EFL Championship 2019/20: The top 5 goal-scorers so far
After months of speculation, it was finally confirmed that football will resume in England on 17 June. And we're not just talking about the Premier League, but the Championship too.
Even though there are concerns over the league's completion due to some more players testing positive for the COVID-19, it has been given the green light to reconvene three days after the top-tier kicks off.
So ahead of that, let's hit the refresh button and recollect what has already transpired in the 2019/20 season so far, beginning with the top scorers.
5 leading goal-scorers in the Championship:
#5 Karlan Grant (Huddersfield Town)
Just over a year on from the Premier League relegation, Huddersfield are now paddling like the dickens to avoid another drop. They are just three points clear of the red zone and the anchor to this sinking ship is Grant, who's rescued the side on multiple occasions this season.
With 16 goals, he's had a good season personally. The 22-year old has come of age and has also directly accounted for 13 of the 42 points accrued in total. As the Championship reconvenes later this month, Grant's form is going to ultimately determine the Yorkshire side's fate.
#4 Jarrod Bowen (Hull City)
The one biggest positive for Hull City since relegation to Championship in 2017 was Jarrod Bowen. His graph showed a linear upward trend in numbers as he got better with age. This season, the 23-year old scored 16 goals from 29 games and made further six assists, before West Ham United pillaged him away at the end January.
The Tigers lost steam at the turn of the year, but Bowen's departure has now made it worse. They haven't won even once in the eight games since he left, and the average goals scored per game has also fallen from 1.41 to just one.
Hull City are now hovering precariously above the Championship relegation zone, and must be kicking themselves for letting Bowen go in the midst of this crisis.
#3 Lewis Grabban (Nottingham Forest)
Lewis Grabban is getting better with age. At 32, he is posting seriously good numbers, and stands in good stead to surpass his previous best before the end of the campaign. He has accrued 17 goals so far from 36 appearances, averaging a goal almost every other game.
For the second year in a row, he has surpassed Britt Assambalonga's previous record of 15 goals for the Reds in a single campaign. The sacking of Martin O'Neill last year also handed him an olive branch, as he no longer has to drop deep and instead has the carte blanche to drive forward at will and express himself.
#2 Ollie Watkins (Brentford)
The Brentford youngster continues to climb up the ladder a little more every year. His promising displays for the Bees earned him a new four-year contract last year, and ever since, has elevated his game further. The 2019/20 Championship season, in fact, is turning out to be his best yet.
With 22 goals in the Championship already, Watkins has scored more than his tally from last two years combined! He has transitioned from a winger to a centre-forward in the last 12 months or so, and this has unlocked his true potential. He is sharper, more lethal, and having completed 90 minutes in every single game so far, is also indispensable to the side.
#1 Aleksandar Mitrovic (Fulham)
When the Serbian made his Fulham move permanent in 2018, he couldn't save the ship from sinking the following year. But now, he's certainly pulling them out of the Championship sea and dragging towards the Premier League shores again. Mitrovic has been at the top of his game this season and has struck 23 times, which is 44% of what the Cottagers have accrued altogether.
By netting several winners and equalisers throughout the course of the Championship campaign, he has single-handedly rescued so many points for his side. They'd have been far worse off than the third position they currently occupy on the Championship league table if not for Mitrovic.
Now, the Londoners will be put through the wringer, as all the nine remaining Championship fixtures will be squeezed inside 30 days, and they will need the ex-Newcastle hitman fit and firing again.