Romelu Lukaku and Harry Kane go head to head when Manchester United host Tottenham next Monday - but who is the best finisher and how do they compare with other Premier League strikers?
Kane scored almost double Lukaku's tally in the league last term, hitting 30 compared with the Belgian's 16 from a similar number of minutes on the pitch.
But which player is more clinical in front of goal when chances arise? We compared the two strikers against every forward who scored 10 goals or more in the top flight last season to find out...
Goals
The raw numbers suggest Liverpool's Mohamed Salah is the Premier League's top finisher right now - having scored a league-topping 32 goals last season - with Kane finishing two shy of the Egyptian.
Indeed, Salah also topped the chart for goals per 90 minutes with 0.99, followed by Manchester City's Sergio Aguero, whose 21 goals came at 0.96 per 90, with the Argentina international playing more than 10 games fewer than Salah and Kane.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang hit the ground running after his January switch from Borussia Dortmund to Arsenal with a 0.85 ratio - scoring 10 goals in just 1,058 minutes.
In terms of adaptability in front of goal, Kane recorded a diverse split of right-footed (13), left-footed (10) and headed (six) goals - with one more from another body part - while Salah scored 25 of his 32 goals with his favoured left boot.
Like Liverpool's talisman, Lukaku also tends to finish with his left, hitting 11 of his 16 goals - or 69 per cent - with his preferred foot.
Expected goals (xG)
Expected Goals (xG) measures the likelihood of a shot ending in a goal based on a range of variables, such as assist type, shot angle and distance from goal, whether it was a headed shot and so on.
According to this Opta data, Salah topped the chart again, scoring seven goals more than expected, followed by new Man City recruit Riyad Mahrez, Kane and Aguero (each +5).
This suggests that all those players are fine finishers, hitting the net on several occasions when the majority of shots historically taken from those positions would not be scored.
Only three players recorded negative figures, with Chelsea's Alvaro Morata the chief offender, finishing the season with two goals fewer than expected. Manchester City's Gabriel Jesus and Liverpool's Sadio Mane both finished around one goal below their xG.
This metric suggests Mahrez scored 84 per cent more goals than expected, a statistic boosted by his four goals from outside the box - only new team-mate Kevin De Bruyne and former Stoke attacker Xherdan Shaqiri scored more long-range efforts (five).
According to Opta, Kane and Lukaku both exceeded expectations in front of goal - with the England international scoring five more than expected (+21 per cent) and Lukaku with three more (+19 per cent).
Accuracy
Shooting accuracy is defined as an unblocked shot on target - but the results can be misleading.
A tame shot that reaches the goalmouth can boost a striker's ratio of hitting the target, while a thunderous strike from range that grazes the crossbar does not count.
However, the statistic does help establish which strikers hit the target more consistently when lots of shots are aggregated.
In terms of shot frequency, Kane topped the chart with 133 unblocked shots last season - 23 per cent more than any other player - but only 56 per cent of those attempts hit the target, which ranked him 14th out of 20.
Arsenal's Aubameyang led the division with a 79 per cent shooting accuracy - although this ratio was potentially skewed from only taking 24 unblocked shots in total.
In terms of players that attempted a higher number of shots, Lukaku, Liverpool's Roberto Firmino (both 63 per cent) and Salah (60 per cent) ranked highly.
Conversion
In contrast to shooting accuracy, shot conversion includes blocked attempts. Kane led the way again for shot frequency with 184 attempts, including 51 blocked efforts - resulting in a 16 per cent goal ratio (17th out of 20).
Meanwhile, Lukaku attempted fewer than half of Kane's attempts with just 86 shots and converted 19 per cent of those into goals (11th out of 20).
Kane's habit of shooting from any angle or range reduced both his accuracy and conversion rates, as the graphic below clearly shows.
Leicester's Jamie Vardy appeared to be the most clinical of strikers in this metric, netting 28 per cent of his 71 efforts on goal - while Aubameyang's 32 per cent is skewed from having taken just 31 shots.
Other notable strikers with high shot frequencies and high conversion rates included Salah, Aguero (both 22 per cent) and Raheem Sterling (21 per cent) - despite the latter being frequently accused of being a poor finisher.
Big chances
Sterling's main criticism typically arises from failing to convert clear-cut opportuinities. Opta record this metric as 'big chances'.
However, the England forward once again contradicts criticism with an above-average 54 per cent conversion rate, compared with a chart-low 37 per cent from Liverpool winger Sadio Mane.
Indeed, Golden Boot winner Salah only managed 47 per cent - missing 23 of his 43 big chances in front of goal.
Kane fares slightly better than the Liverpool forward, equalling Sterling on 54 per cent, while Lukaku is close behind on 50 per cent.
Vardy was reliable when faced with a golden opportunity, scoring 14 of his 21 chances on goal - a league-topping 70 per cent conversion rate.
Burnley's Chris Wood (69 per cent) is boosted thanks to having relatively few big chances.
Conclusion
With all the above metrics factored, Salah, the Premier League golden boot winner, appears to have a strong case for being considered the top flight's top finisher right now. He benefited from playing in a side which created a lot of chances, but his impressive xG, shooting accuracy and conversion rates stand out.
Injuries may have hampered Aguero's hopes of finishing top scorer last season but he excelled across a raft of per-90 stats and remains one of the Premier League's top finishers - as his hat-trick against Huddersfield underlined.
Aubameyang's per 90 and percentage stats are somewhat skewed from joining the Gunners in January and recording fewer shots but is clearly a talented striker, while Opta data suggests Mahrez has a habit of scoring stunners but may miss the easier chance or two for City this season.
Statistically, Vardy appears to be the most clinical at finishing clear-cut chances.
However, when it comes to Monday night's showdown between Kane and Lukaku, it is the Tottenham striker who the stats shine brightest for. Kane is more than twice as likely to shoot than Lukaku - but also almost twice as likely to score.
MrPerfect
129
Right Now he'll the Saddest man on earth.. For sure... While Chelsea enjoying a top flight firing Run.. This man was busy warming real Madrid bench.. He left the club which loved him most... Nd now getting back his outcomes.. ~karma.. 😂 😂
luxurious
114
There are only 2 £5m midfielders who have had as many shots as Kane and Jesus and more shots than Alli, Aubameyang, Morata, Pogba, Salah, Mane, Richarlison, Bernardo Silva, Mahrez, Tosun Lukaku, Hazard, Murray and Vardy: David Brooks and Mario Lemina.
robjet07
93
For the best finisher i would go for Vardy... Clinical scorer Aguero. Lethal striker Kane.Danger from everywhere Salah . Of course none of them compare to Legened Giroud who hasnt had a shot on target for months
west52
85
Lukaku: "When we miss the target in training we are told to do press ups." That explains why he's freaking massive.
Zere8
58
sorry, no comparison, kane claimed all the goals.. “goal scored by another part of the body” tells all the story lol
PritamKbanik
51
This 3 man should be fire for this year EPL
Veeduu
50
this is the best stats ever i saw.. it has everything for us .. loving this.. you are doing a great job.. keep it up
unyiarch
42
Well if you play in a team like Liverpool, Man city and Tottenham where the attacking mid fielders are up and doing you should be expected to have more chances and score more goals. I'm not here disputing the quality of players like Sallah, Kane and Aguero who can create their chances and work well with the ball. On the otherhand I think strikers like Vardy and Lukaku hardly have chances like the other three players I mentioned yet they still perform. Credits to Wood and Murray for their great works in front of goal. Please these statistics should be shown to Gurou, Maratha and Aubameyang because their current performance speak less of them. this season we should expect more goals from Sallah, Kane, Aguero and Lukaku. Hazard too will be fantastic as usual.
Anisngum
42
L like this post ,and it is very interesting. A very statistical approach of seeing football. Even though some player like Salah Kane ,aguero where highly rated ,a player like vardy came out with some interesting stat.very good player.
BAPPSPAULO
34
Salah has to keep his form
kuuaklmsu
32
lukaku is busy enjoying the congoless food making him glowing more fat like female Pig, he can not even run , if morinho is a good coach like cadiola the best thing for lukaku is to be on the bench till he reduce his normal wait. I want to ask him this question why becoming fat like female Pig? are u not training again?
fashdilan
28
Kane is the Bo's in front of geol in England right now. not even lukaku can coper him because he is not living up to his taly .playing in club like united but not scoring in his top geol in his Caryer