Who are the best striker partnerships? We look at the Top 10 best goal-scoring combinations in Premier League history

Whether it’s the classic big man-little man combination, the finisher and the runner, the number 10 and the number nine, everybody loved the two-man forward line that seems to have drifted out of the game now – let’s look back at some of the best.

The advancement of football tactics, the changing of the guard in football coaches has seen the formation 4-4-2 seem like a dirty word these days.

A Mike Bassett of a formation in a world of intricate Pep Guardiola-like ideals of playing out from the back, false nines, front threes and inverted full-backs.

The formations are yielding plenty of goals – Aguero, Sterling and De Bruyne score plenty, with Salah, Mane and Firmino scoring even more, so we may have seen the last of playing two up front.

It’s not so long ago though that a top-class combination of two players up front could be just as thrilling, so I’ve picked out ten of the best in the Premier League.

Now, not everything is decided on pure goals, there are combinations of players that have scored more than this lot, such as Henry and Pires sticking in 44 and Lampard and Drogba combing for an amazing 51 in 1999/2000.

You’d never really class them as strike partnerships though, as you would with the following.

As ever though, if you’ve any beef with the selections or want to add your own ideas please get in touch on Twitter @SportingLifeFC or email us here.

Andy Cole & Peter Beardsley (Newcastle 93/94) 55 goals

These two could be the ultimate number ten and number nine combo, the supplier and the finisher, as Newcastle became everyone’s second team.

The Magpies came third this season in their first campaign back in the top flight, Cole grabbed the Golden Boot with 34 and even Beardsley netted 21 despite mainly setting up Cole.

It was a 42-game season, but still a fantastic effort and the way the two combined was glorious. Beardsley could spot a through-ball, and play it, from almost anywhere.

While Cole was an ice-cold finisher. The perfect recipe for goals.

Luis Suarez & Daniel Sturridge (Liverpool 13/14) 52 goals

The year Liverpool almost won the title under Brendan Rodgers came thanks to these two providing a goal-scoring explosion at Anfield – Suarez bagged 31 even though he missed the first five games of the season!

Had they had more time together who knows what the Reds could have achieved, but Suarez’s itchy feet and Sturridge’s injury problems limited them.

That one glorious season, though, everything clicked. Suarez has technical gifts very few can match, and Sturridge back then was one of the best strikers around.

Pace, finesse and finishing combined with a real hunger – these two destroyed almost everyone in the league this season.

Alan Shearer & Chris Sutton (Blackburn 94/95) 49 goals

The original SAS, these two only played together for one season, but that was enough to give Blackburn that memorable title triumph under Kenny Dalglish.

There were huge question marks about whether two out-and-out centre forwards could play together, but they prospered when feeding off each other.

Shearer bagged 34 and Sutton 15, but plenty of assists too as they proved just too much to handle for many defences. Stopping one of them was hard enough but stopping two proved almost impossible.

Alan Shearer & Les Ferdinand (Newcastle 96/97) 49 goals

There’s no surprise Shearer’s in here more than once, and there are striking similarities between his combination with Sutton and Ferdinand, as both were questionable fits.

‘Sir Les’ was another proven goalscorer and many wondered if he’d make way when club record signing Shearer arrived in the summer, but they emphatically answered doubts over their suitability.

These goals came in tough circumstances as well, with Kevin Keegan quitting in January, still feeling tortured after blowing the league the season before.

The Magpies finished second again, and Ferdinand was sold to Spurs before getting another go at enhancing this partnership.

Kevin Phillips & Niall Quinn (Sunderland 99/00) 44 goals

The big man-little man partnership by which all other big man-little man partnerships would be measured in the Premier League.

Phillips bagged 30 goals and the Golden Boot in his first ever Premier League season, with many of them coming when feeding off Quinn’s aerial dominance.

There was plenty of skill involved, not just knock it down and finish it off – although Peter Reid’s advice to Phillips was reasonably straightforward.

“It was one of those partnerships that just happened. We never worked on it in training. All Peter Reid would ever say was just: ‘Work off Quinny, get around Quinny’,” Phillips recalls of the manager’s tactical masterclass.

Robbie Fowler & Stan Collymore (Liverpool 95/96) 42 goals

This is another partnership that just seemed to click, and just shows you what options up front England had during this spell as in terms of both talent and production you’d think this could have been a brilliant combination for the Three Lions.

Both scored twice in the 4-3 Newcastle game that defined this era, and with just a bit more discipline at the back this Liverpool team would have won the league.

Collymore is one of those players that perhaps did not achieve everything he could given his natural talents. We know all about Fowler but Stan had everything, a strong, powerful, direct runner, great in the air with two great feet.

His crossing ability was also magnificent.

Dwight Yorke & Andy Cole (Man Utd 99/00) 41 goals

You can’t have a list of striker combinations without Yorke and Cole being involved now can you? Their numbers here aren’t amazing but when you think of the options Man Utd had they’re pretty good.

And it wasn’t just Yorke’s 22 goals or Cole’s 19 this season, but their wonderful interplay that made them a joy to watch.

The old dummy and one-two finish became a ‘Yorke and Cole special’ in school playgrounds and Sunday league pitches as strikers tried to emulate this most dangerous of attacks.

Jurgen Klinsmann & Teddy Sheringham (Tottenham 94/95) 39 goals

This is another pairing that was perhaps more easy on the eye than it was devastating in terms of sheer weight of goals, but they meshed so well together they deserve their spot.

The Germany bagged 21 and Sheringham 18, but it was more about how they went about their business that was so good to watch.

They scored 60 percent of Tottenham’s goals that season as Sheringham showed his creative side while Klinsmann his clinical eye for finishing.

Eidur Gudjohnsen & Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink (Chelsea 01/02) 37 goals

Very much in the Sheringham/Klinsmann mould – Gudjohnsen was superb technically, always had time on the ball and rarely chose the wrong option.

Hasselbaink was a powerhouse who would almost take the net off with minimal back lift, making him so tough to handle inside the box.

Gudjohnsen was a better finisher, and an all round better player than many gave him credit for while Hasselbaink was a proven goal scorer.

Wayne Rooney & Ruud van Nistelrooy (Man Utd 05/06) 37 goals

Van Nistelrooy is one of the most natural goalscorers I’ve ever seen, as 95 goals in 150 Premier League games tells you – and this combination with a Rooney able to drop deep was pure perfection.

Rooney could dribble through you, pass around you and run in behind you, while Van Nistelrooy would take a mile for every inch you gave him in and around the box, as he showed with 21 league goals this season.

And to think his move to Manchester United was almost ruined before it even happened after a serious knee injury. Put in that context his impact at Old Trafford was even more remarkable, while we all know what Rooney could do.

Cristiano Ronaldo was obviously around and causing havoc, but these two could operate as a genuine front two as good as any.

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