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After netting nine goals in his first seven Premier League games, City forward Erling Haaland has started the season on fire.

While it is not his most impressive beginning to a term - he scored 11 goals in his opening seven appearances in the 2022-23 season and ten in the previous campaign - it nevertheless places him three strikes clear in the early running for this season's Premier League Golden Boot.

The fact that zero of his nine conversions have been penalties makes it even more impressive.

What Makes Haaland Special

Certainly, fitness issues could potentially disrupt in the final top scorer outcome, but there are two reasons why Haaland is so heavily favored for the honor so early in the season.

First, the quantity of strikes he has currently registered - and, just as importantly, the total and standard of scoring opportunities he's creating.

And second, the slow start his regular challengers for the award have made.

xG Statistical Breakdown

A footballer's xG statistic (xG) signifies how many goals a English league attacker has historically scored from the total and standard of scoring situations he's encountered.

This doesn't represent a figure arbitrarily chosen by statistical experts, but by English top-flight records.

And if we look at footballers' expected goals in the Premier League so far this season from normal play, the Norway forward is getting so many more quality chances to score than any other player.

In fact, even if Haaland wasn't superior at converting opportunities than every other footballer in the competition, he would still have scored over double the amount goals as all other players.

Chance Creation Breakdown

This is shown by breaking down the number and quality of scoring situations that footballers have received in the top flight so far.

Haaland has taken 29 shots so far this term, a dozen more than any other player.

That is actually not that remarkable for him - he had previously registered more non-penalty shots at this point in the previous two campaigns (30 in last season and 34 in the previous term).

What's particularly exceptional even for Haaland is the quality of chances he has had this season. His efforts have had an expected goals rating of 0.27 per attempt.

This number represents is that footballers have traditionally scored the attempts he's taken at a 27 percent conversion rate.

Among footballers attempting at least 10 shots, only Stamford Bridge player Enzo Fernandez has had more straightforward opportunities to net per shot - due to a couple of tap-ins against West Ham United and Brighton.

City striker's xG statistic of 0.27 is much higher than the 0.17 xG rating per effort he had at the opening of last term.

To summarize, the chances he has had in this campaign have been significantly more straightforward to score from in a restructured Manchester City side than those at the start of the previous campaign.

Past Performance Analysis

Beginning a campaign so strongly is, as previously stated, typical for Haaland. Post seven fixtures last campaign he had scored 10 goals - a quartet more than any other player and half-dozen more than Mohamed Salah.

But it was the Reds attacker who claimed the top scorer award with twenty-nine strikes, seven more than the City forward.

This season, while Haaland has opened with incredible momentum, Salah has registered half as many goals and had half the chances (xG) than at this juncture last term.

Indeed this has been the quietest start to a Premier League season the Pharaohs star has made.

Challengers' Quiet Beginning

It is not just Salah who has opened quietly either. Upon reviewing at the eleven leading goalscorers in the Premier League last campaign, Haaland has netted the same number goals as the remaining ten footballers collectively so far.

Whether because of fitness issues - several key attackers - extended transfer dramas in a specific forward's circumstances or merely because their clubs have faced difficulties (multiple established scorers), Haaland's likely rivals in the race for the Golden Boot have underperformed so far.

Continental Scoring Title Battle

Even as Haaland seems the clear favourite for the English top scorer award, what about the European Golden Shoe that is given to the footballer scoring the most in Europe's top-five leagues?

That competition is significantly tighter at this early stage because Harry Kane and Kylian Mbappe have likewise begun in superb fashion, with 11 and nine goals correspondingly.

The fact Haaland has registered multiple conversions and has the greatest expected goals of the three players without having taken any penalties makes him the favourite.

But since the two continental superstars are two of the best goal-scorers in European football in terms of outperforming their chance quality metrics, the race is certainly on.