The bookies continue to prove themselves this season, with Gameweek 7 another triumph for our picks. The gameweek average of 42 was once again smashed as we registered a 78 point return courtesy of large hauls from captain Diego costa (24), Laurent Koscielny (15) and Roberto Firmino (12).

With the second international break of the campaign now done and dusted, read on as we present our analysis of the bookmakers’ attacking and defensive odds for Gameweek 8…

Defensive odds

Team Clean sheet odds Chance of a clean sheet Southampton 55% Arsenal 2.05 49% Tottenham 2.2 45% Bournemouth 42% Chelsea 39% Man City 39% Middlesbrough 36% Stoke 36% Liverpool 3.1 32% Crystal Palace 3.2 31% Watford 3.6 28% Sunderland 4.33 23% West Ham 4.5 22% Hull 4.65 22% Man Utd 5 20% West Brom 5 20% Leicester 7 14% Burnley 7.5 13% Everton 9.2 11% Swansea 12 8%

On the back of 6 consecutive clean sheets in all competitions, it is no surprise to see Southampton top the bookies’ defensive rankings ahead of a plum home clash with Burnley, with the Saints predicted to have a 55% chance of keeping a clean sheet on Sunday. The Clarets have played 2 away games in the Premier League so far this term, failing to score in either. With Ryan Bertrand injured on international duty for England, Matt Targett looks primed to take up the left-back spot for Claude Puel’s men, whilst Fraser Forster provides a safe pair of hands between the sticks. Both make our starting XI this weekend.

Arsenal rank second with a 49% chance of shutting out Swansea when the South Wales side travel to The Emirates on Saturday. The Gunners registered their third clean sheet of the campaign last time out against Burnley, and with the Swans scoring just twice on their travels this season (the second worst away attack in the league after Sean Dyche’s unit), further defensive joy could be imminent for the North London club. Laurent Koscielny, who rewarded us with a goal and maximum bonus points in Gameweek 7, and Nacho Monreal start for us for the second gameweek running.

Tottenham (45%), Bournemouth (42%) and Chelsea (39%) complete the top 5 defensive prospects for fantasy managers this weekend. Tottenham, who have 4 clean sheets from 7 games so far, travel to West Brom on Saturday. Cameron Carter-Vickers, whilst not expected to start, offers is the cheapest option in the Spurs defence and allows us to save funds for investment further upfield. Likewise, Marc Wilson, despite the high probability of not starting, saves vital budget for our squad. The Cherries enjoy a home encounter against Hull this gameweek and could provide Fantasy managers with cheap defensive options having kept 2 clean sheets in 3 home games to date, although it should also be noted that their opponents have scored in all of their away games this season. Chelsea, meanwhile, host champions Leicester in Saturday’s early kick off, and whilst the Foxes have lost all of their away games so far, they have also scored in all of them. This, allied with the fact that we would need to spend £5.0m to complete our goalkeeping requirements with a non-playing keeper (Asmir Begovic, £5.5m if we wanted the security of Thibaut Courtois), sees us plump for Stoke’s Lee Grant (36% – £4.0m) as our sub keeper – just a 3% clean sheet probability reduction for a guaranteed starter and leaving us an extra, vital, £1.0m budget to spend on our front 8.

Before moving onto our analysis of the bookmakers attacking odds, a quick look at the bottom rungs of the clean sheet ladder tells us that defensive assets from Burnley (13% – away to Southampton), Everton (11% – away to Man City) and Swansea (8% – away to Arsenal) should be avoided this weekend.

Attacking odds

Player Anytime goalscorer odds Chance of scoring Sergio Aguero 1.75 57% Alexis Sanchez 1.91 52% Diego Costa 1.98 51% Charlie Austin 2.2 45% Kelechi Iheanacho 42% Theo Walcott 2.4 42% Michy Batshuayi 2.4 42% Christian Benteke 2.5 40% Callum Wilson 2.6 38% Daniel Sturridge 2.62 38% Eden Hazard 2.7 37% Roberto Firmino 2.8 36% Son Heung-Min 2.8 36% Vincent Janssen 2.8 36% Wilfried Bony 2.85 35% Sadio Mane 2.9 34% Alvaro Negredo 2.9 34% Joshua King 2.9 34% Alex Iwobi 3 33% Zlatan Ibrahimovic 3 33% Philippe Coutinho 3 33% Raheem Sterling 3 33% Dusan Tadic 3 33% Marko Arnautovic 3 33% Romelu Lukaku 3.1 32% Jermain Defoe 3.25 31% Nathan Redmond 3.25 31% David Silva 3.35 30% Erik Lamela 3.4 29% Mesut Ozil 3.45 29% Marcus Rashford 3.5 29% Odion Ighalo 3.5 29% Simone Zaza 3.5 29% Cristhian Stuani 3.5 29% Troy Deeney 3.55 28% Christian Eriksen 3.7 27% Jamie Vardy 3.75 27% Dimitri Payet 3.75 27% Willian 3.75 27% Santiago Cazorla 3.75 27% Islam Slimani 3.75 27% Wayne Rooney 3.8 26% Salomon Rondon 3.9 26% Michail Antonio 4 25% Abel Hernandez 4.2 24% Andros Townsend 4.3 23% Wilfried Zaha 4.3 23% Jordon Ibe 4.33 23% Duncan Watmore 4.4 23% Riyad Mahrez 4.5 22% Gaston Ramirez 4.5 22% Yannick Bolasie 5 20% Kevin Mirallas 5 20% Gerard Deulofeu 5 20% Ross Barkley 5.25 19% Nacer Chadli 5.25 19% Sam Vokes 5.75 17% Borja Baston 6 17% Gylfi Sigurdsson 6.5 15% Robert Snodgrass 6.5 15% Etienne Capoue 6.75 15% James Milner 7.5 13% Roberto Pereyra 7.5 13% Joe Allen 8 13% Leroy Fer 8.5 12% NEW TO WEEKLY FANTASY? PICK A FREE TEAM AND COMPETE FOR £10 HERE

Sergio Aguero tops the bookmakers’ attacking table this weekend with a 57% chance of finding the net when he and his City teammates welcome Everton to The Etihad. The explosive Argentine has scored 11 goals in 8 games for the Citizens this term, but will have to be at his effervescent best to come out on top against Ronald Koeman’s defence, who have conceded only twice on the road this season.

Joining Aguero up front in our starting XI are Premier League top scorer Diego Costa (51%) and Southampton’s Charlie Austin (45%). Chelsea’s controversial striker has 6 goals to his name in the league this term, and enjoys a home encounter against Leicester on Saturday lunchtime, with the Foxes currently in possession of the worst away defence in the league (10 goals conceded in 3 games). Saints’ fox in the box Austin, who has struck 5 times in his last 5 games in all competitions, squares up to a Burnley side who have lost both of their away games this season by a 3-0 scoreline.

Alexis Sanchez (52%) is our first midfield selection for this weekend’s squad. The Chilean pocket rocket, who has bagged 3 goals in his last 3 league outings, will be licking his lips in anticipation of hosting a Swansea side who have conceded an average of 2 goals per game over their last 6. Roberto Firmino and Heung-Min Son (both 36%) join Alexis in our engine room. Both players scored for their respective countries over the international break to continue their solid starts to the season – 4 goals in 8 outings in all competitions for Firmino, whilst Son has notched 5 in 6. The pair have games at home against Manchester United and away to West Brom respectively this weekend, with neither opponent having kept a clean sheet in their last 4 matches, so our Brazilian and South Korean picks should be confident of gracing the scoreboards once more.

Completing our starting XI is Bournemouth’s Norwegian forward Josh King (34%). On target for Norway over the international break, the former Manchester United youngster has already scored twice for the Cherries this season and could be in line to profit further on Saturday against a Hull side who have conceded 11 times in their last 3 games. Etienne Capoue (15%) once again completes our squad, with his attractive blend of rock-bottom price, form (4 goals and 1 assist in 7), and fixture (away to Middlesbrough, who have conceded twice in each of their last 2 home games) making him the perfect fifth midfielder.

The bookies also rate the chances of Theo Walcott (42%) this weekend, but we have to overlook the England international due to our squad already having its full complement of 3 Arsenal players, whilst Eden Hazard (37%) and Sadio Mane (34%) are omitted due to the strain they put on the budget.

Daniel Victory is a Fantasy football and anytime goalscorer betting enthusiast. Enjoys SSS – statistics, strategising and spreadsheets. Follow his great tips on Twitter.