Kane vs Salah - Who will land the Premier League Golden Boot?

With Tottenham and Liverpool now unable to win silverware this season, attention turns to the individual accolades and, in the case of both sides, the race for the Golden Boot. Harry Kane and Mohamed Salah are locked on 22 goals apiece with the pair looking to end 2020/21 with a flourish. 

For Kane, it would mark a high for what has been a pretty dire season for Tottenham. A campaign that promised so much could ultimately lead to a finish outside of the European places and a summer move away from north London. Similarly, Salah may not have been at his tormenting best across the campaign, but to sit level on goals with Kane at the top of the scoring charts is a commendable feat for the Egyptian. 

Either Kane or Salah have won the Golden Boot in four of the last five seasons, though the latter's second award was shared with teammate Sadio Mane and Arsenal captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. 

There is still plenty at stake in both games Spurs and Liverpool play in, which adds to Sunday's action. Tottenham may be out of the running for a top-four finish, and a season with no European football at all is possible, but they take on a Leicester side that, despite spending more time inside the top-four than any other Premier League team since the start of last season, could again finish fifth. 

The Foxes need to win and hope for favours elsewhere to secure Champions League football next season, but then they have faced Spurs in either their penultimate or final league game of a campaign three times in the last five seasons, including 2020/21. Leicester have lost both times, 6-1 at the King Power Stadium in 2017 and 5-4 at Wembley in 2018, with Kane notching six times in those two matches. 

In fact, Leicester is Kane's favourite Premier League opponent in terms of goals scored, netting 14 times in 11 appearances in his career. Spurs may have thrown in the towel on 2020/21, but you can be sure Kane will be chomping at the bit as he seeks to secure the Golden Boot. 

With more riding on Liverpool's final game of the campaign, though, Jurgen Klopp will be going for broke against Crystal Palace as he seeks to guarantee Champions League football in 2021/22. The Reds have timed their end-of-season run for the top-four to perfection and four successive wins means their destiny is in their own hands provided that can match or better Leicester's result at Tottenham. 

Liverpool memorably tore Crystal Palace apart at Selhurst Park earlier this season, securing a 7-0 win in south London beck in December, where Salah came off the bench to net twice. In total, Salah has scored six times in eight meetings with Palace, including five in his last three, and he has never lost a league outing against the Eagles in a Liverpool shirt, which bodes well not only for Liverpool in their push for Champions League football, but the Egyptian's quest for a third Golden Boot. 

In terms of form, Salah has netted three goals in his last five outings, the same as Kane, but the latter has also found the back of the net just once in his last four top-flight appearances, drawing blanks against Sheffield United, Leeds and Aston Villa in that run. What's more, Kane (16) has scored more clear-cut chances than Salah (14) in the Premier League this season, while the Liverpool star (18) has missed more big chances than the Spurs striker (13) in England's top tier this term. 

Either way, it's an intriguing sub-narrative to focus on ahead of the final day of the campaign. Both level on two Golden Boots in their career, Kane and Salah will no doubt be gunning for top spot as they look to go level with Alan Shearer in winning the award three times.