Mohamed Salah Favored at 4-1 to Win Top Goalscorer at 2019 Africa Cup of Nations

• Africa Cup of Nation kicks off this weekend
• Mo Salah tipped to be leading goalscorer
• Value with Pepe and Ighalo

The 2019 Africa Cup of Nations kicks off this weekend and for the European audience, there will be more familiar faces on show than ever, with all of the top European leagues represented.

Egypt, the hosts, Senegal and Ghana lead the betting to win the competition, but who will win the Golden Boot for being the tournament’s top goalscorer?

Africa Cup of Nations 2019 Top Goalscorer Odds

*Odds taken June 18 2019. For a full list visit the link in the table above.

Mo and Sadio Lead the Way

The tournament format is six groups of four competing on a round-robin basis for a place in the last 16, with the top two going through along with the four best third-placed teams.

So the teams likely to be there for the long haul are generally favorites to produce the top goalscorer – hence Salah and Mane heading the betting.

Two years ago, in a tournament that didn’t throw up an outstanding goalscorer, Junior Kabanangar of DC Congo won the Golden Boot with a modest tally of three goals. But he won’t be winning it this time around as he’s not in their squad. Worth noting is that among the 11 players who scored twice are Salah and Mane, but at +400 and +600 respectively, neither offer much value to the bettor.

For value, we need to look a little further down and look at Ivory Coast’s Nicolas Pepe’s scoring record last season in Ligue 1, which suggests that the +1200 on offer for him to be leading scorer is hard to ignore. His 22 goals in 38 games have caught the eye of many of Europe’s big clubs, with Liverpool reportedly in pole position.

https://twitter.com/TransferFocus_/status/1137428112113844226

Also on offer at +1200 is Senegal’s Keita Balde, but we’re less drawn to this, with the winger having scored just five times this season while on loan (from Monaco) at Inter Milan.

Value Beyond the Leading Pack

In our view, the three players offered at +1400 are all better bets than Balde, in particular, Odion Ighalo who has scored goals at club and international level throughout his international career. If Nigeria go deep in this tournament there is every chance that Ighalo will be among the top goalscorers.

Marega too has a one-goal-every-other-game record over the last two seasons, but with Mali not fancied to make it to the last four, he may be hindered by playing fewer games.

Outsiders But in With a Shot

We’ll finish off with a couple of longshots, both of whom we believe have what it takes, if the planets align, to get near the top of the goalscorer charts.

https://twitter.com/AfricaFactsZone/status/1126163263102885888

First up is Cameroon’s Vincent Aboubakar (+1800) who has been scoring goals for fun for Porto in the Primeira Liga and who is capable of being central to a Cameroon team who could go a long way. And then there is the DR Congo’s Cedric Bakambu (+2000) who over the last three seasons has been ticking along at a scoring rate of better than one-in-three.

The teams likely to be there for the long haul are generally favorites to produce the top goalscorer

So, plenty of competition for Salah and Mane and given it only took three goals to top the goalscoring chart in 2017, we’d not recommend going big on either to be honest, with all the value in the chasing pack.

Our pick: Nicolas Pepe (+1200)