Lukaku v Kane – battle of the Premier League hotshots as Manchester United host Tottenham
Two of the best forwards in the division do battle at Old Trafford.
Manchester United host Tottenham on Monday night with two of the Premier League’s top strikers going head to head.
Romelu Lukaku will want to fire the Red Devils to victory and ease growing pressure on manager Jose Mourinho while Harry Kane has ended his August goal drought and will be keen to seal three points for Spurs at Old Trafford.
Here, Press Association Sport compares the record of the goalscoring duo ahead of their meeting in Manchester.
Premier League goals-per-game ratio
Lukaku has made more appearances than Kane, turning out in the Premier League for Chelsea, West Brom, Everton and United – while all of Kane’s 154 games have come in Tottenham colours.
The England captain has scored seven more league goals than Lukaku despite playing in 68 fewer games.
Lukaku –
:: Premier League appearances – 222
:: Premier League goals – 102
:: Goals-per-game ratio – 0.46
Kane –
:: Premier League appearances – 154
:: Premier League goals – 109
:: Goals-per-game ratio – 0.71
How they were scored
Kane has scored 14 Premier League penalties, with Lukaku scoring six times from the penalty spot.
The Manchester United man has also proven more adept with his head, scoring over 20 per-cent of his league goals with headers while it is also clear that – while Lukaku prefers his left-foot, Kane is deadly with his right.
Lukaku –
:: left-foot – 53
:: right-foot – 26
:: headers – 22
:: penalties – 6
Kane –
:: left-foot – 27
:: right-foot – 65
:: headers – 16
:: penalties – 14
International form
Kane took home the Golden Boot from the World Cup, scoring six times as England finished fourth in Russia.
Belgium went one better, beating the Three Lions to finish third, although Lukaku only managed four goals.
Both have enviable international records and, while Kane can again boast a better ratio of goals, Lukaku has played – and scored – more times for Belgium and holds the record as his country’s top goalscorer.
Lukaku –
:: International caps – 75
:: International goals – 40
:: Goals-per-game ratio – 0.53
Kane –
:: International caps – 30
:: International goals – 19
:: Goals-per-game ratio – 0.63
In This Fixture
Despite their impressive goalscoring feats, neither player has particularly enjoyed playing against their upcoming opponents.
Lukaku has faced Spurs as a West Brom and Everton player as well as with United but has only found the back of the net once – a 3-2 defeat while playing for the Toffees in the 2016/17 season.
Kane, too, has only scored a solitary goal against United and it took until his seventh appearance to break his duck in this fixture.
Lukaku –
West Brom v Tottenham
:: appearances – 2
:: goals – 0
Everton v Tottenham
:: appearances – 6
:: goals – 1
Manchester United v Tottenham
:: appearances – 3
:: goals – 0
Total
:: appearances – 11
:: goals – 1
Kane
Tottenham v Manchester United
:: appearances – 9
:: goals – 1
Season-by-season
Lukaku started out in the Premier League while Kane was still being farmed out on loan to improve his game.
While the 2012/13 season was good for Lukaku as he led the way while on loan at West Brom, he has also had campaigns where he has struggled to match his contemporary.
Kane has shown improvements in every campaign, collecting the Premier League golden boot in both 2015/16 and 2016/17, with only Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah preventing him winning a hat-trick of awards despite firing in 30 goals last season.
::2012/13 – Kane 0, Lukaku 17
::2013/14 – Kane 3, Lukaku 15
::2014/15 – Kane 21, Lukaku 10
::2015/16 – Kane 25, Lukaku 18
::2016/17 – Kane 29, Lukaku 25
::2017/18 – Kane 30, Lukaku 16
::2018/19 – Kane 1, Lukaku 1