Fantasy Premier League Gameweek 8: Betting Tips and Insight

Fantasy Premier League is one of the biggest football games on the planet, but it can also be a great way to bet, and vice versa. So, we wanted to take a look at some fixtures and also rankings.

Below, you can find a preview of the weekend's fixtures, as well as the players 'most likely' to score, assist and make saves.

Fixture Ranking

It's best to start with the fixtures, and this weekend's are as follows:

• Nottingham Forest vs Chelsea
• Sunderland vs Wolverhampton Wanderers
• Burnley vs Leeds United
• Crystal Palace vs Bournemouth
• Brighton and Hove Albion vs Newcastle United
• Manchester City vs Everton
• Fulham vs Arsenal
• Tottenham Hotspur vs Aston Villa
• Liverpool vs Manchester United
• West Ham United vs Brentford

For what it is worth, we have also got our Super Six predictions ready, if you would like some further insight into the games. However, this is going to be solely based on statistics, rather than personal predictions, really.

From the Official Fantasy Premier League rankings, the following teams have the easiest fixtures:

• Brentford (vs. West Ham United, Away) - 2
• Burnley (vs. Leeds United, Home) - 2
• Leeds United (vs. Burnley, Away) - 2
• Manchester City (vs. Everton, Home) - 2
• Sunderland (vs Wolverhampton Wanderers) - 2
• Wolverhampton Wanderers (vs Sunderland) - 2

Using the odds from the bookmakers, we can find out the 'implied probability' of different results too, so according to the bookies, we have the following 'most likely' results:

• Manchester City to beat Everton - 2/5 (71.43% implied probability)
• Arsenal to beat Fulham - 4/7 (63.64% implied probability)
• Liverpool to beat Manchester United (61.90% implied probability)
• Chelsea to beat Nottingham Forest (51.28% implied probability)
• Tottenham Hotspur to beat Aston Villa (46.51% implied probability)

Outcome

The Manchester City game is the clear standout this weekend, and they are in good stead to beat Everton. However, I would be slightly nervous about the Blues' chances of just setting up shop and making life difficult. City should win, but I don't think it will be simple.

Arsenal then follow, and the fact that the game is away makes me a little nervous. Fulham also will not roll over in this fixture. However, if the Gunners are to be title contendors this season, this is a fixture they cannot drop points in.

I'd steer clear of Liverpool's game against Manchester United; whilst they have a strong record at home, I wouldn't be 100% confident of their chances, not at these odds, anyway. I'd also be keeping away from the Sunderland vs. Wolves game and Burnley vs. Leeds.

The odds, in fairness, are alright, though.

Betting recommendations: Manchester City to BEAT Everton, Arsenal to BEAT Fulham

FPL Clubs to target: ARS, MCI

Clean Sheet Rankings

Whilst a lot of this section is probably similar to the actual fixture rankings, here we're going to be looking at the clubs most likely to keep Clean Sheets. As you would expect, many of the 'easier' fixtures also have lower Clean Sheet Odds.

So, taking the outcome from 'Exact' goals from all 10 Premier League games this weekend, we have found the highest and lowest odds.

The teams most likely to keep a clean sheet this weekend, as you would expect, are Manchester City and Arsenal, and their odds are just above evens, which is a bit of a surprise. Both have a 47.62% chance of a clean sheet, according to the bookies.

Following that duo, Sunderland, surprisingly, have a 38.10% chance of a clean sheet against Wolves, which is really intriguing. I certainly would not have expected them to be in that position.

Leeds United, Chelsea, Crystal Palace, Tottenham Hotspur and Wolverhampton Wanderers all then follow with odds of 2/1. In other words, it seems that the chance of a few clean sheets this week are slim...

At the other end of the spectrum, Manchester United are 7/1 to keep Liverpool at bay, with just a 12.50% chance of a clean sheet. Sitting above them, Everton have just a 14.29% chance.

Outcome

I was a little shocked to see the top two sitting above Evens, to be honest, and I can't really decide if either are really backable. However, if I had to pick one, it'd be Arsenal against Fulham, but only slightly.

Whilst they have a home advantage, I don't know if I like Manchester City at the price which they are, as well. Everton scare me on the counter, and even without Jack Grealish, they could scare the Citizens.

I'd be steering clear of most of the other favourites for a clean sheet - if we can call them that, given the odds. However, I don't think looking at a Chelsea clean sheet is a bad idea, to be really honest. Even then, though, I'm not rushing to get a bet on them...

FPL Clubs to target: ARS

Scorer and Assist Bets

It is probably right for this bit to come last, simply based on the fact that we can take the odds from the results and also the list of Clean Sheet odds. So, we're going to target those teams that are seemingly a little more vulnerable.

However, this is a strange week for the odds, with me actually quite intrigued by 18 of the 20 teams' odds. So, we'll start at the top, with the team's expectancy for a clean sheet following:

Sunderland Clean Sheet - 38.10% (13/8)

Leeds United Clean Sheet - 37.04% (17/10)

Chelsea Clean Sheet - 33.33% (2/1)

Crystal Palace Clean Sheet - 33.33% (2/1)

Tottenham Hotspur Clean Sheet - 33.33% (2/1)

Wolverhampton Wanderers Clean Sheet - 33.33% (2/1)

Liverpool Clean Sheet - 30.77% - (9/4)

Burnley Clean Sheet - 29.41% (12/5)

West Ham United Clean Sheet - 28.57% (5/2)

Brighton and Hove Albion Clean Sheet - 27.78% (13/5)

Newcastle United Clean Sheet - 27.78% (13/5)

Brentford Clean Sheet - 26.32% (14/5)

Bournemouth Clean Sheet - 25% (3/1)

Aston Villa Clean Sheet - 22.22% (7/2)

Nottingham Forest Clean Sheet - 20% (4/1)

Fulham Clean Sheet - 17.24% (24/5)

Everton Clean Sheet - 14.29% (6/1)

Manchester United Clean Sheet - 12.50% (7/1)

From this, we can see that there is an 87.5% chance that Liverpool score vs. Manchester United, whilst Wolves have a 61.9% chance of scoring against Sunderland. In other words, there are several fixtures to target.

After going through the odds of each player, though, here are the most likely 10 players to score or assist this weekend.

1. Erling Haaland (MCI) vs. Everton – 66.67% (1/2)
2. Mo Salah (LIV) vs. Manchester United - 65.22% (8/15)
3. Omar Marmoush (MCI) vs. Everton - 57.89% (8/11)
4. Jean Philippe Mateta (CRY) vs. Bournemouth - 54.55% (5/6)
5. Phil Foden (MCI) vs. Everton - 52.38% (10/11)
6. Viktor Gyokeres (ARS) vs. Fulham - 52.38% (10/11)
7. Bukayo Saka (ARS) vs. Fulham - 52.38% (10/11)
8. Joao Pedro (CHE) vs. Nottingham Forest - 50% (1/1)
9. Alexander Isak (LIV) vs. Manchester United - 50% (1/1)
10. Hugo Ekitike (LIV) vs. Manchester United - 50% (1/1)

Outcome

Backing any of the Manchester City attackers to contribute looks to be a decent bet, at a certain point. In fairness, you'll get nicer odds on Haaland to score, without the chance of him assisting. However, Foden's odds, for example, look decent.

I really like the look of both Gyokeres' and Saka's odds to contribute this weekend, and the fact that they are near enough to Evens could make a nice bet, indeed. Whilst Isak and Ekitike's odds are rather nice too.

In terms of players not making it into the top 10, there are a few ideas that I like. Antoine Semenyo at 8/5 stands out again. Anthony Gordon's odds look alright at 7/4, as do Nick Woltemade's at 5/4. Jarrod Bowen at 6/5 also looks rather nice.

FPL PLAYERS to target: Any MCI attacker, Any LIV attacker, Gyokeres, Saka

FPL PLAYERS to avoid: MNU, EVE, FUL

For those looking for the complete list of odds for the games, clean sheets, and contributions, it can be seen below.