The highlight games for the next set of EPL matches are CHELSEA versus FULHAM and ARSENAL versus CRYSTAL PALACE. Our feature columnist, John Newsome previews these and all game week 21 matches with his unique and insightful commentary. You can view all previous analysis from John’s regular column here: English Premier League Predictions For Saturday.
Please note all prices quoted below were correct at the time of publication
Game Week-21
These Game Week-21 fixtures are split over 2 weekends to give each team a Mid-Season Break with 7 of the matches being the reverse of Game Week-2 and the other 3 being the reverse of Game Week-7.
The added bonus to that is every game is shown live in England on either TNT Sport or Sky Sports.
Enjoy!
Friday 12th
BURNLEY v LUTON
19.45 in England
TNT Sport
This fixture has been rearranged from the original date of Monday the 15th, due to the FA Cup where Luton have to fit in a replay.
Burnley come into this relegation battle against Luton off the back of 2 defeats in the Premier League over the festive period.
There was a brilliant game against Aston Villa that saw Zeki Amdouni and Lyle Foster score to equalise 2 Villa goals, however, the Clarets conceded a penalty to gift the Claret and Blues the victory by a narrow 3-2 scoreline leaving Burnley in 19th place with 11 points from 20 fixtures completed.
Sander Berge was shown 2 Yellow Cards and the subsequent Red so missed the FA Cup tie but should be back today.
Burnley were then knocked out of that FA Cup tie suffering a defeat against Tottenham by a 1-0 scoreline.
Luton remain in the relegation zone following a defeat against Chelsea in the Game Week-20 affair.
After 2 brilliant victories over Sheffield United and Newcastle, the loss against the Blues by a narrow 3-2 scoreline was a setback for Rob Edwards and his Hatters.
The ex-Blue Ross Barkley and Elijah Adebayo scored the Luton goals when Chelsea had scored 3 so it was an exciting final few minutes for the faithful in attendance at Kenilworth Rd, however, it turned out not to be in the end.
Luton sit in 18th place with 15 points from 19 games played, a point adrift of the safe team Everton who like most of the teams around have completed 20 fixtures, so all to play for.
As mentioned the Hatters do have an extra game to fit in over this period due to the goalless draw against Bolton in the 3rd-Round of the FA Cup, resulting in a replay on the 16th.
This Game Week-2 fixture at Kenilworth Rd was put back to October due to the stadium not being available in August.
Lyle Foster scored the opener for Burnley to give the Clarets a lead at the break.
Elijah Adebayo equalised late on for the Hatters, which looked like the points would be shared, however, Jacob Bruun Larsen scored the winner for Burnley to give Vincent’s Clarets a rare victory over Rob’s Hatters by a 2-1 away night score.
Betfred offer Burnley at slight Odds On 10/11, the draw at 5/2 and 11/4 for Luton to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 15/8 that Lyle Foster Scores Anytime and 9/4 that Carlton Morris Scores Anytime.
Draw 1-1- Get 6/1 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!
Saturday 13th
CHELSEA v FULHAM
12.30 in England
TNT Sport
Chelsea have won 3 out of the last 4 Premier League games with the latest being a narrow victory over Luton on the 30th of December at Kenilworth Rd by a 3-2 away day score.
Cole Palmer scored in the 12th minute to give the Blues an early lead with Noni Madueke adding a 2nd before the half-time cup of tea.
Cole then scored a brilliant individual goal to give Chelsea a 3-0 scoreline that looked like a comfortable victory was on the cards.
Curiously, the 3rd goal inspired Luton and the ex-Blue Ross Barkley pulled a goal back before Elijah Adebayo added a 2nd to give the travelling faithful a nervy final few minutes.
Fortunately for everyone concerned, Chelsea held on for the points to leave Mauricio’s Blues in 10th place with the same 28 points as Wolves.
That is only 3 points adrift of Brighton and Manchester United who sit in 7th and 8th respectively, with West Ham having 34, sitting in 6th.
So despite a lot of negativity around Stamford Bridge, things may not be as bad as they appear.
The January Transfer Window is now open and history will tell one that Chelsea like to go shopping whether it be January or the Summer so expect a couple of new additions to the squad.
The Blues are rumoured to be ready to hijack Manchester United in talks over the Benfica star Antonio Silva, whilst the Girona striker Artem Dovbyk could also be on Mauricio Pochettino’s shopping list.
Chelsea easily progressed to the 4th-Round of the FA Cup inflicting a defeat on Preston by a 4-0 score.
Fulham stunned Arsenal last week in a New Year’s Eve classic at Craven Cottage with Marco Silva’s White and Blacks gaining a victory over Mikel Arteta’s Young Guns by a 2-1 scoreline.
After Arsenal had taken the lead with just 5 minutes on the clock, the natives were about to get restless, however, Raul Jimenez equalised on the half-hour mark to settle the nerves.
Half an hour later, Bobby Decordover-Reid scored Fulham’s 2nd that ultimately turned out to be the winner to give the Cottagers the London Bragging Rights going into the New 2024 Year.
Raul had missed the previous 3 games due to his sending-off against Newcastle but was straight back into the starting lineup and added his 5th goal of the campaign and the 5th in the last 7 the Mexican was eligible to play.
Fulham sit in 13th place with 24 points from the opening 20 fixtures completed.
Added to that, Marco Silva’s Cottagers also progressed to the 4th-Round of the FA Cup by inflicting a defeat on the Championship team Rotherham by a narrow 1-0 scoreline.
Back in October 2023 at Craven Cottage, 1st-half goals from Mykhailo Mudryk and Armando Broja gave Chelsea the victory over Fulham by a 2-0 away day scoreline.
Betfred offer Chelsea at Odds On 4/7, the draw at 3/1 and 4/1 for Fulham to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 11/2 that Raheem Sterling Scores First and 5/1 that Willian Scores Anytime.
Home Win 2-1- Get 7/1 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!
NEWCASTLE v MAN CITY
17.30 in England
TNT Sport
It’s fair to say that Eddie’s Black and Whites are struggling at the moment going into the New Year.
On New Year’s Day, Liverpool inflicted a defeat on Newcastle by a 4-2 scoreline with Alexander Isak and Sven Botman getting the Magpies goals.
Granted, the fixture was at Anfield, where most teams struggle to win but it is becoming a concern for everyone connected with the club.
At the moment there isn’t any talk regarding Eddie Howe being sacked but the rumours will start if Newcastle continue to lose.
Probably what a team who are struggling don’t need is a visit from Man City, however, Newcastle have to face City at some point so now may be as good a time as ever as if a victory is achieved, especially with the game being at St James Park, it will lift everyone at the club and give Newcastle the confidence to push on for the 2nd half of the season.
That said, a defeat could have the opposite effect.
Good luck Newcastle!
Newcastle sit in 9th place with 29 points from the opening 20 games completed.
Away from the Premier League misery, the Magpies knocked their fierce rivals the Maccams (Sunderland) out of the FA Cup to progress to the 4th-Round.
Man City are like Frankel sat in the slipstream of the 2 horses in front waiting for the optimum moment to pull out and push to the front.
If one is thinking,
‘What’s John on about?’
Frankel was a Wonder Horse who never lost a race and in the end, not many other horses wanted to race against him so the final few outings only had 4 or 5 in the stalls.
Tom Queally, the jockey of Frankel would sit in the slipstream behind another horse and wait, then once the moment had arrived, just pull out, flick the Whip and off the Wonderful beast would go, off into the sunset.
Man City slipped a few places whilst the team was out in Saudi Arabia winning the World Club Cup, however, Pep’s High Flyers have gained victories in both of the post-Christmas fixtures with the latest being a win over Sheffield United at the Etihad by a 2-0 scoreline.
Granted not the 5, 6 and 7 goals that some predicted but that was more to do with Chris Wilder now being in charge of the Blades and not Paul Heckinbottom.
Roadie Rodri and Julian Alvarez with the City goals.
Before the Game Week-18 set of fixtures, City were 4 points adrift of Liverpool at the summit.
Although Jurgen’s Reds are now 5 points ahead of Pep’s Blues, Man City have got a game in hand due to missing that weekend’s set of fixtures.
Added to Arsenal slipping up over the last 2 games, Man City now sit in 3rd place with 40 points, as mentioned 5 adrift of Liverpool at the summit but have only played 19 times, not the 20 Liverpool and Aston Villa have completed.
Villa sit in 2nd, with 42 points and Arsenal sit in 4th with the same 40 points.
Man City are historically better in the 2nd part of the season and like Frankel, are just sitting patiently in the slipstream of Liverpool and Aston Villa waiting for the optimum moment to move out, flick the Whip and overtake everyone for a 4th Premier League title in a row, which no other team as ever achieved.
Added to that, Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne are both nearing a return which is ominous for all the other clubs.
Man City joined Newcastle in the 4th-Round following a victory over Huddersfield on Sunday, which did see a 2nd-half appearance from KDB.
Julian Alvarez scored the only goal of the game back in August at the Etihad to give Pep’s High Flying Blues the victory over Eddies Magpies by a 1-0 score.
There has been another fixture between the two teams in the Carabao Cup where Newcastle reversed the scoreline and gained the win over Man City by the same 1-0 score, with Alexander Isak getting the only goal.
Betfred offer Newcastle at 9/2, the draw at 16/5 and Odds On 8/15 for Man City to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 15/2 that Kevin De Bruyne Scores First and 5/4 that there are Under 2.5 Goals.
Away Win 0-2- Get 15/2 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!
Sunday 14th
EVERTON v ASTON VILLA
14.00 in England
Sky Sports
Everton are now 3 from 3 in the loss column following the 3rd defeat in succession last time out against Wolves at Molineux.
The home team scored a goal in the 1st-half and 2 after the break to take the spoils from a 3-0 scoreline.
With the 10-point deduction, Everton sit in 17th place with 16 points from the 20 fixtures completed.
The Toffees have been out since in the 3rd-Round of the FA Cup against Crystal Palace last Thursday.
Before the game, the Manchester Stick/Ball Thrower commented that he would be swerving that particular fixture.
As it turned out, the ex-Serg was right in doing so as John Newsome watched the 90-odd minutes and feels that particular hour and a half is lost forever after a turgid goalless draw that will mean that both Everton and Palace will have an extra game to fit in.
Which sort of makes the ‘mid-season’ break redundant as the extra game will take place over these 2 weeks.
Aston Villa come into this fixture sitting in 2nd place in the table with 42 points from the opening 20 games, following the victory over Burnley last time out.
After suffering a defeat against Manchester United by a 3-2 scoreline, it was then a win against the Clarets by the same 3-2 score with goals from Leon Bailey, Moussa Diaby and a Douglas Luiz converted penalty giving Unai Emery’s Claret and Blues the points.
Burnley had equalised both of Villa’s opening goals before the penalty was awarded.
With Arsenal playing a day later it was assumed that Villa would drop to 3rd but the Gunners suffered a rare defeat meaning Aston Villa sat 2nd at the turn of the year.
Villa themselves were looking at an extra game when their 3rd-Round tie against Middlesbrough was heading for a draw until Matty Cash saw a deflected effort find the back of the net in the 88th minute at the Riverside to give Unai’s Claret and Blues the victory by a 1-0 scoreline to progress in that particular competition.
Aston Villa gained the home victory over Everton at Villa Park in the Game Week-2 affair back in August 2023.
Goals from the Wild Boys John McGinn, Douglas Luiz, Leon Bailey and Jhon Duran gave Unai’s Claret and Blues the win over Sean’s Toffees by a 4-0 scoreline.
Wild Boys!
Betfred offer Everton at 9/5, the draw at 12/5 and 13/10 for Aston Villa to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 5/1 that Ollie Watkins Scores First and 2/1 that Aston Villa Score in Both Halves.
Away Win 1-3- Get 16/1 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!
MANCHESTER UNITED v TOTTENHAM
16.30 in England
Sky Sports
Manchester United gained a great victory over Aston Villa coming from 2 goals down to win 3-2, then took on Nottingham Forest at the City Ground and suffered a defeat by a 2-1 score.
Marcus Rashford did equalise the Forest opener but then the home team scored the winner to gain all 3 points.
It looks like the Jaydon Sancho Saga is coming to an end with a deal between United and Borussia Dortmund being finalised to end JS’s adventure at Old Trafford.
There’s no real point going over old ground as United are rubbish and going back to the statement in this EveryTip column last week,
‘If one predicts a defeat for United, Erik’s Ten Bobs usually win and if a victory is predicted, United usually lose!’
So a victory is predicted in today’s game against Tottenham.
Make of that what one will.
United progressed in the FA Cup by knocking Wigan out of the competition on Monday.
Tottenham come into this fixture at Old Trafford off the back of a victory against Bournemouth last time out in the Premier League.
Goals from Pape Matar Sarr, Son Heung-Min and Richarlison were enough to give Ange’s Spurs the points from a 3-1 scoreline.
Bournemouth scored a late consolation goal.
That was the 4th victory from the last 5 that keeps Tottenham in 5th place with 39 points from 20 games played.
Now just a point adrift of Arsenal and Man City, 3 less than Aston Villa and 6 away from Liverpool at the summit.
The only slight negative to look at is the excellent Son Heung-Min won’t be in Manchester today as the lad is away at the Asian Cup playing for South Korea in that particular tournament.
So it’s whether Spurs can perform at a decent level without their inspirational Captain.
Tottenham played in the FA Cup last Friday and gained a victory over Burnley to progress to the 4th-Round.
Although the reverse fixture at the Chas and Dave Memorial Stadium back in August was only the second game of the season, the result was sort of an early landscape for the campaign so far.
After a goalless 1st-half Pape Matar Sarr scored the opener just after the restart before Lisandro Martinez converted the ball past Andre Onana to gift Tottenham the victory by a 2-0 scoreline.
Betfred offer Manchester United at 11/10, the draw at 11/4 and 2/1 for Tottenham to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 6/4 that Rasmus Hojlund Scores Anytime and 18/5 that Manchester United Win To Nil.
Home Win 2-0- Get 12/1 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!
***Premier League Team of the Week***
GOALKEEPER- Ederson- Man City
RIGHT-BACK- Malo Gusto- Chelsea
CENTRE-BACK- Nathan Ake- Man City
CENTRE-BACK- Max Kilman- Wolves
LEFT-BACK- Ola Aina- Nottingham Forest
MIDFIELDER- Leon Bailey- Aston Villa
MIDFIELDER- Michael Olise- Crystal Palace
MIDFIELDER- Bobby Decordover-Reid- Fulham
FORWARD- Morgan Gibbs-White- Nottingham Forest
FORWARD- Raul Jimenez- Fulham
FORWARD- Mo Salah- Liverpool
STAR MAN- Mo Salah- Liverpool
Saturday 20th
ARSENAL v CRYSTAL PALACE
12.30 in England
TNT Sport
Arsenal had a bad Christmas period suffering 2 defeats against West Ham and Fulham on the 28th and 31st of December, following a draw against Liverpool on the 23rd, meaning just 1 point from a possible 9.
Against the Cottagers, Bukaya Saka scored the opener after 5 minutes to settle the Gooners’ nerves.
Unfortunately, Mikel’s Young Guns conceded two goals to suffer the defeat against Fulham by a 2-1 score.
That was following the loss against West Ham.
It now means that Arsenal sit in 4th place with the same 40 points as Man City, 5 adrift of Liverpool at the summit and just 1 point more than the North London rivals Tottenham.
Man City have only played 19 times not the 20 the others have.
The Bad Santa disappointment continued for the Gooners, with Liverpool dumping Arsenal out of the FA Cup on Sunday, so it’s the Premier League and the Champions League that are the only 2 Trophies available this season.
Crystal Palace gained a great result last time out in the Premier League, with Roy’s Eagles inflicting a defeat on Thomas’s Bees by a 3-1 scoreline.
Michael Olise scored twice along with an Eberechi Eze goal to give Palace the points.
Brentford actually scored first after 2 minutes but Roy Hodgson’s Boys, which included the two stars of the show, gained a first victory in 8.
The 8 winless games included 5 defeats and 3 draws so those good at Math will know that equates to 3 points from a possible 24.
Michael did sign a new contract to keep him at Selhurst Park until 2027 but if the 22-year-old continues to perform at the level he is currently, the Big Clubs could come calling which is basically the reason the new contract was signed so that the price tag goes up.
In the game against Brentford Michael Olise had a player rating of 9.3 which is one of the highest around and also earned the lad a night off against Everton in the FA Cup.
It’s rare Roy gets to play Michael and Eberechi together due to injuries picked up by both but when Palace have the pair in the starting eleven, the Eagles are a different team altogether, so maybe it’s worth waiting for the lineup which is released about an hour before kickoff to decide who to have a punt on.
Palace sit in 14th place with 21 points from 20 fixtures completed.
Crystal Palace will have an extra game to fit in after the 3rd-Round FA Cup tie against Everton finished in a drab draw by a 0-0 score.
Back in August, at Selhurst Park, Martin Odegaard scored the only goal of the game after the break to give Arsenal the victory over Crystal Palace by a 1-0 score.
Takehiro Tomiyasu received 2 quick Yellow Cards after Martin had scored to leave Arsenal with 10 men for the final 25 minutes but fortunately for the Gunners, Palace couldn’t take advantage.
Betfred offer Arsenal at Odds On 3/10, the draw at 4/1 and 8/1 for Crystal Palace to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 4/1 that Gabriel Jesus Scores First and 11/10 that Arsenal Score in Both Halves.
Home Win 2-1- Get 15/2 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!
BRENTFORD v NOTTINGHAM FOREST
17.30 in England
Sky Sports
The exciting factor to this game is Ivan Toney’s ban is over and Mr T could be available to play, most probably from the bench.
That’s obviously provided that the Bees haven’t cashed in on the lad and Ivan is now wearing an Arsenal, Tottenham or Chelsea jersey.
The Bees do need a lift after suffering their 7th defeat from 8 and 5th loss in a row against Crystal Palace last time out.
Keane Lewis-Potter scored after 2 minutes at Selhurst Park to give the travelling faithful hope, however, Palace scored 3 times to inflict the defeat by a 3-1 score.
That leaves Brentford in 16th place with 19 points, however, the Bees have only completed 19 games, not the 20 the others have, due to the fixture against Man City being postponed.
Brentford have a replay against Wolves to contend with after the initial 3rd-Round FA Cup tie finished in a stalemate by a 1-1 scoreline.
Nottingham Forest come into this fixture at the GTech Stadium off the back of a superb victory against Manchester United last time out in the Premier League.
After a goalless 1st-half at the City Ground, Nicolas Dominguez and Morgan Gibbs-White scored the goals to give Nuno’s Tricky Trees the points from a 2-1 scoreline.
United did equalise Nicolas’ goal but Morgan scored the winner soon after.
That’s 2 wins from the 3 games that Nuno Espírito Santo has taken charge of following Steve Cooper’s sacking, the other, which was the first game, ended in a defeat.
The win lifts Forest into 15th place with 20 points from the 20 games played so far.
Nuno’s Tricky Trees have an extra fixture to complete in the FA Cup following a draw against Blackpool on Sunday.
A quick funny story about Blackpool, the football team that play in an Orange kit.
The famous seaside town has a Tower akin to the one in Paris.
The other day, firemen turned up at the Tower because reports had been circulating that the famous structure was on fire.
As it turned out, it was just orange tarpaulin that was blowing around in the wind.
No fire extinguisher was needed.
In the Game Week-7 reverse fixture at the City Ground, both teams shared the points from a draw by a 1-1 score, with goals from Christian Norgaard (Brentford) and Nicolas Dominguez (Forest) both in the 2nd-half giving both a point apiece.
Forest had Moussa Niakhate sent off whilst the score was 0-0 after receiving 2 Yellow Cards and the ultimate Red.
Betfred offer Brentford at Evens 1/1, the draw at 12/5 and 5/2 for Nottingham Forest to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 8/5 that Ivan Toney Scores Anytime and 15/8 that Chris Wood Scores Anytime.
Draw 2-2- Get 12/1 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!
Sunday 21st
SHEFFIELD UNITED v WEST HAM
14.00 in England
TNT Sport
Sheffield United suffered a defeat last time out which was the 6th from the last 8 games.
What probably can be excused from the latest loss is it was against Man City and the 2-0 scoreline wasn’t the 5, 6 or 7 that some predicted.
Whilst the Blades were never expected to win, Chris Wilder made sure his boys were set up to not concede many goals which became the outcome.
James from Swinton, nowhere near Bramall Lane was in attendance at the Etihad and despite the strong defensive performance still blamed the referee.
Jimbo loves Social Media and gets all his Blades Transfer News from there.
The other day the Little Blunt got a Private DM from the President of the USA regarding the ex-Blade legend Billy Sharp who has been playing for LA Galaxy in the MSL (America’s Major Soccer League) but has returned to England and the Championship with Hull.
James wasn’t 100% sure who the President was and gets his letters mixed up sometimes so just replied,
‘I like your Bargain Buckets with Gravy!’
With 9 points from 20 games completed, Sheffield United remain at the foot of the table at the turn of the year with the Blades hoping the fortunes improve in 2024, however, that number might also be the one in the goals conceded column.
There was progression to the 4th-Round of the FA Cup following a victory over Gillingham on Saturday.
Little Jimbo didn’t make the long trip South, as he says, he won’t go to any place he can’t pronounce, never mind spell.
West Ham had a good Christmas gaining 2 victories and a draw (7 points from 9) over the festive period.
After wins against Manchester United and Arsenal, the Hammers gained a point from a draw by a 0-0 score against the Seagulls in the opening fixture of the New Year on the 2nd of January 2024.
That leaves West Ham in 6th place with 34 points from the 20 games completed.
Unfortunately for the Hammers, there’s no mis-season jaunt to Dubai or wherever as West Ham could only manage a draw against Bristol City in the 3rd-Round of the FA Cup, so there will be a replay to fit in before this game against the Blades.
Jarrod Bowen and Tomas Soucek scored in the 1st-half at the London Stadium to give West Ham the victory over Sheffield United by a 2-0 score back in the Game Week-7 affair at the end of September 2023.
Betfred offer Sheffield United at 13/5, the draw at 12/5 and slight Odds On 19/20 for West Ham to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 4/1 that Jarrod Bowen Scores First and 21/10 that West Ham Score in Both Halves.
Away Win 1-2- Get 15/2 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!
BOURNEMOUTH v LIVERPOOL
16.30 in England
Sky Sports
After 7 games unbeaten, which included 6 wins and a draw, Bournemouth suffered a defeat last time out in the Premier League succumbing to the away day loss against Tottenham at the Chas and Dave Memorial Stadium.
Alex Scott scored for the Cherries in the 84th minute, however, that turned out to be just a consolation following the 3 goals Tottenham had already scored to gain the victory by a 3-1 scoreline.
Despite the defeat, which shouldn’t be dwelled on too much as Ange Postecoglou’s New Look Spurs are a different proposition nowadays, Andoni Iraola has improved Bournemouth no end, which leaves his boys in 12th place with 25 points, plus that total is only from 19 games completed due to the fixture against Luton being abandoned.
Bournemouth progressed to the 4th-Round of the FA Cup following a narrow victory over Queens Park Rangers on Saturday by a 3-2 away day score.
Liverpool gained a great Mo Salah-inspired victory over Newcastle on New Year’s Day, with Jurgen’s Reds inflicting a defeat on Eddies Magpies by a 4-2 scoreline.
Mo scored twice, gave the ball to Diogo Jota to square to Curtis Jones who tapped home and assisted Coady Gakpo with his goal, all after missing a 1st-half penalty when the score was 0-0.
The problem now for Mr Klopp and his Liverpool team is the Egyptian King will be missing for a few weeks due to the Africa Cup of Nations or AFCON.
If one remembers, Egypt made the Final 2 years ago so again, may go deep in the competition out on the Ivory Coast, meaning Mo could possibly be missing until late February.
Klipperty Klopp has stated that his team will be just as strong without Mo Salah but there is an old saying that goes ‘the proof of the pudding will be in the eating’, which basically means, let’s wait and see how Liverpool perform, with this now being a big test following Bournemouth’s upturn in fortunes.
Liverpool sit at the summit of the Premier League with 45 points from 20 games played, 3 more than Aston Villa and 5 ahead of Man City, however, City have only completed 19 fixtures.
Despite Arsenal being the dominant team in the 1st-half, it was Liverpool that progressed to the 4th-Round of the FA Cup, with the Purples (away kit) inflicting a defeat on the All Whites (special kit) by a 2-0 away day score.
The first examination of life without Mo
Salah was passed with flying Purple colours, so let’s see what transpires over the next few weeks.
Back in August for the Game Week-2 affair at Anfield, Liverpool gained the victory over Bournemouth by a 3-1 scoreline.
Antoine Semenyo did score the opener for the Cherries before Luis Diaz and Mo Salah scored to give the home team a lead at the break.
Mo’s goal was as a result of a penalty that was initially saved but came straight back to the Egyptian King who tapped home.
Alexis Mac Allister was shown a straight Red Card just before the hour mark to
leave Liverpool a man-lite for the remaining 30 minutes.
Diogo Jota added a 3rd just after Alexis went to give Jurgen’s Reds the early points.
Betfred offer Bournemouth at 7/2, the draw at 16/5 and Odds On 8/13 for Liverpool to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer 5/1 that Darwin Nunez Scores First and 11/10 that Liverpool Score in Both Halves.
Away Win 1-2- Get 7/1 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!
Monday 22nd
BRIGHTON v WOLVES
19.45 in England
TNT Sport
Brighton come into this Game Week-21 encounter against Wolves off the back of a goalless draw against West Ham just after the turn of the year on the 2nd.
The point gained from the draw by a 0-0 score, leaves the Seagulls in 7th place with the same 31 points as Manchester United from the opening 20 games played, which is a brilliant achievement considering Brighton are still in the European Competition that will recommence in February.
Wolves are only 3 points adrift of today’s hosts following a brilliant festive period where Gary O’Neils Gold and Blacks recorded 3 straight victories.
After a win on Christmas Eve against Chelsea, then a victory over Brentford on the 27th of December, Wolves gained a victory over Everton on the 30th to gain 9 points before the turn of the year.
Goals from Max Kilman, Matheus Cunha and Craig Dawson gave Wolves the latest win by a 3-0 scoreline.
That leaves Wolves in 11th place with the same 28 points as Chelsea and as mentioned just 3 points adrift of Brighton.
The Seagulls do have a plus+5 goal difference, whereas the Wolves have a minus-1 so it would mean Gary’s boys would have to score 7 without reply to move above Brighton.
Despite having 3 weeks rest in the Premier League, Wolves will have played twice against Brentford in the FA Cup before this fixture at the Amex, due to the first game finishing in a draw by a 1-1 score meaning a replay at Molineux.
Brighton do have the luxury of a break following progression to the 4th-Round after a victory against Stoke at the weekend.
Brighton gained a brilliant away day victory over Wolves at Molineux back in August.
Goals from Kaoru Mitoma, Pervis Estupinan and a couple from Solly March gave Roberto De Zerbi’s Seagulls the points from a 4-1 scoreline.
Hwang-Hee Chan did score after the 4 goals which ultimately was just a consolation.
Betfred offer Brighton at Odds On 8/13, the draw at 3/1 and 18/5 for Wolves to come away with all 3-points.
Betfred offer that Brighton Score in Both Halves and that there are Over 3.5 Goals.
Draw 2-2- Get 12/1 on Betfred & Claim your new account welcome offer!
To add to the Premier League Preview, 18 of the 20 teams were in the hat for the 4th-Round draw with 11 progressing, 7 facing replays and none being knocked out by a lower team club with Arsenal and Burnley the only Top Flight teams that did not progress due to being eliminated by a fellow Premier League club.
From the 7 teams that have a replay, there is the possibility that 5 Premier League clubs will progress with the ties between Crystal Palace v Everton and Brentford v Wolves the only ones that will definitely see a Premier League team being eliminated.
West Ham (Bristol City), Nottingham Forest (Blackpool) and Luton (Bolton) could all potentially progress to the 4th-Round which would see 16 of the Top Flight clubs in the last-32 of the prestigious competition.
There will be at least 13 teams from the Promised Land that are still in the FA Cup.
The Pub League up in Scotland are on a mid-season Winter break until the end of January when Celtic take on Ross County (who?) on the 27th with Rangers facing Hibernian (who?) on the 24th.
There is the Scottish FA Cup to start before the next set of SPL fixtures.
Celtic remain at the summit of the Pub League with 54 points, now 8 ahead of Rangers in 2nd with 46 points.
Granted, the ‘Gers have 2 games in hand over the Green and White Hoops but that would only equate to 6 points if both were victories meaning Celtic would still be at the summit.
The reason for this is Celtic gained the victory over Rangers in the Old Firm Derby on the 30th of December.
Both have had subsequent victories since then before the Winter Break.
The loveable OzScot over in Melbourne went missing after the Derby, last seen heading into the hills trying to wipe the Braveheart war paint off with the tears that flowed following the devastating defeat against the Arch City Rivals, with his arm around the Boy, sobbing,
‘It’s ok son, they’ll never take our freedom!’
The lad was back after a couple of days and is now enjoying the Sun of Australia where there certainly wouldn’t be a need for a Winter Break.
Braveheart/Kylie is still spinning around.
Related Reading
Best betting site for accumulators
Bet365 review
Best cash-out betting sites
Best low or no minimum deposit betting sites