having ended his career in 2006 with a magnificent 260 goals to his name in England’s top division.
Man Utd legend Wayne Rooney (208) is the only other player who has scored more than 200 EPL goals.
Andy Cole (187), Sergio Aguero (184), Frank Lampard (177) and Thierry Henry (175) are other former Premier League players who sit near the top of the all-time list.
Kane is the highest-scoring active player and had 166 goals when he started this season.
He has long been cited as one of the rare contenders who has a chance to rival Shearer’s record total.
Robbie Fowler (163), Jermain Defoe (162) and Michael Owen (150) round out the 10 players in EPL history who have scored 150 goals or more.