Swansea made history last week, as Scott Sinclair blasted from the spot a goal that marked the first scored in the Premier League outside of England. It’s also befitting that his conversion brought our first win in the Fantasy Flutter.
Each week we take a crisp ten sheet to our friends at Paddy Power as they whip up special markets, with prices aligned to Fantasy managers’ thinking. We may not be ready to retire to Tahiti quite yet off the back of Sinclair’s winnings, but, at the same time, we have our tails up going into this weekend’s offerings from our bookie buddies.
And tasty offerings they are, with Ryan Taylor and Yohan Cabaye priced up to continue Newcastle’s impressive start to the season against Blackburn, joined by Chelsea new boy Juan Mata at home to Swansea and the reborn Shaun Wright-Phillips at home to Villa. Read on to find out how the markets shape up this week…
Last gameweek saw perhaps one of the most ridiculous games of football the Premier League has seen to in quite some time. Arsenal scored five goals to Blackburn’s two, yet lost the game four-three. Credit is certainly due to Junior Hoilett and Yakubu, who turned in exceptional performances for Rovers, but the limelight was stolen by Arsenal’s shoddy defending. Are Blackburn then a side on the up? Or were they just in the right place at the right time?
Our first two bets rest squarely on the answer to this question, with Rovers at St James’ Park on Saturday. Newcastle’s Ryan Taylor has only netted once this year, with a curling right footed curler from outside the box in Tyne and Wear derby. Paddy are offering 12/1 to replicate that strike and score from a free-kick, and with Blackburn conceding three even when they win, it’s an easy £1 stake for us.
Next up is Yohan Cabeye – an unknown prospect for a good deal of Fantasy managers, the Frenchman has been unfortunate not to have registered more strongly on our Fantasy radars so far. Growing performances, highlighted in Sir Paulos’ recent Watchlist article, and a strong scoring record in France, suggest that Cabaye could be close to opening his account. Paddy have handed us some tempting odds for midfielder to score from outside the box and to score and have an assist, but Cabeye to notch anytime at 4/1 is a must for us with a £2 stake.
Shaun Wright-Phillips has spent the majority of the last two seasons gathering cobwebs on the Man City bench. In only two games he has not only blown those cobwebs away, but rekindled some of the quality he displayed in his first City, many moons ago. His pace and goal threat have been in evidence and clearly guaranteed starts at QPR have given his confidence a massive boost. Aston Villa’s ageing defence could struggle to keep up with his tireless energy and Paddy are offering 14/1 to score a goal and assist, which deserves £2. In fact, we’re so confident in Wright-Phillips this week, we’re going to place a further £3 on him to score anytime at 100/30.
We have come now full circle to our aforementioned history makers Swansea City, or at least Juan Mata’s potential in opposition. Although the Swans have only netted three this season, they have looked pretty tight at the back, battling to two nil-nil draws during their opening four game goal drought. However they have looked consistently weak when they’ve had to cross the misty Severn bridge and play on English soil. Juan Mata is set to take advantage of that, and with the likes of Daniel Sturridge and Fernando Torres hovering with intent, an assist for the Spaniard also seems a worth prospect. Paddy’s market ‘Juan Mata to score and assist’ at 11/2 seems worth a punt for our final couple of quid.
Superstars Money Back Special!
Paddy’s relentless quest to refund our money continues this week with a “Superstars Special”. If Rooney, Aguero, Ronaldo or Messi scores two or more goals in their games, Paddy Power will refund all losing 1st /last goalscorer, correct score and scorecast singles on that match.
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If you’re new to this betting lark and new to Paddy Power then you can take up any of these odds and offers and get yourself a bonus. You can sign up via this site and get a free £20 when you register and bet a tenner.
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. Also, if you’re going to bet, always gamble responsibly.
