Paddy Says – Gameweek 14

With the luxury of several hours to contemplate our Saturday transfers, we’ve longer than usual to assess Paddy Power’s reckoning ahead of Gameweek 14.

Before we peruse Paddy’s latest odds for Anytime Scorer and Clean Sheets, those of you who fancy indulging in a flutter should get up to speed with the latest range of specials lined up for the weekend.

Firstly, Saturday’s big top of the table clash at the King Power comes packaged with a Paddy Power offer for new customers that presents odds of 7/1 on a United win, together with the chance to get a £10 free bet voucher each week when you make a weekly £10 wager.

On Sunday, Paddy have lined up a European acca, with big odds of 16/1 on wins for Arsenal (at Norwich), Liverpool (vs Swansea), Juventus (at Palermo) and Borussia Dortmund (vs VFB Stuttgart. While if you fancy sticking to bets on home soil, you can get a massive 8/1 on Harry Kane to score anytime against Chelsea in the noon kick-off at the Lane.

ANYTIME GOALSCORER ODDS – GAMEWEEK 14

Paddy are taking no chances with the fit-again Sergio Aguero (1.66), again handing the City striker the shortest odds ahead of a home tie against Southampton. Although the 13.1-priced forward is unlikely to be afforded much beyond 60 minutes in light of his run-out in midweek, that’s ample time for the league’s premier marksman to exert his influence. Despite the fact that Saints boast the joint-best road defence in the league (four goals conceded), Kevin De Bruyne (2.10), Wilfried Bony (2.10) and Kelechi Iheanacho (2.23) also rank in the top eight. De Bruyne is therefore the most fancied midfield goalscoring option according to Paddy.

In all likelihood, Liverpool will line-up without a recognised striker when they play host to Swansea City on Sunday, but Paddy have still elected to price Daniel Sturbridge (1.83), Christian Benteke (1.83) and Divock Origi (2.40) as a response to their dominant attacking display at the Etihad last time out. Roberto Firming seems the most likely to lead the Pool attack against Swansea – the Brazilian is placed at 2.62 in Paddy’s reckoning, third behind De Bruyne and Arsenal’s Alexis Sanchez when it comes to the midfield goalscoring rankings.

Sanchez (1.90) has drawn four successive blanks in the league but reaffirmed his explosive potential with a brace for Arsenal in their midweek Champions League clash. The favourable nature of the Gunners’ trip to Norwich City also finds Olivier Giroud – who’s netted in four of the last five Gameweeks – backed at 2.10.

With four goals in his previous three outings, Romelu Lukaku looks under-priced at 2.37. The Belgian frontman will certainly fancy his chances against a Bournemouth rearguard that charts top for goals conceded (27) across the entire campaign.

Elsewhere, Jamie Vardy’s odds of 2.70 are of interest – clearly Paddy feels that Man United’s steely rearguard will restrict the Leicester striker’s bid to extend his goalscoring run to a record-breaking 11 matches. Similarly, despite scoring 7 goals in his last four league outings, Harry Kane is currently priced out at 2.62, with City’s Raheem Sterling more fancied to find the net against Southampton than the Spurs striker in his clash with Chelsea. This is somewhat surprising given Kane’s outstanding record in London derbies: he has notched 12 goals in 14 derby matches and fired a brace against Chelsea when the two sides met at the Lane last season.

CLEAN SHEET ODDS – GAMEWEEK 14

Pitted against a Swans outfit that failed to score in three of their last five outings, Liverpool (2.00) are the deemed the favourites to bag a clean sheet in the Gameweek. Arguably, the Reds are a surprise entry at the summit of this table, given that they’ve carded just a single shut-out at home and in the last 10 Gameweeks.

Crystal Palace and Man City are both tipped at 2.40 ahead of their respective home match-ups. The Eagles face off against a Newcastle United side that’s scored one goal in four outings, while the Sky Blues lock horns with a Saints outfit that lacked bite in their 1-0 defeat at Stoke. Given City’s capitulation against Liverpool and the fact that they are again without their injured skipper Vincent Kompany, Paddy’s odds look a little on the skinny side.

Elsewhere, West Ham United (2.50) will attempt to rebuff the advances of West Bromwich Albion – who place bottom for attempts (118) and shots inside the box (69) – when they roll up at the Boeyln Ground. Meanwhile, Norwich City rank second-bottom for goal attempts (34) over the last four Gameweeks, which bodes well for Arsenal’s (2.60) clean-sheet prospects at Carrow Road.

Stoke City (2.70) and Manchester United (2.87) round off our assessment. The Potters could be the pick of the bunch in the lead up to their road clash against Sunderland, considering they registered five clean sheets in the last six Gameweeks. The Red Devils have surrendered just one goal since Gameweek 9 but will do well to silence a Leicester City team that’s scored in every fixture so far this term.