Harry Kane vs Romelu Lukaku: A Statistical Comparison

The Premier League is one of the most competitive tournaments in football and so it does not come as a surprise that some of the biggest stars in the sport are currently plying their trade in the competition. Clubs from around the league have some star players who are ready to fight with each other in many positions and two players in similar positions who have been excellent this season are Romelu Lukaku of Everton and Harry Kane of Tottenham Hotspur.

Tottenham are currently 2^nd place in the points table, 10 points off the top, while Everton are currently in the 7^th place, quite a few places away from the top-4. But both players have been in sizzling form and are right up the goal scoring charts for the league this season. Here is a mini statistical comparison of the both the players:

Just in the Premier League, Harry Kane has 17 goals to his name, including 4 penatlies while Lukaku is just behind him in the list with 16 goals to his name, with none coming from the spot. Both players have 4 assists each, making them equally effective in front of goal. Interestingly, Lukaku has a shot accuracy of 65% which is not too better from the 62% that Kane has against his name in this list. Both players are natural finishers and are right up there with the most accurate shooters in the Premier League.

Though both teams play with a slightly different system, both players are closely matched in many other zones. Lukaku has a pass completion of just 65% while Kane is on the higher side at 72% but of those passes, Lukaku has 29 key passes to his name but Kane has just the 25. Lukaku has also created 4 clear cut chances more than Kane who has created just 29 chances this season.

Lukaku is miles ahead of Kane in one-on-one situations. The Belgian completes 68.49% of his attempted take ons while Kane is lying low at 45.24%. The Everton man also trumps Kane in aerial duels having won 40.59% of his battles in the air this season. Though Kane is strong in this area, he has won just 33.77% of his aerial duels this season, which is mediocre for a player of his calibre. Kane however seems to have shown more desire in all other duels, winning 46.15% of his total duels while Lukaku has won 47.34%.

Kane has won 33 fouls for his side and loves to put himself about on the field but Lukaku is a bit shy of tackles and has won just 24 for his side in the whole season. All these stats show how closely matched these two players are and the only interesting stat that makes Kane a slightly more dangerous player in front of goal is his threat from set-pieces. Both Lukaku and Kane have just a goal from direct free-kicks but Kane has scored 7 goals from set-pieces while Lukaku has just 2 to his name.

Both players are the epitome of how a striker should perform in the English league but on the evidence of these stats, who do you think is the best better striker at the moment?