Paddy Says – Gameweek 35

While a narrowed field offers welcome respite after the frenzy of Gameweek 34, navigating our way to decisions on transfers and captaincies remains treacherous. Here’s Paddy Power with their weekend odds to attempt to add some clarity to our thinking.

Before we scan their latest odds for Anytime Goalscorer and Clean Sheets, those of you without accounts with our bookmaker partners should be aware of another round of enhanced odds offers available over the weekend.

Top of the Captain Poll and, as we will see, at the summit of Paddy’s odds for an anytime goal, the smart money is on Sergio Aguero to score in the early kick-off. Whilst Paddy’s regular odds are short, if you’re a new customer you can grab a boosted 4/1 on Aguero to score anytime against Stoke at the Etihad.

Today’s treble bet provides odds of 16/1 on wins for Chelsea (at Bournemouth), Liverpool (vs Newcastle) and Southampton (at Aston Villa). Whilst in the FA Cup new customers can get 10/1 on Everton or 7/1 on Man United for this evening’s semi-final.

For tomorrow’s live matches Paddy have enhanced odds of 5/1 on an Arsenal win at Sunderland and also 5/1 on a win for Claudio Ranieri’s Leicester in their crunch home clash with Swansea.

Finally, on Monday night, you can get yourself 4/1 on a Spurs home win over West Brom and bag a £10 on Mauricio Pochettino’s side for the title.

Be sure to check the terms and conditions on all those offers and, of course, we should state that all these specials are only available to those aged 18. If you’re going to wager, always gamble responsibly.

ANYTIME GOALSCORER ODDS – GAMEWEEK 35

Fresh from a four-goal haul over his double Gameweek 34, Sergio Aguero (1.44) is once again ranked as the most likely scorer in this reduced round of fixtures. The former Atletico Madrid marksman netted in his last four starts and is pitted against a Stoke City outfit that have shipped 10 goals in their previous trio of encounters. In light of the Potters’ woeful defensive record of late, Kevin De Bruyne (1.80), Wilfried Bony (1.90) and Kelechi Iheanacho (1.90) also rank Paddy’s top five.

Mirroring the current reckoning in our Captain Poll, Harry Kane (1.57) charts a close second to Aguero. Having scored eight goals in his last six starts, the Lilywhites frontman has only failed to score in four of his previous 13 league appearances, so West Bromwich Albion will do well to prevent him from gracing the scoresheet at White Hart Lane. In acknowledgement of his three goals in two starts, Dele Alli (2.00) has also been valued keenly and, behind De Bruyne, is the top ranked midfielder on show.

Daniel Sturridge (1.72) has quickly found his stride since returning from the treatment room, scoring in four of his last five starts. Although rotation remains an issue with the Reds’ Europa League tie next Thursday, the 10.0-priced forward could easily punish an obliging Newcastle United defence from the bench. Further down the table we also find Roberto Firmino (2.40), perhaps generously priced given that he could even be handed a false nine role – the Brazilian has four goals in his last seven league appearances.

With four goals in his last five league outings, Graziano Pelle (1.90) is enjoying his football again following a familiar mid-season slump. Given that Southampton face a road clash against Aston Villa this weekend, it’s no surprise that the Italian places second for Fantasy Premier League “transfers in” at present. Villa have now gone nine without a clean sheet have shipped six goals over their previous two home matches.

Diego Costa (2.29) made his return from injury against Manchester City last time out, placing him back on our Fantasy radar ahead of Chelsea’s double Gameweek 37 (sun, liv). The Blues’ controversial hitman recorded strong form (eight goals in 10) prior to his hip complaint, which perhaps bodes well for a trip to Bournemouth. The Cherries are without a shut-out in six, conceding 13 goals in that run.

Danny Welbeck, Olivier Giroud and Alexis Sanchez all come in at 2.37 for Arsenal’s journey to Sunderland. Paddy are clearly showing respect to the Black Cats’ renewed diligence, which has seen them concede just four goals in five match-ups. Nonetheless, Arsenal’s scoring record on the road remains impressive, having notched 11 goals in their previous five away trips.

CLEAN SHEET ODDS – GAMEWEEK 35

Spurs (1.66) have registered four clean sheets in their last five matches and collide with a Baggies attack that’s recorded four blanks in five outings, making Mauricio Pochettino’s troops the clear favourites to claim a Gameweek 35 clean sheet.

Manchester City and Southampton (both 1.90) can be backed at the same mark for their respective head-to-heads. The Sky Blues silenced the opposition in four of their previous seven league ties, while Ronald Koeman’s Saints will attempt to repel a Villains attack with just one goal scored in their last six.

Leicester City are pitched at 2.10 for a home encounter against Swansea City. The Foxes recorded clean sheets in seven of their last nine showdowns at the King Power Stadium and clash with a Swans outfit that blanked at Newcastle last time out.

Liverpool (2.50) and Arsenal (2.62) are priced similarly for their tussles with the North East clubs. The Reds shouldn’t underestimate a Newcastle attack that has mustered seven goals in their previous quartet of fixtures, while the Gunners will draw encouragement from Sunderland’s two blanks in three match-ups. The Black Cats do, however, go into this game off the back of an impressive 3-0 win at Norwich, while Arsenal have conceded in three of their last four away from home.