He may have rattled a few cages, but Diego Costa has been Premier League's joint top performing striker this season alongside QPR hero Charlie Austin.

Chelsea's Spanish striker is on the shortlist for the PFA Player of the Year awards on Sunday and it's easy to see why, when looking at the latest statistics released by Opta.

His goals per game ratios of 0.79 is better than any other forward to have scored five or more goals in the league this season.

He ranks third in terms of number of goals (19) and also ranks third for shot accuracy (63.2 per cent).

With only three assists to his name though, he only comes eighth in terms of assists.

On target again: Charlie Austin celebrates with Steven Caulker

That gives him the joint best overall record across the four different categories along with Hoops ace Austin, who has excelled since making the step up to the top flight.

Austin has the league's best shot accuracy rating 67.1%, ranks fourth for assists (four), fourth for goals (17) and the sixth in terms of goals per game (0.57).

Two forwards are tied in third place - Alexis Sanchez and Harry Kane.

Kane currently has the joint highest goal tally (20) and the third best goals per game ratio (0.69).

However, he only ranks eighth for assists (three).

Goal-machine: Chelsea's Diego Costa in action with West Ham's Carl Jenkinson

Sanchez's goals per game ratio of 0.48 is the eighth best, but he has the best assist record (eight in total) and the second best shot accuracy (65%).

Sergio Aguero comes fifth overall despite being the current joint top scorer.

His goals per game ratio is the second best (0.71) and his total number assists is also the second best (six).

However, despite his 20 goals, Aguero has been somewhat wasteful in front of goal and only ranks 13th for shot accuracy (52.6%).

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