A crack team of baby pandas will be used to predict World Cup scores, according to reports, in a Chinese answer to deceased soccer soothsayer Paul the Octopus.

The cuddly creatures will predict match winners by picking food from a choice of baskets and by climbing trees at the country's foremost panda breeding base in Sichuan province, Xinhua News Agency said on Monday.

China hopes the bears will be odds-on to match the worldwide fame achieved by Paul, the German octopus that correctly predicted the results of an impressive string of games at the 2010 World Cup using its tentacles.