Before getting stuck into the analysis for Gameweek 2, we begin with a review of how the Bookies’ Advantage squad performed last weekend…

A total of 75 points was a solid start, with captain Mo Salah, Sadio Mane, Andy Robertson and Aaron Wan-Bissaka all producing the goods. Our strike force let us down, although that was a bit of a general trend in Gameweek 1, as did Ryan Sessegnon and David de Gea.

Clean sheet odds

Team Best clean sheet odds Implied chance of a clean sheet Man City 1.5 67% Tottenham 1.95 51% Man Utd 2.15 47% Everton 2.31 43% Liverpool 2.38 42% Burnley 2.45 41% Newcastle 2.65 38% Leicester 2.7 37% Chelsea 2.88 35% Watford 3.05 33% Cardiff City 3.1 32% West Ham 3.1 32% Wolves 4.05 25% Southampton 4.2 24% Bournemouth 4.45 22% Brighton 4.5 22% Arsenal 5.75 17% Crystal Palace 8.4 12% Fulham 11 9% Huddersfield 26 4% CAN YOU SET UP A CASH WINNING TEAM? 💰 COMPETE FOR £3,000 WITH YOUR FANTASY TEAM

⚽ ENTER OUR MOST REWARDING FANTASY TOURNAMENT NOW Manchester City picked up where they left off last season and recorded a comfortable 2-0 win at Arsenal last weekend. They welcome Huddersfield to The Etihad on Sunday, and the bookies give them a 67% chance of keeping their third clean sheet of the season against the Terriers, who lost 3-0 at home to Chelsea in their curtain raiser. After his swashbuckling display at The Emirates, with 2 assists and maximum bonus yielding 15 points, we are backing Benjamin Mendy for more of the same in Gameweek 2.

Ranking second is Tottenham (51%), who host Fulham on Saturday. The Cottagers new-look squad failed to find the net in their opening game against Palace, and another, tougher London derby for Slavisa Jokanovic’s men offers Mauricio Pochettino and co the chance to register their first shutout of the new campaign. One of last season’s defensive stars, Ben Davies, has made the left-back slot at Spurs his own and always offers the potential for attacking returns. He makes our starting XI.

Manchester United (47%) and Everton (43%) complete the top 4 defensive prospects for Gameweek 2. After being denied a clean sheet at the death by Jamie Vardy, United will be looking to get back to their resolute best against a Brighton side that looked toothless at Vicarage Road last Saturday. The fact that Luke Shaw managed to get on the scoresheet against Leicester, along with his £5.0m valuation, sees us plump for his services. Over on Merseyside, Marco Silva’s first home game as Everton boss sees the Toffees entertain Southampton, who blanked in their opener at home to Burnley, so Jordan Pickford takes his place between the sticks for our side.

On the bench, Ben Hamer (4%) is the only £4.0m priced keeper at this stage of the season who may have a chance of featuring, although, it is highly unlikely that we will require his services anyway. Ahead of home matches against Newcastle and Liverpool respectively, bargain pair Lee Peltier (32%) and Aaron Wan-Bissaka (12%) once again make our bench as backup defenders, with their £4.0m valuations important for the overall makeup of our squad.

Goalscorer odds

Player Best anytime goalscorer odds Implied chance of scoring Sergio Aguero 1.46 68% Harry Kane 1.57 64% Gabriel Jesus 1.66 60% Mohamed Salah 1.8 56% Raheem Sterling 1.91 52% Fernando Llorente 2.1 48% Jamie Vardy 2.33 43% Alvaro Morata 2.48 40% Bernardo Silva 2.5 40% Roberto Firmino 2.55 39% Riyad Mahrez 2.6 38% Romelu Lukaku 2.63 38% Marko Arnautovic 2.75 36% Cenk Tosun 2.8 36% Eden Hazard 2.88 35% Sadio Mane 2.88 35% Chris Wood 2.92 34% Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang 2.95 34% Dele Alli 3 33% Kelechi Iheanacho 3.05 33% Christian Eriksen 3.1 32% Callum Wilson 3.2 31% Kevin de Bruyne 3.2 31% Alexis Sanchez 3.3 30% Ashley Barnes 3.3 30% Richarlison 3.4 29% Charlie Austin 3.5 29% Willian 3.5 29% Marcus Rashford 3.55 28% Alexandre Lacazette 3.75 27% Salomon Rondon 3.8 26% James Maddison 3.8 26% Raul Jimenez 4 25% Naby Keita 4 25% Diogo Jota 4 25% Kenneth Zohore 4 25% Pedro 4 25% Felipe Anderson 4 25% Manolo Gabbiadini 4.1 24% Theo Walcott 4.1 24% Joshua King 4.2 24% Bobby Reid 4.2 24% Ayoze Perez 4.2 24% Andriy Yarmolenko 4.25 24% Wilfried Zaha 4.33 23% Glenn Murray 4.33 23% Aleksandar Mitrovic 4.5 22% Christian Benteke 4.5 22% Troy Deeney 4.6 22% Gylfi Sigurdsson 4.75 21% Andre Gray 4.9 20% Paul Pogba 5 20% Kenedy 5.25 19% Helder Costa 5.5 18% Gerard Deulofeu 5.75 17% Pascal Gross 6 17% David Junior Hoilett 6 17% Mohamed Elyounoussi 6.1 16% Matt Ritchie 6.25 16% Henrikh Mkhitaryan 6.4 16% Alireza Jahanbakhsh 6.5 15% Ryan Sessegnon 7 14% Will Hughes 7 14% Ryan Fraser 7 14% Steve Mounie 7.5 13% Andre Schurrle 7.5 13% Luka Milivojevic 7.5 13% Joe Ralls 7.5 13% Johann Berg Gudmundsson 7.5 13% Jack Wilshere 7.5 13% Laurent Depoitre 8 13% Andros Townsend 8 13% Anthony Knockaert 8 13% Stuart Armstrong 8 13% Mesut Ozil 8 13% Aaron Lennon 8 13% Ruben Neves 8.5 12% Tom Cairney 10 10% Alex Pritchard 13 8% Aaron Mooy 14 7%

Sergio Aguero tops the bookies’ attacking rankings for the first time this season (and surely not the last) with a 68% chance of scoring against Huddersfield on Sunday. The diminutive Argentine failed to score against Arsenal, but his Community Shield brace is still fresh in the memory. Regardless, a home game against a Huddersfield side that went down 3-0 to Chelsea last weekend looks extremely profitable.

Home games against favourable opposition see Harry Kane (64%) and Marko Arnautovic (36%) complete our front three for Gameweek 2. Kane, who will be looking to break his much-famed August hoodoo, will host Fulham, whose defense is still gelling and conceded twice against Palace, whilst Arnautovic will entertain a Bournemouth side known for their defensive frailties. The Austrian was on fire during pre-season, netting 5 goals in July.

The bookies also fancy the chances of a host of strikers this weekend; Gabriel Jesus, Fernando Llorente, Jamie Vardy, Alvaro Morata, Roberto Firmino and Romelu Lukaku, but we overlook them due to either a lack of starting security, budget restraints, or both.

In midfield, budget restraints continue to affect our selection, with Mohamed Salah and Raheem Sterling both unaffordable. That sees their cheaper teammates Sadio Mane (35%) and Bernardo Silva (40%) make the cut for our squad. Both players continued their sharp pre-season form in Gameweek 1, with Mane bagging a brace against West Ham and Silva scoring against Arsenal. Respective fixtures away to Crystal Palace and at home to Huddersfield offer the opportunity for more returns, and those concerned that Palace may prove a difficult game for Liverpool should note that Mane scored both home and away against the Eagles last season.

A pair of £6.5m midfielders complete our starting XI: Everton’s Richarlison (29%) and James Maddison (26%) of Leicester. Everton’s big-money summer signing was reunited with Marco Silva to spectacular effect on the opening weekend, scoring both goals in Everton’s 2-2 draw with Wolves. Maddison, meanwhile, looked lively against United for the Foxes and had a monopoly over set pieces to boost his goal and assist potential. Gameweek 2 sees the duo enjoy home games against Southampton and Wolves respectively.

Completing our squad and taking the first spot on our subs bench is Newcastle’s Kenedy (19%). He’ll be looking to get his 2018/19 campaign underway this Saturday at Cardiff, and fantasy managers will be well aware of his potential after he starred as a budget pick for the Magpies in the second half of last season.

Along with the aforementioned Salah and Sterling, the bookies also rate Chelsea duo Eden Hazard and Willian, Tottenham pair Dele Alli and Christian Eriksen, Manchester City’s Riyad Mahrez (and Kevin de Bruyne, who is now injured), and Manchester United’s Alexis Sanchez, but budget and/or squad selection restraints mean we forgo their services for Gameweek 2.

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