Meet the man to snatch Champions League golden boot from Ronaldo

Anyone who saw the two-legged World Cup playoff between Sweden and Portugal earlier in the season will tell you how enthralling it was to see two of the world’s best go toe-to-toe.

Unfortunately, the fact that Cristiano Ronaldo scored a blistering hat-trick in the second leg means we aren’t likely to see the Real Madrid man take to the same pitch as Zlatan Ibrahimovic any time soon, unless the Champions League draw throws them together in future rounds.

However, that doesn’t mean the two aren’t locked in a different type of battle, on separate pitches in Europe’s top club competition.

Ronaldo currently leads Zlatan by one goal in the race to be the Champions League’s top scorer, making him the 4/9 favourite to claim the honour for the for the third time in his career and second season in succession.

It’s the 7/2 about the towering Swede winning the race that really appeals, though, and it’s a bet that has wings when you consider the season Zlatan is having for Paris St-Germain

The former Italian club tourist has slammed 31 strikes home in 34 games for club and country this season. While that still ranks as inferior amount when stacked up against Ronaldo’s 38 in 30, it’s easily his best goal scoring effort for some time (he scored 41 last season, but needed 50 appearances to get them).

Since the start of October, there’s only been six games that Ibrahimovic has played in where he hasn’t found the net. That’s 17 games in the last 23 where the 32-year-old has beaten the keeper, putting in the exact kind of form that’s required to topple Ronaldo’s exploits.

Consider also that he’s flourished during Edinson Cavani’s injury and a lip-smacking forthcoming tie against Bayer “leaky” Leverkusen and that price on the man looks all the more tempting.

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

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