BIRMINGHAM, England -- Tottenham striker Harry Kane says competition with England teammate Jamie Vardy for the Premier League Golden Boot is "keeping him alive."



Kane's double in Spurs' 2-0 win at Aston Villa took him to 19 league goals, level with Leicester City's Vardy at the top of the Premier League scoring charts.



Vardy could not get on the scoresheet in the Foxes' 1-0 win over Newcastle at the King Power Stadium on Monday.



The pair are one ahead of Romelu Lukaku of Everton and three clear of Man City's Sergio Aguero, who pipped Kane to last season's Golden Boot, scoring 26 times to the Spurs man's 21.



With second-place Spurs five points behind Leicester in the unlikeliest of title races, the duo's form in the final eight league matches could go a long way to deciding the destination of the Premier League trophy.



Speaking to reporters after the win at Villa Park on Sunday, Kane said: "It's good fun, it's good competition to be up there and fighting for the Golden Boot.



"Obviously there's a few people going for it. I'm sure he was watching the game and he'll want to go and score a couple tomorrow. It's good competition -- it's what keeps you alive. We'll see what happens come the end of the season.



"Obviously I'll see him if we're called up for the England squad but I haven't texted him or anything. We'll professional players, keeping an eye out for each other. I'll be watching the game tomorrow and seeing what happens."

Harry Kane and England teammate Jamie Vardy are fighting it out at the top of the Premier League Golden Boot race. AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis

Kane has now scored 43 league goals for Spurs, one more than Gareth Bale managed before his world-record transfer to Real Madrid, and the England forward has three in his last two league matches.



Prior to his brilliant strike in the 2-2 draw with Arsenal, Kane had not scored from open play in six games but he says fluctuations in form are a part of football.



"I was still scoring penalties," he added.



"Penalties are goals at the end of the today. It's part of football. Sometimes you're going to go through runs without scoring from open play but you might be scoring from somewhere else but helping the team somehow.



"At the start of the season, I didn't score for the first eight or nine games but I was still contributing and doing my best for the team and I think that's the most important thing here -- everyone fights for each other and works for each other and that's all we can ask for."