Paddy Says….Pre-Season Enhanced Specials & Gameweek Odds

We’ve decided to roll back a few seasons and start turning to our bookmaker friends at Paddy Power for some last minute guidance ahead of Saturday’s deadline.

Each week we’ll present Paddy’s clean sheet and Anytime Goalscorer odds as another variable to consider as we hurtle towards the 11.45 cut-off.

Before soaking them up, you owe it to yourself to check out Paddy’s pre-season specials before a ball is kicked.

If you’ve yet to register with Paddy and fancy a flutter on the outright Premier League winner, they’re offering a hugely generous 8/1 on Chelsea and 12/1 on Man City amongst others, with a maximum bet of £10. Plus, via this bet, you can qualify for a free £10 weekly bet for the rest of the season. Check out the T&C’s on that one.

Paddy is also dangling enhanced odds on the Premier League top goalscorer, with a maximum bet of £20. This includes Sergio Aguero at a massive 10/1 and both Harry Kane and Wayne Rooney at 40/1.

Finally, there’s also an enhanced treble for Sunday’s matches, with odds 30/1 on the table for wins for Southampton at Newcastle, Arsenal against West Ham and Liverpool at Stoke. There’s a maximum bet of £10 on that one.

Lay down your stake on that little lot, then take in Paddy’s odds for clean sheets and goalscorers over the Gameweek…

Anytime Goalscorer Odds – Gameweek Six

Notwithstanding the question marks over his fitness, Diego Costa (1.72) has been pinpointed as the main man by Paddy in Gameweek 1. Considering that the Blues play host to a Swansea outfit they scored nine past last term, it’s no surprise that Loic Remy, Radamel Falcao and Eden Hazard (all 2.25) also rank highly.

Olivier Giroud had to settle for bench duty in the Community Shield, but that hasn’t deterred Paddy from tipping the Frenchman at 1.80 – the fact that Giroud’s bagged five goals in as many starts against the Hammers certainly strengthens his case for inclusion. In the knowledge that the Gunners won the corresponding fixture 3-0 last season and scored 2.15 goals per home match on average, Theo Walcott (1.90) and Mesut Ozil (2.40) are also handed short odds.

Passed fit by manager Manuel Pellegrini – but unlikely to start due to a lack of match fitness – Sergio Aguero is backed to net at 1.83. Wilfried Bony is poised to spearhead the Sky Blues’ attack if the Argentine marksman misses out, with odds of 2.00 reflecting Paddy’s confidence in the former Swans frontman to hit form.

Pitched in line with Bony at 2.00, Wayne Rooney is favoured to continue his hot streak at Old Trafford, having notched 11 of his 12 goals at home in the previous campaign.

In the mid-priced forward bracket, Romelu Lukaku (2.10) and Christian Benteke (2.37) could serve as key differentials during the opening batch of fixtures, although the former faces a late fitness test on his hamstring. Meanwhile, Bournemouth’s dream start at home to Aston Villa has encouraged 6.3% of Fantasy managers to recruit Cherries hitman Callum Wilson (2.37), with the 0.2%-owned Yann Kermorgant (2.50) earmarked as the second-biggest goal threat for the south coast side.

Clean Sheet Odds – Gameweek Six

Chelsea – who placed joint-first for home shut-outs (11) – sit atop the summit at 1.80. The fact that the Swans ranked 19^th for shots inside the box away from home (100) offers further encouragement for investors in the champions’ pricey rearguard starters.

Arsenal are second favourites to batten down the hatches at 1.90. The north London club’s defence was breached just 14 times at the Emirates, with just three of these arriving in their concluding eight fixtures. Consequently, Laurent Koscielny and Per Metersacker currently sit sixth and seventh, respectively, in the Fantasy Premier League defender ownership leaderboard.

Paddy fancy United’s chances of silencing Harry Kane at 2.29, even without the influential presence of David De Gea between the sticks. City, meanwhile, can be backed at the same price to rebuff West Brom’s new-look forward line, despite the likely absence of Argentinian duo Pablo Zabaleta and Martin Demichelis in the starting XI.

Further down the list, Leicester City are backed at 2.37 to continue where they left off last term, when they racked up five clean sheets in their final seven fixtures. Priced a little longer at 2.40, Everton’s settled back four could make life tough for Watford, who’ve undergone an extensive makeover in the close season, bringing in 11 new faces.

Bournemouth (2.50) and Norwich City (2.87) are tipped for a smooth transition to the top tier. The Cherries conceded the fewest goals among the newly promoted outfits and enjoy an excellent run of fixtures up to a Gameweek 9 clash against Manchester City. As for the Canaries, they’ll need to display impressive diligence to shield against an Eagles side that ranked sixth for goals scored (27) after Alan Pardew’s appointment.

Finally, of course, we should state that all these offers are only available to those aged 18 and over and are subject to Paddy Power’s terms and conditions on the bets. Also, if you’re going to wager, always gamble responsibly.