With the Pre-match Preamble making a return last weekend, we’ve started plundering the archives for other old heads to bolster the usual weekly coverage.
While our friends at Paddy Power have long been fuelling our regular Fantasy Flutters, it’s been a while since we turned to their markets to help guide our decision-making. It’s time to bring back the Paddy Says articles then, as we pull apart their latest odds and feed them into our thoughts with the gameweek deadline drawing near.
Clean Sheet Odds
| Team | Odds | Team | Odds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Man City | 1.83 | Liverpool | 2.5 |
| Tottenham | 2 | Chelsea | 2.7 |
| Everton | 2.2 | QPR | 2.87 |
| Man United | 2.29 | Blackburn | 2.87 |
| Arsenal | 2.37 | Wolves | 3.0 |
Paddy’s clean sheet odds have both City and Tottenham as clear favourites for shut-outs against Bolton and Norwich respectively. It’s hard to argue, although Fantasy managers will be wary investing in the Spurs defence – Kyle Walker’s potent attacking intent looks tempting, however.
Everton’s odds are of particular interest, ranking above both United at Villa and Arsenal at Wigan – offering further food for thought for those considering the hefty outlay on Leighton Baines. Clearly the bookies aren’t confident in Stoke breaking through the Toffees rearguard, with Everton tipped for back-to-back cleanies.
Team Goals Odds
| Team | 1+ Goals | 3+ Goals |
|---|---|---|
| Man City | 1.02 | 1.72 |
| Tottenham | 1.03 | 2.0 |
| Arsenal | 1.06 | 2.75 |
| Man United | 1.11 | 3.5 |
| Chelsea | 1.16 | 4.33 |
| Blackburn | 1.16 | 4.5 |
| QPR | 1.2 | 5 |
| Wolves | 1.22 | 5.5 |
| Liverpool | 1.22 | 5.5 |
When it comes to goals, clearly both City and Tottenham are hot favourites for big returns- City’s odds for three or more goals are half that of United at Villa. Clearly, Paddy compound the view that we need coverage of both the City and Spurs attacks going into the gameweek.
Arsenal are also well fancied for decent returns at Wigan but beyond those three, Paddy have less confidence in the likes of United, Chelsea and particularly Liverpool. Indeed, those holding Luis Suarez and considering the likes of Charlie Adam will note that Paddy currently rates both Blackburn and QPR as more likely to score this weekend.
Anytime Goalscorer
| Forwards | Midfielders | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Odds | Player | Odds |
| Aguero | 1.44 | Van der Vaart | 1.72 |
| Dzeko | 1.44 | Silva | 2.1 |
| Balotelli | 1.53 | Bale | 2.4 |
| Van Persie | 1.57 | Walcott | 2.87 |
| Adebayor | 1.57 | Cahill | 3.0 |
| Defoe | 1.57 | Formica | 3.1 |
| Rooney | 2.1 | Sinclair | 3.25 |
| Hernandez | 2.29 | Ramsey | 3.25 |
| Suarez | 2.4 | Young | 3.5 |
| Saha | 2.4 | Nani | 3.5 |
| Yakubu | 2.7 | Dempsey | 3.5 |
| Fletcher | 2.75 | Mata | 3.6 |
| Sturridge | 2.87 | Lampard | 3.6 |
| Helguson | 2.87 | Osman | 3.6 |
| Bent | 3.0 | O’Hara | 3.75 |
| Bellamy | 3.1 | Sessegnon | 3.75 |
| Bendtner | 3.1 | Adam | 3.75 |
| Ba | 3.1 | Wright-Phillips | 3.75 |
Not surprisingly, City’s attacking talent dominates the “Anytime Goalscorer” market. Sergio Ageuro, along with fellow strikers Edin Dzeko and Mario Balotelli all top Paddy’s odds, with Arsenal’s Robin Van Persie their nearest rival.
The Gunners skipper has identical odds to Emmanuel Adebayor (1.57), with Jermain Defoe completing the trio chasing the City strikers. Defoe’s start is greatly depending on the fitness of Rafael Van der Vaart and it’s worth noting that the Dutchman ranks next in Paddy’s odds – at 1.72, he edges out City’s David Silva (2.1) as the most fancied midfielder to score this weekend.
Again, Paddy gives Luis Suarez owners some food for thought – at 2.4 for an anytime goal, Paddy feel that both Wayne Rooney and Javier Hernandez are more likely to notch at Villa Park. Suarez also shares his odds with Louis Saha of Everton, facing up to Stoke, and Gareth Bale, who, at 2.4, is well backed to continue his run of form with a goal against Bolton.
Demba Ba’s odds look significant, particularly given that he has returned Fantasy points in seven of his last eight matches. Paddy don’t rate his chances of notching against the Chelsea defence too highly. With odds of 3.1 on an anytime goal, Ba is rated below the likes of Yakubu against Swansea, Heidar Helguson against West Brom and certainly Louis Saha, who has odds of 2.4 to score against Stoke.
Paddy’s goalscoring midfield selection this weekend is headed up by Van der Vaart and Silva as we’ve mentioned. Bale comes in next at 2.4, with Theo Walcott at 2.87, Tim Cahill at 3, Scott Sinclair and Aaron Ramsey at 3.25, Nani at 3.5 and the Chelsea pairing of Frank Lampard and Juan Mata at 3.6. Interestingly, Paddy appears to favour Blackburn’s Mauro Formica to get in on the action – he’s more fancied that the United and Chelsea midfield, with current odds of 3.1 to score for Rovers against the visiting Swans.
Fantasy Football Scout Specials
Our Fantasy Flutter markets are already live over at Paddy Power. You can get a sneak preview of our selection of Scout Pick related markets right here. These include markets on Ryan Taylor, Micah Richards, Emmanuel Adebayor, Jamie O’Hara, Morten Gamst Pedersen and Yakubu. We’ll bring you more on these in our Flutter tomorrow evening.
Paddy’s December Madness!
Paddy are offering punters a special each day throughout December, starting with tonight’s Europa League tie between Stoke and Dynamo Kiev. If England and Ireland are drawn together in the same Euro 2012 group, Paddy will refund all first/last goalscorer, Correct Score and Scorecast singles on the match.
Register and Bet £10 And Get £20 Free
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 an account 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.
