Early signs suggest Robin will be rocking for Man Utd again

He’s looking to make it a hat-trick of Premier League top scorer crowns in 2013/14 and the early evidence suggests Robin van Persie will be hard to oppose at 3/1.

Two goals in the Community Shield, including a particularly graceful headed opener, represented the perfect start for United’s leading marksman of their title-winning campaign and offers Red Devils fans a beacon that he can once again make the difference.

Even if David Moyes is to lose Wayne Rooney, in the Dutchman he’s blessed with one of the finest goal-getting talents to have graced the Premier League era.

Two consecutive chart-topping campaigns have seen Van Persie plunder 56 league goals and one can’t help thinking that if injury hadn’t intervened in the previous season at Arsenal, then the 18 he notched from just 25 appearances could have easily witnessed him making it three already.

In that same campaign at the Emirates Van Persie still finished just three shy of eventual winner Dimitar Berbatov.

However, it’s not just his immense talents – which include the ability to create a goal out of nothing or bang in a free-kick – making him such a sure-fire proposition.

A brief assessment of the direct opposition also lends weight to the theory that he’ll match the achievement of former team-mate Thierry Henry and scoop three successive awards.

For a start there are serious doubts over the futures of the two guys who got the closest to his winning mark last season in Gareth Bale at 16/1 and Luis Suarez, also at 16/1.

Even if Bale stays, the chances of him bettering that remarkable campaign from midfield for Tottenham feel slim, while Suarez will have a five-game deficit to make up after he sits out a ban, should he stay at Liverpool.

The poor form of Sergio Aguero last season calls into question his 8/1 price, especially as he’ll now be jostling for position with three other top strikers in Stevan Jovetic, Edin Dzeko and Alvaro Negredo.

Outside of Aguero, possibly the most enticing pick is guaranteed starter Christian Benteke at 16/1 off the back of a fabulous campaign for Aston Villa or even Daniel Sturridge at 20/1, if he can hit the ground running where he left off at Liverpool last season.

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.