It will be a battle of first vs. second as Chelsea host Manchester City on Friday night, and a win for either would strike a firm blow in the Women’s Super League title race. Although both teams boast a wealth of riches across the pitch — such as midfield maestros Erin Cuthbert and Yui Hasegawa — the main focus will be the league’s leading goal scorers, who are battling out for this season’s Golden Boot: Khadija “Bunny” Shaw and Lauren James.
Coming into the game, the pair have 13 and 12 goals in the league respectively, despite operating in very different roles and attacking formations at their clubs.
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The stats show that Shaw is more of a traditional centre-forward; she has fewer defensive actions and completed passes, but her goal return and Expected Goals (xG) are among the top percentiles in the league. Boasting an xG of 0.75 per game and a total xG of 7.4 (to her 13 goals), it’s clear the Jamaica striker is thriving this season and that is in no small part down to how City set up to feed her the ball. Indeed, Shaw is in such strong goal-scoring form, she’s even bettering Manchester City’s male…
