Defoe v Aguero? How do Sunderland and Manchester City's hitmen compare ahead of player of month unveiling

But how does the in-form Black Cats striker compare with one of his main rivals for the award, Manchester City hotshot Sergio Aguero?

Defoe - who boasts an impressive 33 per cent conversion rate - scored five goals in six games and had a shot accuracy of 78% in the games against Aston Villa, Swansea, Spurs and Bournemouth.

Three of his goals came in the win against Swansea, and he played every minute of all the games.

Defoe's goals came from 13 shots - half the number of attempts Aguero had for his six goals - and the former England striker also made 43 successful passes.

Other nominees include Manchester City striker Aguero, who scored the winner at the Stadium of Light on Tuesday night.

He too scored five league goals in January, and had a shot accuracy of 57%.

Aguero also had one assist but he had 27 attempts on target for his six goals in all competitions, giving him a conversion rate of 22 per cent.

Other nominations are Liverpool’s Roberto Firmino, Tottenham’s Dele Alli, Southampton defender Virgil Van Dijk and Leicester keeper Kasper Schmeichel.

See how the forwards compare to Jermain Defoe in the graphic above.

Manager of the month contenders are Southampton’s Ronald Koeman, West Ham’s Slaven Bilic, Man City’s Manuel Pellegrini, and Spurs’ Mauricio Pochettino.

Infographic supplied by fantasy football game www.oulala.com