Red card against Chelsea could prevent striker winning Golden Boot
With just over a third of the Premier League season passed it's safe to say so far it's been 'intriguing'. We've had goals aplenty, some scintillating attacking play and a lack of defensive stability. What more could you expect with Pep Guardiola in charge?
Despite the aforementioned issues at the back, it's so far been a pretty solid start for City this term; and that's in no small part down to Sergio Aguero's, at times, majestic form.
The Argentine sharpshooter has so far managed to find the net 10 times in the Premier League (16 in all comps) this season. That's despite already having faced a three match ban after his clash with West Ham defender Winston Reed was retrospectively reviewed by the FA.
Aguero returned from that ban with brace in the Premier League against Swansea, but since then his form hasn't quite reached the heights it had earlier in the season.
During City's latest outing against Chelsea, again Aguero wasn't quite at it in front of goal; and as the game swung in the visitors favour he began to cut a rather frustrated figure. This led to City's talisman putting in what can only be described as an awful challenge on Chelsea defender David Luiz and earning himself a red card in the process.
Due to this being the City strikers second red card worthy offence this year, the usual 3 match ban was increased to 4 matches.
This will undoubtedly have an impact on City's challenge for the title in what is Pep's debut season; but what kind of impact will this ban have on Aguero's chances of being crowned the Premier Leagues top scorer? There are plenty of tipsters at bettingexpert offering their thoughts, but here are ours:
Premier League top scorer contenders
Diego Costa:
Currently joint top of the scoring charts just 1 goal ahead of Sergio. The Chelsea marksman is having arguably his best season to date. He seems focussed and unlike seasons past it's tough to see him missing a large number of games due to suspension.
Sergio Aguero:
Once he returns from this ban Aguero will have already missed 7 league games, yet is still a great bet to be top scorer in the Premier League this campaign. Who'd bet against it after seeing his form earlier this season?
Alexis Sanchez:
The diminutive Chilean was undoubtedly a great talent when he signed for Arsenal back in 2014, but it seems like he's now really starting to catch fire at the Emirates. He joins Costa at the summit of the scoring charts with 11 goals this season.
Harry Kane:
Last season's top scorer had his customary slow start to the season but now seems to have turned a corner. The England man has netted 7 times so far in the league, and with Spurs now out of the Champions League he's likely to be able to focus his efforts on domestic form.
Top scorer odds: 8/1
Zlatan Ibrahimovic
After a blistering start to his career in England, Zlatan, much like his club, has suffered a serious dip in form over the last couple of months. Even taking this into account, it would be naive to discount a player of such proven pedigree.
Top scorer odds: 10/1