It was another exciting weekend of Premier League action as the heat went up a notch at the top of the table with Liverpool maintaining their impressive unbeaten record, beating Manchester United 3-1 at Anfield, whilst United’s rivals, Manchester City, kept up their defence of their championship with a 3-1 win over Everton. Elsewhere, the top four seems to be taking shape as Tottenham and Chelsea drifted away from Arsenal, who suffered defeat for the first time since August, losing 3-2 at Southampton. There’re more interesting ties to look forward to this weekend, and with fixtures looming thick and fast, we could be in for a few more upsets.
Friday 21 December
5/1 Wolves | Draw 31/10 | Liverpool 11/20 (22:00)
Wolves claimed their third successive victory in the league when they put Bournemouth to the sword, claiming a 2-0 win over the Cherries. That result took Wolves up to seventh on the table, just a point behind Manchester United. Liverpool made it six Premier League wins in a row with their 3-1 triumph over the Red Devils. That also heated things up at the summit, with Jurgen Klopp’s men desperate to be leading the pack by Christmas. Wolves, however, have a brilliant record against the big guns thus far, drawing against United, Arsenal, Manchester City and beating Chelsea. My money is on Wolves to end the Reds’ unbeaten run at 5/1!
Saturday 22 December
2/9 Arsenal | 11/2 | Burnley 11/1 (14:30)
Arsenal’s 22-game unbeaten run across all competitions came to an abrupt end as they were left with a bitter taste in their mouths at St. Mary’s Stadium, losing 3-2 at Southampton, a team that they have had little joy over in recent years. The Gunners now face a Burnley side who gave a decent account of themselves at Wembley, losing 1-0 to Tottenham. Arsenal are now three points adrift of the top four with Unai Emery seeking a much-needed response from his men. Back the Gunners on the (-1) Handicap here at 11/20.
2/1 Huddersfield | 21/10 | Southampton 15/10 (17:00)
Huddersfield lost their fourth consecutive match in the league last weekend when they went down 1-0 at home to Newcastle. The Terriers have also scored 
just three goals at their home turf – the least in the top flight. After winning his first home game in charge of Southampton, Ralph Hasenhuttl’s Saint’s will be brimming with confidence, with the visitors heading into the new gameweek outside of the relegation zone. Personally, it would come as a big shock if Southampton are to be relegated under Hasenhuttl. His style of play has all the makings of a top-flight outfit and they should fancy their chances against a struggling Huddersfield side. Back the away win here at a valuable 15/10.
2/13 Manchester City | 7/1 | Crystal Palace 16/1 (17:00)
Manchester City, who will be looking to make it 10 wins on the bounce at home, the only team with a 100 percent record at their ground so far, welcome Crystal Palace to the Etihad Stadium. Pep Guardiola will be glad to welcome back Sergio Aguero, despite Gabriel Jesus netting a brace in the Argentine’s absence last weekend. City also welcomed back Kevin De Bruyne, while Raheem Sterling is expected to make his way back into the line-up. Crystal Palace come off the back of a remarkable win at home over Leicester City, but know that they’ll need to be at their majestic best to get a result against Man City – like they did last season when these sides cancelled each other out. This time around, it should be relatively comfortable for City – back them to Win By Three Or More Goals at even money.
7/20 Chelsea | 17/4 | Leicester City 8/1 (17:00)
Chelsea will be hoping to keep their unbeaten home record intact when they host Leicester City at Stamford Bridge. The Blues have won six of their nine home outings, including that impressive 2-0 victory over Manchester City in their last game at the Bridge. The Foxes head into this one winless in three matches, losing back-to-back encounters, which has seen Claude Puel’s men drop down to the bottom half of the table. Eden Hazard has been involved in 17 goals this season, more than any other player in the league, so expect the Belgian to be in the thick of things this Saturday. For value, back Chelsea to Win By Two Goals at 3/1.
19/20 Newcastle | 51/20 | Fulham 28/10 (17:00)
After a run of three matches without a win, Newcastle United finally returned to winning ways with a commendable 1-0 victory away to Huddersfield. They now welcome a Fulham side rooted to the foot of the table, who are also winless in four league matches. After starting off on a high at home to Southampton, Claudio Ranieri has been struck by reality, knowing that his side might not be good enough to avoid the drop this term. Salomon Rondon has been in decent form of late and will feel confident of scoring against the division’s most frail defence. Get on Rafael Benitez’s men on the Win/Draw & Both Teams to Score here at 23/20.
17/20 Bournemouth | 26/10 | Brighton 32/10 (17:00)
After a blistering start, Bournemouth now find themselves in the bottom half of the table after a second consecutive defeat at Wolves, failing to score in their last two outings. Like their opponents, Brighton suffered their second defeat in a row last weekend, going down at home to Chelsea. Callum Wilson has netted eight times this campaign and should rediscover his sublime form which seemed to have died down in the last few games. Eddie Howe’s men have just lost three times at home, going down against Man United, Arsenal and Liverpool. Take the home win here at 17/20.
13/10 West Ham | 5/2 | Watford 2/1 (17:00)
West Ham go in search of their fifth successive win when they host Watford this Saturday. The Hammers have finally found some rhythm in their play, shaking off that 4-0 humbling against Manchester City with wins over Newcastle, Cardiff, Crystal Palace and Fulham. Watford moved into the top half of the table with what become a narrow 3-2 victory over Cardiff after going 3-0 up. That was also the Hornets’ first win in six league matches. Make money this festive season and back West Ham to Win & Both Teams to Score at 29/10!
9/2 Cardiff | 29/10 | Manchester United 6/10 (19:30)
Cardiff return to Wales where they have won four of their last five matches in the Premier League, including their last three in a row. Despite their impressive home form, perhaps this is not the best time to face Manchester United, who need a massive response after being so one-sidedly beaten against Liverpool last weekend. United have not won in their last three away games in the league and are now 11 points off the top four. Their defence has let them down plenty of times this season, while their strike force has been far from fearsome. Still, I expect the Red Devils to bounce back, but not in comfortable fashion. Take Man United to Win & Both Teams to Score at 9/4.
Sunday 23 December
23/10 Everton | 5/2 | Tottenham 12/10 (18:00)
What a time to be an Evertonian. After visiting Manchester City, the Toffees now welcome Tottenham to Goodison Park. To add to that, Marco Silva’s men are winless in their last four league matches. Spurs, on the other hand, have won three successive games, and earned a 1-1 draw at Barcelona in between that run. They also rested a few of their key players against Burnley in their last fixture, but managed to still grind out the result that they needed to stay in third spot. Spurs have managed eight wins from their 10 away games and are the only side in the league yet to draw a single match. The away win is well overpriced at 12/10 here – get on the Spurs victory!
TREBLE @ 10/1
Arsenal (-1) Handicap 11/20
Man United Win & BTTS 9/4
Tottenham Win 12/10
Jesse Nagel
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