Champions League 2019: golden boot betting preview

As the Champions League knockout stage gets underway, we assess those at the head of the top goalscorer market and rate their chances of finishing top of the standings.

Robert Lewandowski 3-1

Bayern Munich, 8 goals

The prolific Pole leads the scoring in the competition with eight goals but the 3-1 about him staying top of the standings is far from appealing.

Bayern face a challenging last-16 tie against Liverpool, whose watertight defence will be difficult to breach and a potential early exit for the 2013 champions hampers Lewandowski's chances.

Lionel Messi 15-8

Barcelona, 6 goals

Lionel Messi can never be ruled out. The Argentinian maestro has six goals to his name in this season's Champions League and they were scored in a challenging group which featured Tottenham, Inter and PSV.

Set to face a beatable Lyon side in the last 16, Barcelona look capable of going deep into this year's competition and, looking as though he's shaken off an injury concern, Messi will be central to that.

Neymar 9-1

Paris Saint-Germain, 5 goals

Neymar's metatarsal injury has seen him ruled out of both legs of PSG's last-16 tie with Manchester United and there are doubts surrounding his involvement in the quarter-final first leg if the French side were to make it that far.

He has five goals to his name but given that he is likely to have three fewer appearances under his belt than the rest of the market, his price is one to swerve.

Edin Dzeko 16-1

Roma, 5 goals

Roma's Serie A form has been patchy and they scraped through a Champions League group comprising Real Madrid, Viktoria Plzen and CSKA Moscow.

Edin Dzeko's goalscoring prowess has been the only consolation, with only Lewandowski and Messi bettering his total of five goals.

Roma have a favourable last-16 tie with Porto which could go either way but even if they were to advance to the quarter-finals, the Bosnian is unlikely to have enough matches to compete in this market.

Paulo Dybala 25-1

Juventus, 5 goals

Juventus are a best-priced 15-2 for Champions League glory as Cristiano Ronaldo eyes a fourth successive title with the Old Lady.

But the contribution of the ever-improving Paulo Dybala cannot be overlooked.

The Argentinian has been in and out of the Juventus team in Serie A but started their first five Champions League games this term, impressing with a hat-trick against Young Boys.

If they navigate a tricky test with Atletico, there's no reason why Dybala cannot throw his name into the mix.

Antoine Griezmann 25-1

Atletico Madrid, 4 goals

Four of Atletico Madrid's nine group-stage goals came from Antoine Griezmann and he remains their most reliable source of goals with 11 in La Liga.

But Diego Simeone's men are not fancied to get past Juventus in the last 16 and have paid the price for finishing second to Dortmund in their group.

He is four goals adrift of top spot and will be hard-pressed to get anywhere near Lewandowski's tally over two legs with one of the best defensive units on the continent.

Kylian Mbappe 20-1

Paris Saint-Germain, 3 goals

Kylian Mbappe spearheaded the French national team to World Cup glory and there will be a similar level of responsibility on his shoulders for PSG in this year's Champions League.

Edinson Cavani has joined Neymar on the sidelines for PSG's last-16 encounter with Manchester United, the 20-year-old will be their focal attacking threat and he has the maturity and composure to take to the role comfortably.

Sergio Aguero 20-1

Manchester City, 2 goals

A brilliant hat-trick in Manchester City's 6-0 dismantling of Chelsea grounded the notion Aguero is back to his absolute best.

That drew him level with Mo Salah in the Premier League scoring charts and, although he has only two goals in the Champions League, he should be fancied to boost that total against a flaky Schalke side in the opening round of the knockout stages.