Who can stop Erling Haaland in this season’s Premier League Golden Boot race?

The Premier League is back this weekend, and with it comes another season-long race to find out who can put the ball in the net more than anyone else.

Erling Haaland will begin the campaign as the obvious name to beat. The Manchester City striker has already collected three Golden Boots in four seasons in England and is now chasing a fourth, which would put him level with the competition’s joint-record holders. But is anyone capable of stopping him?

Alexander Isak, Igor Thiago and Viktor Gyokeres are among the forwards looking to challenge Haaland, while Benjamin Sesko, Joao Pedro and Ollie Watkins will also have their eyes on a place at the top of the scoring charts.

So, who could dethrone Haaland and claim the Golden Boot?

Alexander Isak – Liverpool

Isak’s absence from much of last season makes it easy to forget just how prolific he had been in the Premier League.

Before his move to Liverpool, the Sweden international finished second in the 2024-25 Golden Boot race after scoring 23 league goals for Newcastle United.

That tally put him ahead of Haaland and behind only Mohamed Salah.

However, injuries disrupted his first season at Liverpool following his £125m move from Newcastle, with Isak scoring just four goals in 22 appearances in all competitions.

A full campaign, combined with a greater supply of chances from Liverpool’s attack, could put the 26-year-old right back in the Golden Boot conversation.

Igor Thiago – Brentford

Could Thiago prove last season was more than a one-off?

The Brentford striker announced himself in English football with 22 Premier League goals in his first full season, having missed much of the previous campaign through injury. Only Haaland scored more.

That remarkable debut season also earned Thiago a place in Brazil’s World Cup squad, despite having never been capped before this year.

His future remains a talking point, with Manchester United among the clubs reportedly interested in the 25-year-old.

For now, though, Brentford will be hoping Thiago can stay put and produce another big haul.

Viktor Gyokeres – Arsenal

Gyokeres’ first Premier League season at Arsenal was steady rather than spectacular, with 14 league goals and 21 across all competitions.

Fourteen of his 21 goals in all competitions came after the turn of the year, suggesting the Sweden striker became increasingly comfortable in English football as the season progressed.

At 28, Gyokeres now has the opportunity to turn that promising second half into a full-season charge for the Golden Boot.

If Arsenal can play with greater freedom after finally ending their 22-year wait for the title, Gyokeres could benefit too.

Benjamin Sesko – Manchester United

The Manchester United striker scored 11 league goals following his move from RB Leipzig, but nine of those arrived after Ruben Amorim was sacked on 5 January and United abandoned his preferred back-three and wing-back system.

Only one player, Nottingham Forest’s Morgan Gibbs-White, scored more Premier League goals during that period.

If he can maintain that second-half scoring rate across an entire season under Michael Carrick, the Slovenia international could emerge as one of the division’s leading goalscorers.

Joao Pedro – Chelsea

Joao Pedro has already shown he can find the net regularly in the Premier League, scoring 15 goals last season after moving from Brighton to Chelsea.

Danny Welbeck, his former Brighton team-mate, is among the players competing for minutes, meaning Joao Pedro could have to fight for a regular starting role.

His numbers could also be influenced by how Chelsea adapt under new manager Xabi Alonso.

Alonso’s Bundesliga-winning Bayer Leverkusen side in 2023-24 spread the goals around, with no player scoring more than 14 times.

That could make it harder for one Chelsea forward to dominate the scoring charts, but Joao Pedro’s 15-goal Premier League campaign suggests he has the ability to compete.

Ollie Watkins – Aston Villa

Watkins has been one of the Premier League’s most consistent goalscorers since joining Aston Villa in September 2020.

His 91 league goals during that period rank him third among Premier League scorers, behind only Haaland and Salah.

The 30-year-old scored 16 league goals last season, taking his average to just over 15 goals per campaign since stepping up to the top flight with Villa.

But a Golden Boot challenge would require something closer to the best goalscoring season of his career.

Watkins scored 25 Championship goals during his final season with Brentford. Matching or surpassing that figure in the Premier League would put him firmly into the conversation.

What does it take to win the Golden Boot?

The Golden Boot has been awarded 42 times across 34 Premier League seasons, with joint winners accounting for the difference.

Only 12 of those winners have also played for the team that won the Premier League title in the same season.

That should provide encouragement for the contenders whose clubs are not necessarily expected to challenge for the championship.

However, the number of goals required to win the prize has risen noticeably in recent years.

Nobody scored more than 23 goals in the four seasons between 2018-19 and 2021-22.

Since then, each of the past four Golden Boots has required between 27 and 36 goals.

Haaland has played a major role in driving that number upwards, with his 36-goal record in 2022-23 followed by two successive 27-goal campaigns.

Most Golden Boot winners have traditionally been strikers or centre-forwards, although that has changed somewhat in recent years.

Cristiano Ronaldo became the first winger to win the award in 2007-08, while Salah has since matched Thierry Henry’s record of four Golden Boots.

Sadio Mane and Son Heung-min have also won or shared the award during the past eight years.

Now Haaland has the chance to join Henry and Salah at the top of the all-time list.

The question is whether anyone can stop him.

Eventmasters Premier League Hospitality

The Golden Boot race is only one reason to look forward to the new Premier League season. With Eventmasters hospitality, you can see many of the players featured above live throughout the campaign, with hospitality packages available for selected fixtures across the Premier League. From Haaland and Isak to Watkins and Gyokeres, check out the latest hospitality options and experience the action in style.