Manchester United forward Romelu Lukaku set to struggle against Tottenham this weekend… as he rarely performs against the “Big Six” sides
Spurs star Harry Kane would have had the edge over his Belgian opponent ahead of Saturday's Old Trafford showdown, if he hadn't been injured
MANCHESTER UNITED forward Romelu Lukaku's recent struggles are set to continue against Tottenham this weekend.
The Belgian forward, 24, got off to a blistering start to the 2017-18 season, scoring 16 times in his first 13 games in all competitions for club and country.
However, Lukaku has drawn a blank in his last four games - against Liverpool, Benfica, Huddersfield and Swansea.
On top of that, the ex-Everton ace has a well-documented problem taking on the "top six" clubs.
Lukaku has scored just 15 goals in his 53 games against Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester City, Tottenham, and current club Manchester United.
That goals per game ratio of 0.28 is 0.26 worse than his rate of 0.54 against the other 30 clubs he’s faced in his Premier League career, according to research from SmartBets.
Worse yet, Lukaku has scored just five times in his last 36 games against the "Big Six".
Of the ten high-profile forwards studied, Lukaku's -0.26 goals per game swing against the top clubs is the WORST in the Premier League.
At the other end of the spectrum, Leicester's Jamie Vardy has the best ratio, actually performing BETTER against the top six with a +0.15 goals per game swing.
Vardy is the only star to perform better against the big boys, with top players including Sergio Aguero, Eden Hazard, Wayne Rooney and Roberto Firmino all seeing a dip when playing the elite clubs.
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Meanwhile, Harry Kane, has the third-worst ratio, seeing a 0.22 dip when going head-to-head with the top six.
However, Kane's goals per game sits at a staggeringly good 0.51, compared to Lukaku's 0.28.
The Tottenham and England star has also earned 55 points by himself with his 62 goals for Spurs.
Lukaku on the other hand has picked up just 41 points with his 50 goals.
While the Belgian will have the home advantage at lunch-time on Saturday, Kane goes into the fixture as the favourite to work the scorers...