In what is turning out to be quite a prominent theme this season, it was once again the attack and defence providing the returns, with the midfield disappointing, as the Bookies’ Advantage squad racked up 69 points. Captain Romelu Lukaku (12) and Harry Kane (13) led from the front, whilst clean sheets from Phil Jones and Petr Cech (6 each), and an assist from Eric Choupo-Moting (5) also helped. The star attraction, however, was Ben Davies, who bagged a goal, assist and clean sheet against Huddersfield for a monster 17 point haul. With the latest international break now done and dusted, read on as we analyse the clean sheet and anytime goalscorer markets to help you with those all important captaincy, transfer and squad selection decisions…

Clean Sheet odds

Team Best clean sheet odds Implied chance of a clean sheet Chelsea 1.96 51% Tottenham 2 50% Man City 2 50% Swansea 2.38 42% Southampton 2.41 41% Leicester 2.45 41% Everton 2.63 38% Arsenal 2.8 36% Burnley 3 33% West Ham 3.2 31% Brighton 3.2 31% Liverpool 3.5 29% Huddersfield 3.5 29% Man Utd 3.9 26% West Brom 4.2 24% Newcastle 4.65 22% Crystal Palace 7.1 14% Watford 7.3 14% Bournemouth 15.5 6% Stoke 21 5%

Chelsea top the bookies’ defensive rankings with a 51% chance of keeping a clean sheet ahead of their trip to Selhurst Park on Saturday afternoon. Opponents Crystal Palace are still searching for their first league goal of the season (7 blanks), whilst the Blues have only conceded twice in their last 5, registering 3 shutouts in the process. Marcos Alonso starts for our squad having already scored a couple of goals this term. The Spaniard offers significant attacking threat to go with his clean sheet potential and could run riot this weekend.

Tottenham and Manchester City both rank joint-second (50%) for Gameweek 8. Spurs host Bournemouth, with Mauricio Pochettino’s men keeping clean sheets in 3 of their last 4 outings, whilst the Cherries have failed to score in 2 of their last 4. City, meanwhile, entertain Stoke, having not conceded in 4 consecutive games. Couple that with the fact that the Potters have scored just once in their last 6 trips to The Etihad and things look ominous for Mark Hughes’ men. Ben Davies, like the aforementioned Alonso, offers strong attacking potential (2 goals and 3 assists this term) and sits atop the FPL defender standings, whilst John Stones provides the cheapest secure route into the City back line. Both make our starting XI.

Swansea (42%) complete the top 4 defensive prospects for the gameweek. The Swans have recorded shutouts in 2 of their last 5, but it is the woeful attacking form of opponents Huddersfield that piques interest here – after a bright start, the Terriers have only found the net once in their last quintet of fixtures. The scene should be set for a Łukasz Fabiański clean sheet.

On the bench, Rob Elliott (£4.0m – 22%), as the only starting £4.0m stopper, takes his regular place as our backup keeper ahead of Newcastle’s trip to St Mary’s on Sunday, whilst Danny Simpson (£4.5m – 41%) welcomes West Brom, who have failed to score in 2 of their last 3, to The King Power on Monday evening. Chancel Mbemba (£4.0m – 22%) is the ultra-budget defender most likely to see gametime and fantasy points.

Goalscorer odds

Player Best anytime goalscorer odds Implied chance of scoring Harry Kane 1.36 74% Gabriel Jesus 1.57 64% Alvaro Morata 1.85 54% Alexandre Lacazette 1.95 51% Dele Alli 2.05 49% Alexis Sanchez 2.15 47% Leroy Sane 2.25 44% Jamie Vardy 2.3 43% Raheem Sterling 2.38 42% Eden Hazard 2.43 41% Romelu Lukaku 2.48 40% Manolo Gabbiadini 2.63 38% Kevin de Bruyne 2.7 37% Chris Wood 2.75 36% Tammy Abraham 2.87 35% Christian Eriksen 2.88 35% Javier Hernandez 3 33% Pedro 3.1 32% Roberto Firmino 3.1 32% Joselu 3.2 31% David Silva 3.25 31% Andre Gray 3.25 31% Mohamed Salah 3.3 30% Wayne Rooney 3.3 30% Sam Vokes 3.3 30% Shinji Okazaki 3.4 29% de Andrade Richarlison 3.4 29% Oumar Niasse 3.5 29% Dominic Calvert-Lewin 3.5 29% Dusan Tadic 3.5 29% Jay Rodriguez 3.5 29% Alex Iwobi 3.6 28% Willian 3.6 28% Marcus Rashford 3.75 27% Philippe Coutinho 3.75 27% Aaron Ramsey 3.85 26% Salomon Rondon 4 25% Jordan Ayew 4 25% Henrikh Mkhitaryan 4.2 24% Riyad Mahrez 4.2 24% Michail Antonio 4.33 23% Jermain Defoe 4.33 23% Laurent Depoitre 4.33 23% Andre Ayew 4.75 21% Anthony Knockaert 4.75 21% Tom Ince 5 20% Pascal Gross 5 20% Matt Ritchie 5.5 18% Rodriguez Jese 5.5 18% Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting 5.5 18% Robbie Brady 5.6 18% Christian Atsu 6.4 16% Matt Phillips 6.5 15% Bakary Sako 6.5 15% Xherdan Shaqiri 7 14% Etienne Capoue 7.5 13% Aaron Mooy 7.5 13% Tom Carroll 7.5 13% Andros Townsend 8.5 12% Ryan Fraser 11 9%



Harry Kane is the runaway leader in the anytime goalscorer market for Gameweek 8, with the bookies affording him a 74% chance – the highest of the season so far – of scoring against Bournemouth on Saturday. Such is the form Kane is in, 15 goals in 10 appearances for club and country since the start of September, the bookmakers are confidently ignoring the fact that he has yet to notch at Wembley in the league. Opponents Bournemouth have lost all 3 of their away games, kept just 1 clean sheet this term, and sit 19th in the table. It looks like a perfect storm for Harry this weekend and he takes our captain’s armband as a result.

Gabriel Jesus (64%) and Tammy Abraham (35%) complete our front line. Manchester City’s samba starlet has scored 4 goals in his last 4 Premier League starts, whilst he also bagged a brace for Brazil over the international break. Despite a heavy workload and travel schedule, Jesus remains in line to start against Stoke given Sergio Aguero is almost certainly sidelined with a rib injury. The Potters are yet to register a shutout on their travels, and only have 1 from their 7 games this season, so another rampant performance from the league’s highest scorers could be on the cards. Abraham, meanwhile, makes his first appearance in the Bookies’ Advantage squad, with his £5.5m price crucial for the structure of our midfield. The Chelsea loanee has scored 3 times in his last 7 appearances in all competitions for Swansea, and a home clash against Huddersfield, who have regressed after a splendid start, conceding 7 in their last 4, offers Abraham the chance to further prove his top flight goalscoring credentials.

The bookies also fancy the chances of Alexandre Lacazette, Jamie Vardy, Romelu Lukaku, Manolo Gabbiadini and Chris Wood, but we overlook them all as they weigh too heavily on the budget this weekend, whilst Alvaro Morata is not considered due to injury doubts surrounding his availability.

Our first pair of midfield picks form attacking double-ups courtesy of the favourable fixtures for Tottenham and Manchester City. Dele Alli (49%) will be looking to add to the 2 goals and 2 assists he has chalked up in the league this term, whilst Leroy Sane has bagged 29 points in his last pair of outings at The Etihad (3 goals, 2 assists, 5 bonus). Both players provided assists for their countries over the international break.

Pedro (32%) and Richarlison (29%) complete our starting XI for Gameweek 8. Chelsea’s Spaniard was on the scoresheet for the first time this season in their last away game at Stoke, so a trip to rock-bottom Crystal Palace offers him the platform to build some momentum, especially with Alvaro Morata out injured and the striking role up for grabs. Richarlison, meanwhile, has found the net in both of his last 2 appearances, taking his tally to 3 for the season, and will entertain an Arsenal side in the midst of a defensive injury crisis in Saturday’s late kick off. Tom Carroll (10%) hosts Huddersfield and takes the first spot on our bench, with his monopoly over set pieces for the Swans and a £4.5m price tag making him an attractive enabler.

Once again, there are a number of midfielders that the bookies look favourably upon this weekend, but whose services we must forgo due to squad selection and/or budget restraints, namely Manchester City trio Raheem Sterling, Kevin de Bruyne and David Silva, big ticket duo Alexis Sanchez and Eden Hazard, top-scoring FPL midfielder Christian Eriksen and Egypt’s World Cup hero Mohamed Salah.

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