Kane v Lukaku: Who would you have in your side?

Two of the Premier League’s top scorers Tottenham’s Harry Kane and Everton’s Romelu Lukaku go head-to-head on Sunday lunchtime

On Sunday lunchtime two of the Premier League’s top scorers go head-to-head, as second-place Tottenham host seventh-place Everton at White Hart Lane.

Tottenham’s Harry Kane and Everton’s Romelu Lukaku are the joint-leading scorers in the top-flight with 17 goals apiece.

Both have been in tremendous form of late. Their goal tallies beg the question, who would you have in your side?

Already been prolific in their short careers

Both players are 23 and still have so much time ahead of them in their careers. However, the pair have already proven highly prolific in their short Premier League careers so far.

Kane has scored 20-plus goals in his last two Premier League and is well on his way to making it to that tally once again this season. Last season he won the Premier League Golden Boot award and he is simply a goalscoring machine.

Lukaku has not quite been as prolific in the Premier League. However, unlike Kane, he has got into double figures for goals in five consecutive top-flight campaigns. That stat is staggering considering he is just 23 years of age.

The Belgian striker is just one goal behind his most prolific campaign, which was last season. This season looks set to be the first in which the former Chelsea star manages 20-plus goals in the Premier League.

The numbers suggest that the two players are very close in form and ability. Both have 17 goals and four assists apiece, so there is not much to separate the pair when it comes to contributing to their team’s attacking efforts.

Who has the better all round game?

This is a major factor when considering which striker you would choose out of the pair. For me, even as an Everton fan I would say that Kane’s all round game is slightly better than Lukaku’s.

Kane maybe has slightly more football intelligence. The England striker also holds the ball up better and brings in teammates. Lukaku’s all-around game has improved immensely in recent years.

The Belgian striker has worked on his touch and bringing teammates into the game more in recent seasons. However, it seems to come more naturally to the Spurs striker. Kane seems to instinctively lay off balls, while it seems that Lukaku is still learning the art of leading the line.

There are aspects of Lukaku’s game that are better than Kane’s, those are his sheer power and pace. On his day Lukaku is devastating against defences. His sheer physical presence and power is enough to bully any defence in the world.

When it comes to pace as well he can really move. Kane is no slouch, but when it comes to pace Lukaku would arguably leave him in his dust literally.

Although at the moment Kane is arguably the better player, Lukaku probably has more potential to grow into an even better player in the future. The Belgian striker seems to have so many of the attributes that make top class strikers.

Close competition between the pair

The pair are two of the favourites to win the Golden Boot this season, with Kane currently the favourite to win the award at odds of 6/4. The likes of Diego Costa and Alexis Sanchez are also likely to have a big say in the award.

Sunday’s game may be decided by which of the high-profile strikers performs to the best of their ability. Harry Kane has been in top form at White Hart Lane in the league scoring, seven goals in his last three appearances on home soil, including two hat-tricks.

Lukaku’s form has been superb at Goodison Park. However, his form in away games has been poor, as his last away goal came in the visit to champions Leicester on Boxing Day. If Everton are to continue their nine-game unbeaten run in the league Lukaku has to improve on his recent away displays in Sunday’s clash.

It is hard to separate the two strikers on form and ability. Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino recently stated that he felt both were in the top ten strikers in the world. It’s hard to disagree with the Argentinians opinion on the pair.

There is very little between the pair, so I ask this question again who would you prefer to have in your team if you had the choice?