For the second consecutive week, the Bookies’ Advantage squad scored 36 points, slightly below the average (42) in another generally low-scoring round.

Our only returns of note were a Laurent Koscielny clean sheet and 2 bonus points, and assists from Roberto Firmino and Romelu Lukaku, whilst captain Sergio Aguero once again disappointed. With the fixtures looking a little more clear cut this weekend, read on as we analyse the clean sheet and anytime goalscorer odds ahead of the tenth round of Premier League fixtures…

Defensive odds

Team Clean sheet odds Chance of a clean sheet Man Utd 64% Man City 2.1 48% Arsenal 2.25 44% Tottenham 43% Watford 41% Liverpool 37% Everton 2.8 36% Stoke 2.8 36% Middlesbrough 34% Chelsea 3.1 32% Bournemouth 3.3 30% Southampton 4.25 24% Swansea 4.75 21% Hull 4.8 21% West Ham 6 17% Leicester 6 17% Crystal Palace 6.1 16% West Brom 7.9 13% Sunderland 9.1 11% Burnley 12 8%

A home fixture against Burnley sees Manchester United top the bookies’ defensive rankings with a 64% chance of keeping a clean sheet on Saturday. The Red Devils have only conceded 4 goals in 4 home league games this season, whilst their opponents have scored just once in 3 road games. With corner kick duties in his locker and 2 assists to date, Daley Blind offers potential at both ends of the pitch and makes our starting XI.

United’s fierce rivals Manchester City rank second with a 48% chance of shutting out West Brom. Despite only keeping 1 clean sheet so far this campaign, the Citizens have only conceded 5 goals on the road, the joint-third best away defence in the league. Claudio Bravo has already saved a penalty this term, so if Pep Guardiola’s men don’t manage to keep a clean sheet there are other avenues for potential points. The Chilean starts in goal for our squad.

North London duo Arsenal (44%) and Tottenham (43%) are the third and fourth best defensive prospects for the weekend according to the bookies, with games away to Sunderland and at home to Leicester respectively offering good chances of clean sheets. The Gunners have only conceded twice away from home (the best away defence in the division) and Sunderland have the most goal-shy attack in the league (6 goals scored in 9 games), whilst Spurs have only conceded once in 4 home games (the best home defence in the league) and opponents Leicester have scored just 3 times in 4 away fixtures. As a result, Laurent Koscielny (2 goals) continues his run in our side, and is joined by Kyle Walker (2 assists). The duo are currently the top scoring defenders in FPL this season.

To fill the remainder of our defensive slots, we once again opt for Stoke’s budget friendly Lee Grant (£4.0m – 36%), with Watford’s Jose Holebas (£4.5m – 41%) and Swansea’s Stephen Kingsley (£4.0m – 21%) taking the second and third spots on our bench respectively.

Before moving onto our analysis of the bookmakers attacking odds, a quick look at the bottom rungs of the clean sheet ladder tells us that defensive assets from West Brom (13% – home to Man City), Sunderland (11% – home to Arsenal) and Burnley (8% – away to Man United) should be avoided this weekend.

Attacking odds

Player Goalscorer odds Chance of scoring Zlatan Ibrahimovic 1.85 54% Sergio Aguero 2 50% Romelu Lukaku 2.05 49% Alexis Sanchez 2.15 47% Marcus Rashford 2.2 45% Theo Walcott 2.3 43% Daniel Sturridge 43% Kelechi Iheanacho 2.37 42% Troy Deeney 2.38 42% Odion Ighalo 2.4 42% Diego Costa 2.5 40% Wayne Rooney 2.55 39% Wilfried Bony 2.7 37% Roberto Firmino 2.75 36% Vincent Janssen 2.75 36% Sadio Mane 2.75 36% Son Heung-Min 2.8 36% Michy Batshuayi 2.88 35% Philippe Coutinho 2.95 34% Charlie Austin 3 33% Alvaro Negredo 3.05 33% Kevin Mirallas 3.1 32% Yannick Bolasie 3.1 32% Alex Iwobi 3.15 32% Christian Benteke 3.2 31% Marko Arnautovic 3.2 31% Erik Lamela 3.2 31% Xherdan Shaqiri 3.2 31% Raheem Sterling 3.25 31% Callum Wilson 3.25 31% Eden Hazard 3.25 31% Christian Eriksen 3.4 29% Ross Barkley 3.55 28% Borja Baston 3.6 28% Abel Hernandez 3.6 28% Gerard Deulofeu 3.6 28% Cristhian Stuani 3.6 28% Simone Zaza 3.75 27% Mesut Ozil 3.75 27% Jermain Defoe 3.85 26% Jamie Vardy 3.9 26% Islam Slimani 3.9 26% Joshua King 4 25% Santiago Cazorla 4 25% Dimitri Payet 4.1 24% David Silva 4.1 24% Salomon Rondon 4.3 23% Gylfi Sigurdsson 4.33 23% Dusan Tadic 4.35 23% Michail Antonio 4.5 22% Nathan Redmond 4.5 22% Etienne Capoue 4.5 22% Gaston Ramirez 4.5 22% Willian 4.9 20% Riyad Mahrez 5 20% Duncan Watmore 5.2 19% Junior Stanislas 5.25 19% Nacer Chadli 5.25 19% James Milner 5.5 18% Roberto Pereyra 5.5 18% Robert Snodgrass 6 17% Andros Townsend 6.1 16% Wilfried Zaha 6.1 16% Sam Vokes 7.5 13% Joe Allen 7.5 13%

Ahead of a home game against Burnley, Zlatan Ibrahimovic tops the bookies’ anytime goalscorer rankings for the first time this season, with a 54% chance of finding the net. Despite not scoring in his last 5 Premier League outings, the enigmatic Swede has still registered 4 goals in 9 appearances and will certainly fancy his chances against Sean Dyche’s outfit, who have conceded 3 goals in each of their 3 away games so far.

Joining Ibrahimovic up front in our starting XI for Gameweek 10 are Everton’s Belgian striker Romelu Lukaku (49%) and Watford’s warhorse Troy Deeney (42%). Big Rom has been on fire of late, bagging 6 goals and 2 assists in his last 6 league appearances and welcomes West Ham, the league’s second leakiest defence (17 conceded), to Goodison Park on Sunday. Deeney, meanwhile, faces an even more generous defence in the shape of Hull, who have conceded 22 goals this term. The Hornets’ attacker has hit 3 goals in his last 6 appearances.

Some viable options in attack that we have chosen to overlook are Sergio Aguero (50%), Marcus Rashford (45%), Daniel Sturridge (43%) and Kelechi Iheanacho (42%). We forgo Aguero for budget reasons – giving up an 8% goalscoring chance (when swapped with Troy Deeney) allows us an extra £6m to spend on the rest of our squad – whilst we are unwilling to double up on United’s attack with Rashford. Sturridge and Iheanacho do not offer much in the way of starting security and as such are not considered for our squad.

For the second week running, we opt against electing the services of Alexis Sanchez (47%) against Sunderland, who have the joint-third worst defence in the division (16 conceded), because of the emergence of Theo Walcott (43%). The English speedster has been in red hot form for the Gunners, notching 8 times in 14 appearances in all competitions, including 3 in his last 3 outings. At a saving of £3.5m versus his teammate, Walcott provides great value and allows us to select a stronger squad overall.

Some of the benefit of opting against Aguero and Sanchez is seen in our midfield, as we are able to double up on Liverpool’s prime attacking assets. Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane (both 36%) make our starting XI. 8 league appearances have yielded 3 goals and 3 assists for the Brazilian forward this season, whilst his Senegalese compatriot has struck 4 times and assisted twice in the same number of games. A trip to South London, with Crystal Palace yet to keep a clean sheet this campaign, certainly holds promise.

Heung-Min Son (36%) completes our starting XI. Tottenham’s South Korean attacker, on the back of 4 goals and 2 assists in 5 Premier League starts, welcomes champions Leicester to White Hart Lane on Saturday, with the Foxes currently in possession of the worst away defence in the league, conceding 13 goals in just 4 games. Etienne Capoue (22%) completes our squad and takes the first spot on our bench courtesy of his £4.5m price tag. A home encounter against a Hull side in freefall gives him the perfect chance to revive his early season form.

Team of the week