In the latest of our series looking at the top performers in the Sky Bet Championship, we are focusing on the strikers.
We've taken a brief break with the season suspended until April 30. There's no football being played across Europe.
It creates a stoppage to the battle for the Premier League in England's second tier with a number of teams still holding an opportunity to secure promotion.
Sky Bet Championship: Top Performers Series
There have been a number of stand-out performers throughout the campaign who have played a significant part in helping their side reach their current position.
Over the past week, Tom Carnduff will look at the best performing players in each position; aiming to find those who have excelled in the areas that matter most.
Finally, we look at the strikers as we pick out those who have been prolific in the Championship.
Hitting the target
Total shots on target:
- Aleksandar Mitrovic (Fulham): 47
- Patrick Bamford (Leeds): 47
- Karlan Grant (Huddersfield): 44
- Ollie Watkins (Brentford): 42
- Lukas Jutkiewicz (Birmingham): 40
We'll start off by analysing the shots on target. Goals are always looked upon as the main indicator to how good a striker truly is, but the shots gives us an idea of how lively they are in front of goal and the threat they possess.
There's an argument to be made that says better strikers don't need many shots to score. That is somewhat true. However, some of the division's top forwards feature in this line-up.
Sharing top honours is Fulham's Aleksandar Mitrovic and Leeds' Patrick Bamford. Both sit on 47 shots on target but goal conversion, which will be covered fully in the next section, indicate who carries the bigger threat.
Mitrovic sits on 25% from his total, whereas Bamford's is below half that on 12%. When it comes to finding that goalscorer, the Fulham striker is the preferred choice.
Huddersfield's Karlan Grant is three shy with 44. He's enjoyed life in West Yorkshire and, at the age of 22, has all the potential to become a Premier League striker in the neat future.
Also hitting 40 or above in the shots on target area is Brentford's Ollie Watkins and Birmingham target man Lukas Jutkiewicz.
These two have somewhat contrasting styles of play with Jutkiewicz having a preference on balls being played into him to lay off for others.
Watkins meanwhile has the ability to create with the ball at his feet. However, when it comes to finding the net, both have had near equal opportunity.
Taking the chances
Goal conversion percentage (more than 20 games played):
- Scott Hogan (Birmingham): 43%
- Chris Martin (Derby): 43%
- Jonathan Leko (West Brom/Charlton): 36%
- Ollie Watkins (Brentford): 32%
- Lyle Taylor (Charlton): 32%
Scott Hogan has been a revelation since making the loan switch to Birmingham in January.
The 27-year-old spent the first part of the campaign at Stoke where he scored two goals from 15 appearances. At the Blues, his record stands at seven goals in nine.
It means he's a stand-out player when it comes to taking his chances. His goal conversion percentage is 43 from his total shots this season, although the fact nine goals have come from 12 shots on target is a bigger positive.
Goal conversion works out the number of goals from shots taken. It's a good measure to work out those strikers who make the most of the opportunities presented to them.
Chris Martin also joins Hogan on 43% and a total of 12 shots on target. Remarkably, the Derby man also has nine goals on his tally. The two match when it comes to the main statistics in this area.
Jonathan Leko spent part of the season on-loan at Charlton from West Brom but injury brought a premature end to his campaign.
He did feature in over 20 games for the Addicks though with five goals. His conversion rate was 36% before an early injury at QPR in December forced him off.
Goal conversion is another area that sits in a long list of Watkins' positives. His percentage is a whopping 32 with 42 shots on target.
His 22 goals reflects the impact he's made in the Bees' front line but the fact he's taking so many opportunities indicate that the right support around him boosts the tally.
Lyle Taylor, another Charlton striker who has had to battle injury this season, makes the top-five list with 32% goal conversion and 22 shots on target.
Wasted opportunities
Big chances missed:
- Patrick Bamford (Leeds): 25
- Lewis Grabban (Forest): 17
- Ollie Watkins (Brentford): 15
- Martyn Waghorn (Derby): 14
- Karlan Grant (Huddersfield): 13
Another area that may require some explanation before going into talking about the individuals involved.
"A situation where a player should reasonably be expected to score," Opta states as a big chance.
"Usually in a one on one scenario or from very close range when the ball has a clear path to goal and there is low to moderate pressure on the shooter."
However, that's not to say it's necessarily all negative. Bamford, who tops this list, has drawn praise for his all-round play which brings others in and the defensive work rate.
His 25 big chances missed though puts him top of this chart by a considerable distance. That does go hand-in-hand with having the joint-highest shots on target in the league.
Lewis Grabban gets his first mention. The Nottingham Forest striker sits in second with 17, although he has made up for it with 17 goals scored.
Watkins, like Bamford, sat high in shots on target and he has also seen a significant amount of big chances missed.
Grant is another name to continue the trend of more shots on target means more big chances missed, although he has seen two less despite having more chances to score.
Martyn Waghorn of Derby is sandwiched in between the two mentioned above with 14.
Link-up play
Accurate passes:
- Cauley Woodrow (Barnsley): 816
- Ollie Watkins (Brentford): 687
- Aleksandar Mitrovic (Fulham): 613
- Karlan Grant (Huddersfield): 601
- Conor Chaplin (Barnsley): 574
The top-five accurate passes list for strikers highlights that Barnsley's forward line have a good ability to draw others into the play.
Cauley Woodrow sits top by a distance with 816. Conor Chaplin also makes the cut with his total of 574.
Once again it's the trio of Mitrovic, Grant and Watkins who make the cut. What's already been made clear it that they stand-out when it comes to the main categories for a player in this position.
Fulham's Bobby Decordova-Reid was also high in pass accuracy but with Mitrovic in the side he's failed to secure a regular starting role in the central striker area.
It's important for a forward to have the ability to bring others in alongside finding the net themselves. In terms of the Championship, Woodrow has done that better than anyone else.
Who takes the title?
What's clear from the above is that Mitrovic and Watkins would nail down their spots in any Championship XI.
It'd be interesting to see how the duo would work together, but based on the above statistics and their records this season, they would be certainties if it came to picking any two from this division.
Watkins' high number of shots on target combined with a fantastic conversion rate demonstrates his danger in the 18-yard box. Of course, that's alongside the 22 goals on his tally.
What's been impressive is that he's demonstrated an ability to play in any of the three front positions.
When Neal Maupay was at Brentford, Watkins would play as a winger but since the Frenchman departed for Brighton in the summer he has made the striker role his own.
In Mitrovic, it caused little surprise to see him hit the ground running once again in the Championship.
He arrived as a loan striker in the January window during Fulham's last campaign in this league and his goals proved crucial in them achieving promotion by winning the play-off final.
It's pretty much guaranteed that every Championship Team of the Season, whenever the season reaches its conclusion, will have Mitrovic involved.
West Brom enjoyed a prolific striking pair last season with Jay Rodriguez and Dwight Gayle both surpassing the 20-goal mark over the 2018/19 campaign.
It's completely hypothetical of course. However, there's little argument against saying that a duo of Mitrovic and Watkins would surely score more.
