Champions League 2025/26 Golden Boot: La Liga stars and Blues' main man fancied at up to 25/1 | OneFootball

UEFA Champions League

Check out our trio of Golden Boot Tips for the Champions League

The Champions League returns on Tuesday with Matchday 1 in the league phase due to be played over three nights this week, so we asked Mike Norman to give us the lowdown on the market leaders in the battle to be crowned the competition's top goalscorer...

Erling Haaland - 6/1

Manchester City

2024-25 CL Goals:  8Career CL Goals:  49CL Appearances:  48Goals per Game:  1.02

Out of all of this season's leading contenders to become the Champions League Top Goalscorer, Erling Haaland has by far the best goals per game ratio with 49 goals to his name in just 48 appearances. That's a phenomenal record for a striker that seems to just mop up Golden Boot awards.

One Golden Boot he didn't win was last season's Premier League as he, and Manchester City, performed below their usual high standards. However, Haaland still managed a very impressive eight Champions League goals in just nine games, and the great news is that he looks back to his best this term with five Premier League goals to his name in four matches and he also scored five in one game for Norway during the international break.

If Man City have a good Champions League campaign then Haaland is sure to go close in the top scorer charts.

Kylian Mbappe - 7/1

Real Madrid

2024-25 CL Goals:  7Career CL Goals:  55CL Appearances:  87Goals per Game:  0.64

At just 26-years-old Kylian Mbappe should be approaching the peak years of his career, which is a scary thought given the numbers he's racked up already. With 87 appearances in the Champions League he's well on course to join the handful of players who have made 150+ appearances in the competition, and he could even challenge Cristiano Ronaldo's record of 183 Champions League appearances.

Mbappe is in fine form currently having scored four goals in four La Liga games for Real Madrid this season. Like his club side, Mbappe wasn't at his best in this competition last season but he still managed seven goals. Should Real Madrid go deep this season then it's very easy to envisage their star striker challenging for the Champions League Golden Boot, and at 7/1 he looks the win bet out of the market leaders.

Robert Lewandowski - 8/1

Barcelona

2024-25 CL Goals:  11Career CL Goals:  105CL Appearances:  133Goals per Game:  0.79

One of the Champions League's all-time great goalscorers, Robert Lewandowski has to be respected in the top scorer market but on the early evidence of this season it' very hard to fancy him even a little bit at his current price.

At 37-years-old, he's no longer a guaranteed starter for Barcelona and is yet to start a game this season, making just three substitute appearances. He did score a brace from the bench in Sunday's 6-0 thrashing of Valencia but the gut feeling is that, when everyone is fit and available, Lewandowski won't be a regular starter.

Mohamed Salah - 8/1

Liverpool

2024-25 CL Goals:  3Career CL Goals:  47CL Appearances:  88Goals per Game:  0.53

Mo Salah enjoyed the best season of his career last term, scoring an incredible 34 goals and registering 23 assists in all competitions. However, he managed just three goals in the Champions League and so far this season - despite scoring two goals in four league games - he's looked nowhere near his best. In fact, to put it bluntly, Salah has been a huge disappointment this term.

In Liverpool's 3-2 win at Newcastle Salah failed for the first time in his career when playing the 90+ minutes to register a single shot (on or off target) and against Arsenal he had just one shot (none on target). Incredibly, he was heading for another complete blank regarding shots against Burnley on Sunday, but his 95th minute penalty meant he registered one shot at goal.

If you back Salah to be the Champions League top goalscorer you need the Egyptian King to find his form fast and hope that Liverpool go deep in the competition.

Harry Kane - 10/1

Bayern Munich

2024-25 CL Goals:  11Career CL Goals:  40CL Appearances:  57Goals per Game:  0.70

Harry Kane shared the top scorer honour alongside Kylian Mbappe in the 2023-24 Champions League before scoring 11 goals last term, two short of topping the charts again, and there's no hotter striker in Europe right now with the Englishman scoring eight goals in just five appearances for Bayern Munich.

Since joining Bayern, Kane has scored 19 Champions League goals in just 25 appearance and you get the feeling that he could rack up plenty more in the league phase against the likes of Pafos, Club Brugge and Union SG. On the flip side of that Bayern also have to face PSG, Arsenal and Chelsea and I'm not convinced they'll score loads of goals in those games or be good enough to go extremely deep in the competition, which could hinder Kane's chances of adding another Golden Boot to his collection.

Alexander Isak - 12/1

Liverpool

2024-25 CL Goals:  N/ACareer CL Goals:  1CL Appearances:  6Goals per Game:  0.167

Liverpool's record £125m signing Alexander Isak is likely to be a huge hit once he's match fit and playing regularly. He's undoubtedly a world class striker playing in a team that create plenty of chances, so scoring goals should be no problem for the Swedish striker. He scored 23 goals in the Premier League last season, second only to his now teammate Mo Salah, but for now, that's where the positives end.

Isak hasn't played a single minute of club football so far this term and was left out of the squad completely for Liverpool's trip to Burnley, suggesting he's still some way short of match fitness. He's likely to feature from the bench against Atletico Madrid in Matchday 1 but that's not an easy game to come into, and the fact remains he has very little Champions League experience.

Viktor Gyokeres - 14/1

Arsenal

2024-25 CL Goals:  6Career CL Goals:  6CL Appearances:  8Goals per Game:  0.75

Arsenal's big-price striker Viktor Gyokeres has had his critics, even before he pulled on a shirt for the Gunners. The general consensus was that scoring goals in the Championship, and then Portugal's top flight with a team that often bullied opponents, was a completely different level to scoring goals in the Premier League.

But it's impossible to knock Gyokeres' start at his new club having scored three goals in his four appearances to date, and he had an impressive goals per game ratio in last season's Champions League for Sporting Lisbon, scoring six goals in just eight games including a hat-trick against Man City. Arsenal look well-equipped to go far in this season's competition meaning Gyokeres appeals as an each-way option with the Betfair Sportsbook paying four places.

Ousmane Dembele - 14/1

Paris Saint-Germain

2024-25 CL Goals:  8Career CL Goals:  20CL Appearances:  66Goals per Game:  0.30

Ousmane Dembele had a fantastic campaign last season, scoring eight goals on his way to helping PSG become Champions League winners for the first time in their history, and in doing so becoming red hot favourite to win this year's Ballon d'Or. He's likely to have a similar impact again this term for an excellent PSG side that score plenty of goals, but if you're backing him now then you're taking a huge risk as the 28-year-old suffered what was described as a serious hamstring injury while on international duty last week.

He's expected to be out for at least six weeks, meaning he'll miss at least three games in the league phase, and if the injury is as bad as some have reported then he could be out for much longer.

Hugo Ekitike - 16/1

Liverpool

2024-25 CL Goals:  N/ACareer CL Goals:  0CL Appearances:  4Goals per Game:  0.00

Hugo Ekitike hit the ground running at his new club Liverpool, scoring in each of his first three appearances for the Reds. But in the two games that have followed the 23-year-old hasn't cut much ice, especially against newly-promoted Burnley where he failed to register a shot on target before being substituted. He clearly has talent, and he looks a natural finisher, but with Alexander Isak likely to be Liverpool's number one striker then chances for Ekitike to shine in the Champions League might be few and far between.

Raphinha - 16/1

Barcelona

2024-25 CL Goals:  13Career CL Goals:  16CL Appearances:  26Goals per Game:  0.62

It's not often you can back the previous season's Champions League top goalscorer, who represents a club that scores plenty of goals and are fancied to go far in the competition, at 16/1. The fact that Raphinha is twice the price of his teammate Lewandowski is a bit puzzling given that he is almost certain to start every game if fit, while Lewandowski has now become more of a squad player.

Raphinha has started the season well, scoring three La Liga goals to date, so there's no concerns fitness of form wise. He was a substitute for Barcelona's romp over Valencia on Sunday, but that was very likely to have been with a tough trip to Newcastle in mind on Matchday 1. It doesn't get much easer with Barca who host PSG in Matchday 2, but further down the line they have to play the likes of Olympiacos, Club Brugge, Slavia Prague and Copenhagen, and that's where Raphina could rack up plenty of goals. He's very much worth an each-way wager to be top goalscorer for a second successive season.

Lamine Yamal - 20/1

Barcelona

2024-25 CL Goals:  5Career CL Goals:  5CL Appearances:  23Goals per Game:  0.22

Spanish teen sensation Lamine Yamal is only going to get better, that's for sure. He had a wonderful campaign last season both domestically and in Europe, though he only managed five Champions League goals in 13 games, a return that he will have to improve on to be a contender for the Golden Boot.

Like his Barcelona team mate Raphinha he's started the season well, scoring two goals in his opening three La Liga matches, but despite playing two games for Spain during the international break he arrived back at his club with a groin injury, meaning he missed Barcelona's win over Valencia on Sunday. The full extent of the injury isn't known, and how long he will be out for is unspecified, though he's very likely to miss the game at Newcastle in midweek.

Joao Pedro - 25/1

Chelsea

2024-25 CL Goals:  N/ACareer CL Goals:  0CL Appearances:  0Goals per Game:  N/A

Joao Pedro has hit the ground running at his new club Chelsea, scoring three goals on the way to helping the Blues win the Club World Cup and then two goals in four Premier League appearances this term. My concern is that Enzo Maresca will continue to chop and change his line-ups from game to game and Pedro is unlikely to play every game in the Champions League. He's also never played in the competition before and that inexperience could prove to be a negative.

Bukayo Saka - 25/1

Arsenal

2024-25 CL Goals:  6Career CL Goals:  10CL Appearances:  18Goals per Game:  0.56

It's hard to have too much confidence in Bukayo Saka being the Champions League top goalscorer, even playing for an Arsenal team that should go quite deep in the competition. The Gunners now have an out-and-out striker in Viktor Gyokeres so Saka is unlikely to drift into the central striker position as often as he has done previously, and he's also likely to miss at least the first two league phase games due to an ongoing thigh injury. Even at 25/1 he's easily passed over.

Cole Palmer - 25/1

Chelsea

2024-25 CL Goals:  N/ACareer CL Goals:  1CL Appearances:  8Goals per Game:  0.125

Despite the influx of new signings during the last couple of seasons, Cole Palmer remains Chelsea's star man and their main goal-scoring threat, even with Pedro present. The England man looked razor sharp when coming on as a second half substitute and registering five shots and one goal against Brentford at the weekend.

He's relatively inexperienced in the Champions League but he's a much better player than when he made eight appearances in the competition for Man City, and he strikes me as the type of player to thrive at Europe's top table. If he's fit then he starts for Chelsea and that means that if the Blues have a good campaign then Palmer could easily reach double figures.

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