The Bookies’ Advantage squad romped home in Gameweek 2 with 86 points, a whopping 29 above the gameweek average of 57. An expensive front line of Sergio Aguero (26 points as captain) and Zlatan Ibrahimovic (13) paid dividends, whilst Andy Carroll’s omission through injury allowed Etienne Capoue’s 9 points to be substituted in from the bench.

Despite the rest of our midfield failing us, clean sheets for United and Spurs saw those respective double-ups pay off big time, with 30 points accrued from 4 defensive assets. Looking to keep our momentum going, we present the bookies’ offerings for Gameweek 3…

Defensive odds

Team Clean sheet odds Chance of a clean sheet Chelsea 1.73 58% Man Utd 1.91 52% Southampton 2 50% Man City 2.15 47% Leicester 2.2 45% Everton 2.3 43% Arsenal 2.5 40% West Brom 2.62 38% Crystal Palace 2.8 36% Middlesbrough 2.88 35% Bournemouth 3.5 29% Tottenham 3.55 28% Liverpool 4.25 24% Swansea 4.5 22% Stoke 5 20% Sunderland 5.2 19% Watford 5.5 18% Hull 6 17% Burnley 9.7 10% West Ham 12 8%

Chelsea top the bookmakers defensive ranks this weekend with a 58% chance of a clean sheet as they go in search of their first Premier League shutout under Antonio Conte. A home clash with top flight newcomers Burnley provides them the opportunity to do just that, and their chances of registering defensive returns for fantasy managers will be improved further if Clarets striker Andre Gray is suspended following his recent Twitter debacle. Thibaut Courtois and John Terry will be two of the first names on the Blues’ teamsheet, and we follow suit by putting them straight into our starting XI.

The Stamford Bridge side are trailed in the Gameweek 3 defensive rankings by former manager Jose Mourinho and his new club Manchester United (52%). An away trip to Hull for Saturday’s late kick off may not be as straightforward as it seems, given the Tigers sit level with United in the league having also won their opening two fixtures, but Antonio Valencia has been given a new lease of life under Mourinho and could triumph at both ends of the pitch. Unwilling to double up on the Red Devils back line in our starting XI given Hull’s current form, we select Timothy Fosu-Mensah (£4.5m) to sit on our bench in order to free up funds further forward.

Southampton (50%), Manchester City (47%) and Leicester (45%) complete the top 5 defensive prospects for fantasy managers this weekend. The Saints entertain Sunderland on Saturday, and have kept clean sheets in 2 of the last 4 meetings in the Premier League between the sides. The added benefit of not having played in midweek (unlike Sunderland) sees us draft in Matt Targett, who should continue to deputise in the absence of the injured Ryan Bertrand. John Stones provides us with a (relatively) cheap and secure route into a premium defence, and he takes a place on our bench this week with City welcoming Slaven Bilic’s Hammers, shorn of Andy Carroll and Andre Ayew, to The Etihad. Finally, with Courtois nailed-on between the sticks for Chelsea, we opt to save funds by completing our goalkeeping requirements with Leicester City’s backup stopper Ron-Robert Zieler, who sets us back £4.5m.

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 Hull (17% – home to Manchester United, Burnley (10% – away to Chelsea) and West Ham (8% – away to Manchester City) should be avoided this weekend.

Attacking odds

Player Anytime goalscorer odds Chance of scoring Sergio Aguero 1.65 61% Diego Costa 2 50% Zlatan Ibrahimovic 2.05 49% Michy Batshuayi 2.1 48% Romelu Lukaku 2.3 43% Nolito 2.3 43% Eden Hazard 2.4 42% Alexis Sanchez 2.55 39% Harry Kane 2.62 38% Shane Long 2.62 38% Wayne Rooney 2.8 36% Jamie Vardy 2.88 35% Kevin de Bruyne 2.9 34% Leroy Sane 2.9 34% Charlie Austin 2.9 34% Raheem Sterling 2.9 34% Riyad Mahrez 3 33% Oscar 3 33% Willian 3 33% Daniel Sturridge 3 33% Theo Walcott 3.1 32% Nathan Redmond 3.25 31% Christian Benteke 3.25 31% Salomon Rondon 3.3 30% Callum Wilson 3.3 30% Divock Origi 3.5 29% Anthony Martial 3.5 29% Henrikh Mkhitaryan 3.5 29% Kevin Mirallas 3.5 29% Ross Barkley 3.6 28% Dusan Tadic 3.6 28% Alvaro Negredo 3.65 27% Sadio Mane 3.75 27% Odion Ighalo 3.75 27% Gerard Deulofeu 3.75 27% Roberto Firmino 3.8 26% Troy Deeney 3.8 26% Dele Alli 4 25% Philippe Coutinho 4 25% Erik Lamela 4 25% Juan Mata 4 25% Fernando Llorente 4.2 24% Marko Arnautovic 4.3 23% Christian Eriksen 4.33 23% Cristhian Stuani 4.33 23% Jermain Defoe 4.4 23% Abel Hernandez 4.5 22% Bojan 4.6 22% Mame Biram Diouf 4.6 22% Gylfi Sigurdsson 4.8 21% Andre Gray 4.9 20% Cesc Fabregas 5 20% Andros Townsend 5 20% Enner Valencia 5.25 19% Dimitri Payet 5.5 18% Gaston Ramirez 5.5 18% Matt Phillips 6 17% Viktor Fischer 6.25 16% Xherdan Shaqiri 6.25 16% Sam Vokes 6.25 16% Michail Antonio 7 14% Wahbi Khazri 7 14% Jordon Ibe 7 14% Robert Snodgrass 7.5 13% Etienne Capoue 13 8%

It’s a hat trick for Sergio Aguero as he dons our captain’s armband for the third week running, with the bookmakers affording him a 61% chance of scoring against an injury-ravaged West Ham side. After netting 3 times in the opening 2 gameweeks, as well as scoring a treble in the first leg of City’s Champions League qualifier, it’s 6 goals in 3 competitive appearances under Pep Guardiola for the Argentine, and with the Hammers also in action in the Europa League on Thursday, everything looks to be in place for Aguero’s hot streak to continue.

Diego Costa (50%) joins Sergio up front in our starting XI for Gameweek 3, with the controversial striker having scored in both of Chelsea’s Premier League games this term. The Brazilian-born Spaniard welcomes Sean Dyche’s Burnley to Stamford Bridge on Saturday, where he’ll be confident of firing the Blues to victory once again. Southampton’s Irish hitman Shane Long (38%) completes our front 3 for the gameweek as he prepares to try his luck against a Sunderland side that have conceded twice in each of their 2 league games so far this season.

Unfortunately, we have had to overlook a pair of solid striking options in Zlatan Ibrahimovic (49%) and Romelu Lukaku (43%) due to budget restrictions. Selecting either of them as our third striker would have left us extremely light in midfield, whilst Michy Batshuayi (48%) is omitted as we have already reached our full complement of 3 Chelsea assets.

We double up on Pep Guardiola’s attack with Nolito (43%) as our first midfield pick. Having scored twice from the bench at The Bet365 Stadium last weekend, the Spaniard is expected to regain his starting position in the City side and could run riot given West Ham’s injury problems. He is joined in our engine room by last season’s top fantasy scorer Riyad Mahrez (33%). If Leicester are to get their title defence up and running, then a home game against Swansea, who they hit for 7 in 2 matches last term, of which Mahrez scored 4, provides the perfect opportunity.

Nathan Redmond (31%) and Kevin Mirallas (29%) also take their places in our midfield this week. With Redmond playing OOP up front for Claude Puel’s side, and having netted in the season opener against Watford, he’ll be certainly be relishing home comforts once again as Sunderland come to town. Mirallas, meanwhile, also got off the mark last time out against West Brom, and with a mean free kick in his locker, coupled with his proven fantasy pedigree, looks a solid pick as Stoke, who have conceded 5 in 2 games this campaign, roll up to Goodison. Etienne Capoue (8%) completes our squad and takes his place on our bench having scored in each of the opening two gameweeks, with his kind £4.5m price also a consideration.

Other viable options in midfield include a revitalised Eden Hazard, Arsenal’s speedy duo Alexis Sanchez and Theo Walcott, Manchester City pair Kevin de Bruyne and Raheem Sterling, and Chelsea’s Brazilian double act Oscar and Willian, but they all miss out on our recommended XV due to budget and/or squad selection restrictions.

GAMEWEEK SQUAD

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