It was a solid, if not spectacular, start for the Bookies’ Advantage squad in Gameweek 1 as the troops brought home 68 points. Late injuries (Pedro) and surprise omissions (Iwobi and Holgate) meant that just 10 players took to the pitch, but captain Romelu Lukaku (26 points) and his Manchester United teammate Henrikh Mkhitaryan (11), Sergio Aguero (8), and Sadio Mane, Phil Jones and Danilo (6 each) all contributed nicely. With Gameweek 2 fast approaching, read on as we once again analyse the clean sheet and anytime goalscorer odds on offer to help you with those all-important transfer, squad selection and captaincy decisions…

Defensive odds

Team Best clean sheet odds Implied chance of a clean sheet Man Utd 1.86 54% Man City 2.04 49% Liverpool 2.15 47% Leicester 2.38 42% Southampton 2.45 41% Burnley 2.6 38% Huddersfield 2.8 36% Arsenal 2.84 35% Bournemouth 2.9 34% Tottenham 3 33% West Brom 3 33% Newcastle 3.4 29% Chelsea 4.5 22% Watford 5 20% Brighton 5.1 20% West Ham 5.5 18% Stoke 5.7 18% Swansea 7.5 13% Crystal Palace 9 11% Everton 10 10%

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A clean sheet against West Ham on the opening weekend bodes well for the continuation of Manchester United as a solid source of defensive points for fantasy managers. They sit atop the bookies’ defensive rankings for Gameweek 2 with a 54% chance of keeping Swansea at bay when they visit South Wales on Saturday lunchtime. The Swans failed to score last weekend, so we keep faith in the cheapest route into Jose Mourinho’s rearguard, Phil Jones.

Their Manchester rivals, City, rank second with a 49% chance of keeping a clean sheet when they host Everton on Monday night. After shutting out Brighton on the opening weekend, Pep Guardiola’s side will be looking to build on their defensive momentum against the Toffees, who scored just once last weekend and notched under a third (20 out of 62) of their league goals on the road last season. Attacking prowess from the wingback position sees Kyle Walker as our weapon of choice from the Citizens back line.

Liverpool (47%) and Leicester (42%) round off the top four defensive prospects in Gameweek 2. Despite both sides producing far from convincing defensive displays last time out, conceding 3 and 4 goals respectively, the fixtures fall firmly in their favour over the coming days. The Reds host a Crystal Palace side that blanked against Premier League newcomers Huddersfield in Gameweek 1, and who also look like they will be shorn of the services of their dynamic talisman Wilfried Zaha. Trent Alexander-Arnold, now seemingly taking corners and free kicks, provides real attacking verve for a modest £4.5m. The Foxes, meanwhile, host newly promoted Brighton, who also blanked on the opening weekend. Kasper Schmeichel offers a reliable pair of hands between the sticks and starts for our squad.

On the bench, Rob Elliott (£4.0m – 29%) travels to Huddersfield on Sunday lunchtime, offering a mix of clean sheet and save point potential, whilst Stephen Ward (£4.5m – 38%) scored a corker against Chelsea to return 7 points in Gameweek 1, and also offers clean sheet potential at home to West Brom. Chancel Mbemba (£4.0m – 29%) looks the likeliest of the ultra-budget defenders to feature following a spate of injuries to the Magpies’ defence against Tottenham.

Attacking odds

Player Best anytime goalscorer odds Implied chance of scoring Sergio Aguero 1.8 56% Romelu Lukaku 2 50% Gabriel Jesus 2 50% Alexandre Lacazette 2.2 45% Roberto Firmino 2.2 45% Harry Kane 2.3 43% Sadio Mane 2.3 43% Mohamed Salah 2.3 43% Jamie Vardy 2.4 42% Manolo Gabbiadini 2.5 40% Jermain Defoe 2.7 37% Kelechi Iheanacho 2.8 36% Henrikh Mkhitaryan 2.88 35% Joshua King 2.88 35% Dele Alli 3.2 31% Alvaro Morata 3.3 30% Dusan Tadic 3.3 30% Kevin de Bruyne 3.3 30% Nathan Redmond 3.3 30% Theo Walcott 3.3 30% Michy Batshuayi 3.4 29% Steve Mounie 3.4 29% Sam Vokes 3.4 29% Jay Rodriguez 3.5 29% Christian Benteke 3.75 27% Salomon Rondon 3.75 27% Dwight Gayle 3.75 27% Troy Deeney 3.75 27% Javier Hernandez 3.75 27% Riyad Mahrez 3.75 27% Alex Iwobi 4 25% Paul Pogba 4 25% Thomas Ince 4.2 24% Saido Berahino 4.33 23% Glenn Murray 4.33 23% Christian Eriksen 4.4 23% Aaron Ramsey 4.5 22% Wayne Rooney 4.5 22% Marko Arnautovic 4.5 22% Willian 4.9 20% Sandro Ramirez 5 20% Tammy Abraham 5 20% Matt Ritchie 5 20% Andre Ayew 5 20% Xherdan Shaqiri 5.1 20% Anthony Knockaert 5.5 18% Ryan Fraser 5.5 18% Mame Biram Diouf 6 17% Robbie Brady 6 17% Pascal Gross 6 17% Matt Phillips 6.1 16% Kevin Mirallas 6.5 15% Jordan Ayew 6.5 15% Christian Atsu 6.5 15% Ruben Loftus-Cheek 7 14% Andros Townsend 7 14% Etienne Capoue 7 14% Roberto Pereyra 7 14% Aaron Mooy 7.5 13% Tom Carroll 13 8%

Sergio Aguero, ahead of the welcome of Everton to The Etihad, tops the bookies’ attacking rankings with a 56% chance of finding the back of the net in the first Monday night game of the season. After getting off the mark for the campaign against Brighton last time out, the diminutive Argentine, one of the Premier League’s greatest goalscorers (123 in 182 appearances) will be looking to help City maintain the early pace at the summit of the top flight.

Romelu Lukaku (50%) and Roberto Firmino (45%) complete our front three for Gameweek 2 after both tallied double figure points in the first round of fixtures. A brace saw Lukaku help himself to 13 points, whilst a goal and an assist, with penalty duties now seemingly in his locker, helped Firmino to a score of 12. Games away to Swansea and at home to Crystal Palace this weekend give the pair the chance to build on their impressive starts to the campaign.

The bookies also fancy the chances of Gabriel Jesus and Alexandre Lacazette, but at £10.5m a piece, the pair weigh too heavily on our budget and are overlooked this time round.

Sadio Mane (43%) is our first pick in midfield as we double up on the Liverpool attack ahead of their Anfield clash with Crystal Palace. The Senegalese flyer opened his goalscoring account for the season in Gameweek 1 and will be relishing the opportunity of a home game against the Eagles, who conceded 3 goals to Huddersfield last weekend. Anfield was an absolute fantasy goldmine for Mane last season and his owners will be hoping that trend continues this term.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan (35%) makes our starting XI for the second week running as we also double up on the Red Devils’ attack. The silky Armenian continued his fine pre-season form as he bagged two assists and two bonus points in a promising opening day performance. A trip to The Liberty Stadium this weekend offers him the chance to solidify his fantasy credentials further.

Dusan Tadic and Nathan Redmond (both 30%) complete our midfield for Gameweek 2. The bookies fancy Southampton’s attackers to profit against a West Ham defence that leaked four goals against Manchester United last Sunday, with the streaky yet explosive Serbian potentially still on penalties for the Saints. The pair fired in 4 shots each for Mauricio Pellegrino’s men against Swansea, and opportunities should also present themselves aplenty against the Hammers on Saturday. Swansea’s Tom Carroll (8%) guarantees minutes and is a potential bargain, priced at just £4.5m and on set pieces following the departure of Gylfi Sigurdsson. He takes the first spot on our subs bench.

The bookies also fancy the chances of Kevin de Bruyne, Dele Alli and Mohamed Salah this weekend, but budget constraints mean we have to overlook the trio, whilst Theo Walcott is also rated but we forgo his services as his minutes are far from assured.

Team of the Week

Good luck with your fantasy weekend!

May the odds be with you🙏