Paddy Says – Gameweek 22

The ‘magic’ of the FA Cup is back to ruin our Fantasy fun from Friday onwards, so this is your last chance to delve into Paddy’s bag of Anytime Goalscorer and Clean Sheet odds of a January weekend.

To sweeten the pill, Paddy’s produced some fantastic enhanced offers for new customers signing up today.

Top billing has to go to the jaw-dropping 16-1 you can get on Spurs beating Man City at the Etihad. Tottenham have conceded a league-best nine goals on their travels and have scored just one goal fewer away (18) than City have managed at home. Throw in Spurs winning 4-0 last time out while City lost by the same scoreline, and 16-1 looks insanely tempting.

At the more sober end of the market come two 5-1 offers – Arsenal to beat Burnley at the Emirates and Chelsea to win at home to Hull.

You can also get 6-1 on Liverpool beating Swansea, while a victory for Man United at Stoke is available at 7-1.

This week’s Acca is cleverly disguised as a double, with a very welcoming 20-1 on offer if United and Spurs both win.

Enhanced winnings are credited in free bets. Be sure to check the terms and conditions that apply on all those offers and, of course, we should state that all these specials are only available to those aged 18 or over. If you’re going to wager, please always gamble responsibly.

ANYTIME GOALSCORER ODDS – GAMEWEEK 22

Assuming that Daniel Sturridge’s 1.72 price is a classic bit of bet-hedging from Paddy – the striker, after all, starts about as regularly as a British-made car in the seventies – the lowest odds for goalscorers this week revolve around Arsenal and Chelsea players.

Diego Costa’s bust-up/Chinese tempter/back injury has made him the Gameweek’s most ditched player, with more than a quarter of a million managers showing him the door. Whether said door turns out to be marked ‘wise move’ or ‘oh God, what have I done?’ will hinge on him being involved or not at home to Hull.

Paddy seems to think he will be, hence his rock bottom 1.61 price, whereas more popular captaincy choices Alexis Sanchez (1.72 and home to Burnley) and Zlatan Ibrahimovic (1.83 and away at Stoke) have been handed slightly more favourable odds.

Eden Hazard splits Sanchez and the Swede in our captaincy poll, and that’s reflected in his 1.80 Paddy price.

Liverpool, meanwhile, entertain a Swansea City side who concede, on average, just over two goals per away match this season. Only two teams can beat that nasty little record, while the Reds are second-only to Arsenal for goals scored at home (23).

The conclusion is inescapable – it’s a matter of when, not if, the Reds will score. More vexing is the who – so Paddy’s wavering between Divock Origi (1.90) and Robert Firmino (2.00), with a 2.37 nod to Phillipe Coutinho for good measure. The Brazilian has been eased back into the fray following injury and is the third most transferred-in player of the Gameweek, even though Liverpool have to host Chelsea, Spurs and Arsenal from Gameweek 23-27.

A safer bet probably involves Romelu Lukaku, who is priced at 2.25 to net against a Crystal Palace side with just the one home clean sheet all season. The Everton man has scored three goals in his last four league starts and only Harry Kane can beat him for new managers this Gameweek.

Longer odds worth checking out include Dele Alli’s 3.75 price to continue his amazing run (seven goals from his last five starts) against the confusion that is Man City’s defence.

CLEAN SHEET ODDS – GAMEWEEK 22

Chelsea have kept six clean sheets in 10 home matches this season, so while new Hull City boss Marco Silva has injected new life into the previously paper Tigers, the odds are still very much on the Blues making it shut-out seven on Sunday.

Fantasy managers agree – Marcos Alonso is the fourth most popular new arrival in FPL squads this week, although a lot of that love is probably for the two goals he banged in at Leicester City.

Like a 17-year-old in a souped-up Saxo, Burnley really shouldn’t be allowed on the road. In nine away matches they’ve banged in a total of three goals. Yep, three. Or eight fewer than Alexis Sanchez has managed, to give it a little more context.

Arsenal have kept just the four clean sheets at home, but two of those have come from their last two matches at the Emirates. The biggest threat could well come from a Sanchez own goal…

Everton are tickling the Fantasy fancy of many managers this Gameweek, with no fewer than six of their players in the top 30 transfer targets. Three of them – Leighton Baines, Mason Holgate and Seamus Coleman are defenders – as the Toffees’ decent schedule over the next few weeks kicks in with a trip to Palace.

Paddy has them at 3.00 to keep Sam Allardyce’s men at bay and make it three clean sheets in a row, and four in five matches. Palace, however, have been blanked only three times at Selhurst Park this season – and just the once since Gameweek 8.