Bundesliga top scorer: Can Werner catch Lewandowski?
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When the Bundesliga season was suspended in March, so to was Robert Lewandowski's bid to lead the league in goals for a third successive campaign.
The Bayern Munich forward has long established himself as the Bundesliga's most feared striker. He's been the league's top scorer in four of the last six seasons - finishing second the other two years - and was on pace to top the scoring charts again in 2019-20.
| PLAYER | GOALS |
|---|---|
| Robert Lewandowski | 25 |
| Timo Werner | 21 |
| Jadon Sancho | 14 |
| Robert Quaison | 12 |
| Marco Reus | 11 |
| Sebastian Andersson | 11 |
| Serge Gnabry | 11 |
| Rouwen Hennings | 11 |
| Florian Niederlechner | 11 |
| Wout Weghorst | 11 |
| Jhon Cordoba | 10 |
| Erling Haland | 9 |
| Kevin Volland | 9 |
Given Lewandowski's cushion in the golden boot race with nine games remaining, oddsmakers have set him as a healthy favorite to finish as the Bundesliga's top scorer.
| PLAYER | ODDS |
|---|---|
| Robert Lewandowski | -500 |
| Timo Werner | +300 |
| Jadon Sancho | +5000 |
| Erling Haland | +15000 |
| Marco Reus | +25000 |
Let's examine the top candidates for the Bundesliga scoring title.
Robert Lewandowski, Bayern Munich
Appearing in 23 of Bayern's 25 league matches this season, Lewandowski is on pace for 34 goals this season - Koln's Dieter Muller was the last player to reach that total, in 1976-77. That's largely due to his initial torrid pace, as he scored 16 times in the first 11 games of the season. He's since cooled off, netting nine goals in 12 matches before injuring his shin and missing Bayern's final two games before the season was suspended.
If this lengthy layoff proves to halt Lewandowski's momentum, or if he requires a few matches to get back to fitness, it would open the door for a tighter-than-anticipated race for the golden boot.
Timo Werner, RB Leipzig
If Lewandowski's form dips, could Werner pounce? The RB Leipzig forward is very much a streaky scorer and the schedule is set up nicely for him to end the season on a high-scoring run. As mentioned in the title odds article earlier this week, Leipzig still get to play against five of the bottom six clubs in their nine remaining matches. Furthermore, the club will play seven of the eight worse defensive teams this season. Werner has the potential to feast.
He went on a remarkable run between November and January, scoring 14 goals in a span of nine league matches, and a similar run to end the year would almost assuredly see him top the scoring chart. There's some value here at +300.
Jadon Sancho, Borussia Dortmund
With Erling Haland and Marco Reus also residing in Dortmund, Sancho doesn't spend any time as the club's primary forward. Playing solely as a winger, the young English attacker has been involved in more goals than any other player this season, with 16 assists to go with his 14 markers. But it's the fact that he's not the focal point of the Dortmund attack that holds him back from scoring more himself, and that's even truer now with Haland in the fold. Sancho is putting together a sensational campaign, but he's hardly a threat to Lewandowski.
Alex Moretto is a sports betting writer for theScore. A journalism graduate from Guelph-Humber University, he has worked in sports media for over a decade. He will bet on anything from the Super Bowl to amateur soccer, is too impatient for futures, and will never trust a kicker. Find him on Twitter @alexjmoretto.