To say that Frank Lampard looked pleased, following Chelsea’s victory away at Arsenal, is an understatement! The Lions’ legendary midfielder, turned manager, was over the moon and he’ll surely be feeling confident that his men can follow that up with another victory at Brighton. John Newsome shares his views on this match and all the other games taking place in game-week 21. You can view all previous analysis from John’s regular column here: English Premier League Predictions For Saturday
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BRIGHTON v CHELSEA
All these New Years Day fixtures are staggered and all broadcast Live on BT Sport.
This 1st-game at the Amex kicks-off at 12.30 PM in England.
Brighton beat a poor injury ravished Bournemouth on Saturday with the Seagulls Alireza Jahanbakhsh, which is 63-points in Scrabble, getting the opening goal in only the 3rd-minute of proceedings.
In the 2nd-half, Aaron Mooy added a superb 2nd to give Graham Potter’s men a 2-0 victory over Eddie’s Cherries.
Last season, it was mentioned in this column, that Aaron Mooy wouldn’t look out of place in a top Premier League side, whilst the Australian midfielder was playing for the eventually relegated Huddersfield Town.
In Huddersfield’s promotion-winning season to the Premier League back 2016/17, a Barnsley FC fan marvelled at Aaron’s display in a 2-1 victory for Huddersfield against the Tykes at the John Smith’s Stadium.
Whilst the Terriers were heading back to the Championship last season, Aaron put in some brilliant displays to help cement a move and keep him in the Premier League.
Aaron was at Man City as a youngster but deemed not good enough for Pep’s Citizens so moved to West Yorkshire where he helped Huddersfield gain promotion and stay in the Premier League for 2-seasons.
The Seagulls are definitely privileged to have the influential playmaker in their side.
In the 6-December Premier League games, Brighton have Won-2, Drawn-2 and Lost-2 which is a fair enough record, yielding 8-points from a possible 18-on offer.
Chelsea came from a goal behind on Sunday to beat Arsenal at the Emirates by the scoreline of 2-1.
After going in at the break 1-0 down, Frank made a couple of changes, including bringing on young Tariq Lamptey for his debut giving the young England Under-20 star half an hour at the end.
Young Tariq will tell his mates that he changed the game as whilst he was on the pitch, Jorginho, who himself had come on as a 1st-half substitute, equalised for the Blues.
Within minutes of the equaliser, Tammy Abraham got Frank Lampard’s Chelsea the winner to round off the Blues year in fine winning style.
In December, Chelsea’s 6-games have an even record of Won-3 and Lost-3, which, although there are 3-losses, certainly gives the fans entertainment.
The victory against Arsenal leaves Chelsea in 4th-place in the Premier League, with 35-points.
At Stamford Bridge in September, a Jorginho penalty after the break and a Willian strike gave Frank Lampard’s Chelsea the 2-0 victory over Graham Potter’s Brighton.
Betway offer Brighton at 3/1, the Draw at 13/5 and slight Odds On 10/11 for Chelsea to come away with all 3-points.
Betway offer 9/5 that a Goal is Scored in the First 15-Minutes and 12/5 that Chelsea Win and Both Teams To Score.
Away Win 1-3
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BURNLEY v ASTON VILLA
Another 12.30 PM kick-off in England.
Burnley suffered a 2-0 defeat at Turf Moor on Saturday against Manchester United but are quickly back in front of their home fans to avenge the loss.
The EveryTip contributor who supports Barnsley FC celebrated his 50-birthday in 2019.
A stat manifested itself on Saturday that turns out, in those 50-years, Burnley have only scored 1-goal against Manchester United at Turf Moor in the 12-games that have been played over the half-century.
Robbie Blake scored a match-winner in a 1-0 victory in this fixture back in 2009, the only Claret goal against United that the faithful had seen since 1969.
Burnley conceded a sloppy first goal against United on Saturday.
A little note to Sean Dyche,
‘Tell Charlie Taylor, next time he’s in that position, just kick the ball out!’
Burnley find themselves in mid-table with just 24-points after back-to-back defeats and Sean will definitely target this home fixture against fellow Clarets, Aston Villa.
Burnley have played 6-Premier League games in December and have a record of Won-2 and Lost-4, so 6-points gained from a possible 18 is simply not good enough and Sean needs to get his team firing again.
Villa find themselves in the bottom 3 of the Premier League table after a 3-0 defeat against a revitalised Watford team who are under the guidance of Nigel Pearson.
Dean Smith’s boys have Won-1, Drawn-1 and Lost-5 our of their 7-Premier League games played in December, so 4-points yielded from a possible 21-on offer.
In between those 7-Premier League fixtures was a 5-0 victory against Liverpool in the Quarter-Final of the Carabao Cup.
Most reading that will be rubbing their eyes, thinking and scratching their heads,
‘5-0 against Liverpool?’
Yes, that’s correct, however, the Liverpool side fielded against Aston Villa in the Quarter-Final was made up of youth players as Jurgen’s first eleven were in Doha, on their way to winning the World Club Cup.
Aston Villa can only beat those put out in front of them and the record books will show, Aston Villa 5 Liverpool 0, in the Quarter-Final of the 2019/2020 Carabao Cup.
Back in September at Villa Park, this was a very entertaining Desmond.
Anwar El-Ghazi gave Dean Smith’s Claret and Blues the lead going into the break.
Jay Rodriguez was introduced by Sean Dyche at half-time and quickly equalised for the other Clarets.
John McGinn restored Villa’s lead midway through the 2nd-half but within minutes, Chris Wood got Burnley back on level terms. The game finished in a 2-2 draw to share out the points.
Betway offer Burnley at slight Odds On 10/11, the Draw at 13/5 and 3/1 for Aston Villa to come away with all 3-points.
Betway offer 21/10 that there are Over 3.5 Goals and 15/8 that a Goal is Scored between 16-30 Minutes.
Home Win 3-1
NEWCASTLE v LEICESTER
A 3.00 PM Kick-off in England at St James Park.
Newcastle lost 2-1 against Everton on Saturday, in front of the Toon Army who were not happy.
The Toon Army don’t need much to get their backs up and vent their anger against Mike Cashley, so a defeat against Everton following a defeat against Manchester United, really got the faithful going against the much-loved owner.
Fabian Schar had equalised an earlier Toffees opener but Steve Bruce’s Magpies conceded the Everton winner soon after leaving the Magpies with a fruitless Christmas period.
In the 6-games played in December, Newcastle have a straight forward record of Won-3 and Lost-3, leaving Big Brucey’s men in mid-table of the Premier League.
Leicester got back to winning ways on Saturday getting a 2-1 victory over West Ham after 2-consecutive defeats.
The Foxes faithful should not be too worried about the 2-defeats as they were against Liverpool and Man City.
Leicester are probably the 3rd-best team in the Premier League, therefore, to lose against the top-2 isn’t too bad.
Whilst Brendan’s Wonderful Human Beings are still lying 2nd in the Premier League table, like a Race Horse Handicap system, the Foxes will vie with Man City for the privilege of finishing runners-up to Liverpool.
Against West Ham on Saturday, Leicester were awarded a penalty early on in the game.
Normally Sheffield Superstar Jamie Vardy would step up and tuck away the spot-kick.
Jamie didn’t travel to the London Stadium, as his wife Rebekah was giving birth to their 3rd-child and the 5th-between the proud parents.
Congratulations Jamie and Rebekah.
The rumour that the new young’ un would be named Colleen was quickly quashed by Jim early doors.
With Jamie at the hospital, it was left to Demarai Gray to assume penalty-taking duties, unfortunately for DG, he couldn’t live up to the Vard’s and had his kick saved.
Kelechi Iheanacho did eventually score for the Foxes just before the break but West Ham quickly equalised leaving the score 1-1 at half-time.
Demarai Gray made up for his missed spot-kick in the 2nd-half, scoring the winner for the Foxes to give them a 1-point gap over Pep’s Citizens, after City’s subsequent victory against Sheffield United on the Sunday.
In the pub-League in Scotland, Rod Stewart was doubly unhappy.
Not only is he continuously seeing Brendan excel at the King Power, having left Rod’s beloved Celtic but Rod’s Green and White hoops were beaten by their fierce Glasgow rivals in the derby at Celtic Park.
The 2-1 defeat against Rangers had Rod’s cat running for cover.
When interviewed afterwards, all Rod could say was,
‘I don’t want to talk about it, how you broke my heart’
‘If Brendan had just stayed a little longer, if Brendan had just stayed, oh my heart, oh my heart’
He’s Celtic, United but Brendan has decided that Leicester is the best place to be.
In Leicester’s 7-December Premier League games, they have Won-4, Drawn-1 and Lost-2, gaining 13-points from a possible 21.
In between those 7-Premier League games, the Foxes also beat Everton on penalties, to progress to the Semi-Final of the Carabao Cup and will face Aston Villa in a 2-legged affair.
Quite handy for both sets of supporters as neither have far to travel, with only 40-miles separating the 2-clubs.
What might be coming apparent is that some teams have played 6-Premier League games in December and some 7.
The reason for this is Game Week Fourteen was played over the weekend of the 30th of November which was a Saturday and the 1st of December which was a Sunday, therefore factually, some teams have only played 6-games in December.
Leicester smashed Newcastle at the King Power in Game Week Seven.
The surprise in the 5-0 victory back in September is that only a Ricardo Pereira goal was the difference between the 2-clubs heading into the half-time interval.
However, a significant factor in the result was that Newcastle had Isaac Hayden sent off just before the break which impacted largely in Newcastle’s display in the 2nd-half.
With a man advantage, Brendan’s Wonderful Human Beings ripped through the Magpies defence with Jamie Vardy scoring twice, either side of a Paul Dummett own goal.
Wilfred Ndidi finished off the rout on the final whistle to give Leicester the comfortable 5-0 victory.
Betway offer Newcastle at 15/4, the Draw at 11/4 and slight Odds On 3/4 for Leicester to come away with all 3-points.
Betway offer 11/4 that Leicester Win and Both Teams To Score and 11/5 that there are Over 3.5 Goals.
Away Win 1-3
SOUTHAMPTON v TOTTENHAM
A second 3.00 PM kick-off in England sees Tottenham travel to Southampton.
Wreck-It Ralph’s Saints have hit a purple patch in the last few games now being unbeaten in the 3-previous fixtures coming into this one against Tottenham.
After a goalless 1st-half, Danny Ings equalised a Crystal Palace opener, just after the break, to give the Saints a share of the points, with the game ending in 1-1 scoreline.
In Southampton’s 6-December games, they have a record of Won-3, Drawn-1 and Lost-2, giving them a yield of 10-points from a possible 18-on offer.
One of the victories being at Stamford Bridge against Frank’s Blues.
Those 10-points gained in December have elevated the Saints away from the relegation zone, giving them 22-points, only 8-points behind today’s opponents.
The Tottenham cynics out there and there are plenty of them if TalkSPORT is anything to go by, will ask,
‘As Jose Mourinho improved Spurs?’
After Saturday’s Desmond 2-2 draw against bottom of the table Norwich, a lot will answer that question, No!
Norwich took the lead twice, only for Tottenham to equalise twice, firstly from Christian Eriksen then after Serge Aurier had deflected the ball past Paulo Gazzaniga in the Spurs ‘goal, Harry Kane equalised again to give Jose a point from the 2-2 draw.
In Tottenham’s 6-December Premier League games, all presided over by Jose, the record stands at Won-3, Drawn-1 and Lost-2, a total of 10-points from a possible 18.
Compare that to Mauricio Pochettino’s last 6-Premier League results of Won-1, Drawn-3 and Lost-2, a total of 6-points from a possible 18.
Stats can be made to work for or against a team or even a person, with those stats pointing to Jose having 4-more points than Mauricio.
However, Mauricio lost both his games away against Liverpool and Brighton, whereas one of Jose’s 2-losses was a home defeat against Chelsea.
Stats are stats and the Lilywhites faithful will be hoping for an improvement in the new year and hopefully, Daniel Levy will dip his hands into his pockets for Jose to purchase a couple of new recruits.
It’s likely that one of Jose’s requirements before he took over from Mauricio would be the promise of some new signings in January.
A little phone call to his Portuguese mate at Molineux to enquire about the availability of Matt Doherty wouldn’t go a miss.
Even if Jose gets a Portuguese rebuff, it would certainly be worth the use of his minutes on his Vodafone Mobile contract.
At the Chas and Dave Memorial Stadium back in September, Mauricio Pochettino’s Tottenham beat Ralph Hasenhuttl’s Saints by a 2-1 scoreline, with all the goals coming in the 1st-half.
Tanguy Ndombele opened the scoring for Spurs before Danny Ings equalised.
Harry Kane quickly restored the lead to give Tottenham the half-time advantage.
Probably the main reason the 2nd-half was goalless was Tottenham had Serge Aurier sent off midway through the 1st-period, for 2-bookable offences, leaving Mauricio to shut up shop after the break.
Betway offer Southampton at 5/2, the Draw at 13/5 and 21/20 for Tottenham to come away with all 3-points.
Betway offer 5/2 that Tottenham Win and Both Teams To Score and 12/1 for Tottenham to Win by a 3-1 Scoreline.
Away Win 1-3
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WATFORD v WOLVES
The third of three 3.00 PM kick-offs in England.
A revitalised Watford, under Nigel Pearson, got a brilliant 3-0 victory against Aston Villa on Saturday to close the gap at the bottom to just 5-points behind Villa and 6-points from safety.
Troy Deeney opened the scoring against Villa to give the Hornets a 1-0 lead at half-time.
Big Troy scored his and Watford’s 2nd goal midway through the 2nd-half from the penalty spot with Ismaila Sarr rounding off the scoring, just after Troy’s penalty, giving Nigel Pearson a great start to his reign at Vicarage Rd.
Only 3-teams in the history of the Premier League, who have been bottom of the table at Christmas, have avoided relegation.
West Bromwich Albion in 2004/05, Sunderland in 2013/14 and Leicester, a year later in 2014/15.
The irony in Leicester’s great escape, is Nigel Pearson was the manager at the King Power, who masterminded the revival and although was sacked from the manager’s job, after overseeing the stay in the Premier League, is, in some way, credited with being part of Leicester’s historic Premier League title win a year later.
Most of the players that were rock bottom at Christmas 2014, lifted the title some 16-month after being at the bottom of the table at Christmas.
The Watford faithful will be hoping Big Nige does it again.
Watford’s 6-December Premier League games stand as Won-2, Drawn-2 and Lost-2, yielding 8-points from a possible 18, Nigel Pearson gaining 7 of the 8-points.
Nigel was even unfortunate enough to have the 1st-game of his tenure at Watford, as an away fixture against Liverpool, so the loss there is no disgrace.
Wolves sensationally came from 2-0 down against Pep’s Low Flying City to get a great 3-2 victory, with goals from Adama Traore, Raul Jimenez and Matt Doherty.
Following that great game at Molineux, Nuno’s Gold and Blacks headed to Liverpool to take on Jurgen’s Reds and were unfortunate to come away from Anfield with nothing following a 1-0 defeat.
The dreaded VAR ruled a Wolves equaliser out right on the half-time whistle.
Wolves didn’t concede in the 2nd-half but couldn’t score so ultimately lost the game on Merseyside.
No disgrace there as everyone has lost at Anfield this season.
Wolves 7-December Premier League results are Won-3, Drawn-2 and Lost-2, giving Nuno’s men 11-points from a possible 21-on offer, leaving them with 30-points from their opening 20-games.
Whilst Wolves are doing exceptionally well, one of the Top Four clubs wouldn’t go far wrong in having a look at the Right-Back Matt Doherty.
The Irishman wouldn’t look out of place advancing down the right of the Etihad or Stamford Bridge.
Matt wouldn’t look out of place at Anfield but Jurgen has Trent Alexander-Arnold in that position and Terence Trent is possibly one of the best players in the World at the moment.
Manchester United have Aaron Wan-Bissaka so Matt would be surplus unless Ole decided to replace Ashley Young with Matty.
Leicester and Tottenham would not be foolish if they made enquiries about Matt.
The aforementioned Matt Doherty and a Daryl Janmaat
own goal gave Wolves the 2-0 victory when these teams met back in September.
Betway offer Watford at 19/10, the Draw at 9/4 and 6/4 for Wolves to come away with all 3-points.
Betway offer 9/4 that there are Under 1.5 Goals and 8/1 for a 0-0 Scoreline.
Draw 0-0
WEST HAM v BOURNEMOUTH
Now for the late Afternoon games in England with this game at the London Stadium kicking-off at 17.30 PM.
Following West Ham’s defeat against Leicester on Saturday, David Gold and David Sullivan, the owners of the Hammers, decided that Manuel Pellegrini’s time in London should come to an end and showed him the way to the concrete.
Manuel was inaugurated into the Premier League Sacked Managers Wats App group, who’s initials are PMSL WAG, with his first message coming from Unai.
Not about football, Unai wanted to know how Manuel had kept his hair that well over the years.
The usual suspects were on the betting sites as to who would be the next new Hammers boss.
David Moyes, Sam Allardyce, Mark Hughes, Chris Hughton and even Alan Pardew, although Big Pards has now got a manager’s job in Holland.
Before even finishing this sentence, it appears David Moyes will be the boss at West Ham for the game against Bournemouth.
Note to the Double Ds, get some imagination into your club.
David Moyes is David Moyes, he’s the football equivalent of Ronseal, he will do exactly what it says on the tin and if the Bubbles are not relegated, it will only be by the merest of points.
David Moyes is the reason Manchester United are in the position they are now.
Apart from Everton, where granted he had a good tenure, David has failed at every other club since leaving Goodison Park.
Manchester United-sacked!
Not even lasting a season.
Real Sociedad- sacked after a year.
Sunderland- got them relegated after finishing 20th in the Premier League, even threatening a female reporter with ‘a slap’ if she didn’t conform.
Nice one David!
West Ham- kept them in the Premier League but wasn’t offered a new contract.
It appears there must have been conflict between the 2-Owners as to whether to keep Moyes or go for Manuel.
Now one of the owners has got his way in getting rid of Manuel, the other has to go along with the appointment of David Moyes.
As a Barnsley FC fan, this EveryTip contributor has no dog in the fight but mark these words, West Ham won’t improve under David Moyes and if relegated, the owners will definitely get what they deserve.
Pablo Fornals got the Hammers solitary goal in the 2-1 defeat against Leicester on Saturday.
Not that the defeat against Leicester was the deciding factor in Manuel’s departure, West Ham’s December results are Won-1 and Lost-4.
The Bubbles only played 5-games in December due to Liverpool’s exploits in Doha.
The decision to show Manuel Pellegrini the concrete is probably right, the problem for the Hammers faithful is appointing David Moyes.
Terry will be on TalkSPORT tomorrow screaming and crying and needing subtitles when he goes off on one of his Cockney Rebellions.
Good luck Bubbles!
Eddie and the Cherries is a great name for a band, however, Eddie Was Sacked By the Cherries doesn’t scream Top 40 hits.
If Eddie is not careful, he will be ringing Manuel up to see how to complete the Job Seekers Allowance form and joining the PMSL WA group.
Another defeat on Saturday, a 2-0 loss against Brighton, leaves Eddie Howes Bournemouth with just 20-points, a point more than today’s opponents and just 2-points above the relegation zone.
The 6-December Premier League games saw Bournemouth yield just 4-points from the results that read Won-1, Drawn-1 and Lost-4.
Eddie’s squad has been hit with injuries so the faithful do need to be patient but this is a result business and a result business that carries a lot of money to get the results to stay in the Premier League.
Eddie and the Cherries won’t have many hits in the Championship and Eddie is Down the Concrete could just be that 1-hit wonder.
Four different goal-scorers were on hand for the Game Week Seven fixture back in September.
Andriy Yarmolenko gave West Ham the early lead after just 10-minutes but that lead didn’t last long when Josh King equalised for the Cherries.
Callum Wilson put Bournemouth in front just after the break but like a bad dog walker, Eddie’s Cherries couldn’t hold onto the lead.
Aaron Cresswell equalised for West Ham midway through the 2nd-half and the game finished in a Desmond 2-2 draw.
Betway offer West Ham at 11/10, the Draw at 11/4 and 9/4 for Bournemouth to come away with all 3-points.
Betway offer Odds On 4/7 for Both Teams To Score and 16/5 for Both Teams To Score and the result as a Draw.
Draw 1-1
MAN CITY v EVERTON
Everton head the short distance to the Etihad in another 17.30 PM kick-off in England.
Man City took a 2-0 lead against Wolves last Friday, then conceded 3-goals to ultimately lose the game 3-2.
Ederson was shown a straight Red Card for an innocuous challenge on a Wolves player, meaning City had to play for 80-minutes with 10-men.
Ederson was then missing from the home fixture against Sheffield United on Sunday and despite Sheffield United being unbeaten away from Bramall Lane, Pep’s City got a brilliant 2-0 victory over Chris Wilder’s Blades.
Sergio Aguero, who was the player unfortunately sacrificed when Ederson was sent off and City had to replace an outfield player to allow Claudio Bravo to go in goal, got the opener against Sheffield United just after the break.
The mercurial Kevin De Bruyne added the 2nd to get Pep’s Blues back to winning ways.
Man City’s 6-December Premier League results were Won-4 and Lost-2, City rarely draw.
In between those Premier League fixtures, Pep’s Blues progressed to the Semi-Final of the Carabao Cup and will face Manchester United in the 2-legged tie.
The loss against Wolves would have irked the Citizens being 2-0 in front but what would have hurt more would be the home defeat against Manchester United.
City are just a point behind Leicester, sitting 3rd in the Premier League table.
Everton are revitalised under, firstly the caretaker boss Duncan Ferguson and now under the permanent manager Carlo Ancelotti.
The Italian, who has masterminded 3-Champions League victories, with AC Milan twice and Real Madrid is a legend in the game and is now overseeing the Toffees of Merseyside.
Carlo also won the European Cup twice as a player.
As honours go, Carlo can outshine any of the other 19-managers in the Premier League.
Carlo is simply the Top Trump of football honours Top Trumps.
David Moyes is not far behind!
Carlo was in the stands for the game against Arsenal which is up there with the drabbest Premier League game ever.
Carlo is having nothing to do with that one.
On his record, he’s now 2-from-2.
Following the 1-0 home victory against Burnley, Mr Ancelotti continued his winning streak with the Toffees beating Newcastle 2-1 at St James Park on Saturday.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin scored both goals either side of the Magpies equaliser.
Everton’s 7-December Premier League results are Won-3, Drawn-2 and Lost-2.
Considering the 2-losses were against Liverpool and Leicester, 1 and 2 in the Premier League, Everton aren’t doing too bad.
The 2-draws were against Arsenal and Manchester United so Carlo definitely has something to build on.
This will be a stiffer test for the Italian and he will need all his experience to get something out of a game against Pep’s boys.
Marco Silva was still in charge at Goodison Park back in September and oversaw a 3-1 defeat against Pep’s City.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin had equalised a Gabriel Jesus opener to send both teams in at the break, level.
Everton held there own for 25-minutes until Riyad Mahrez put City in front.
Raheem Sterling put the game to bed with 10-minutes to go giving Man City a 3-1 victory, starting the demise of Marco’s reign on Merseyside.
Betway offer Man City at Odds On 2/9, the Draw at 6/1 and a massive 10/1 for Everton to come away with all 3-points.
Betway offer 7/5 that a Goal is Scored in the First 15-Minutes and 2/1 that there are Over 4.5 Goals.
Away Win 1-4
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NORWICH v CRYSTAL PALACE
The third 17.30 PM kick-off in England sees Crystal Palace head to Norfolk.
Norwich put in a spirited display against Tottenham on Saturday at Carrow Rd, getting a great point from a 2-2 draw with Jose’s Boys.
Mario Vrancic scored early in the game to give the Canaries a 1-0 half-time lead.
Tottenham equalised after the break but Norwich regained the lead through a brilliant bit of individual skill from Teemu Pukki.
Teemu won’t be credited with the goal as his shot was bungled in by the Tottenham defender Serge Aurier.
Spurs again levelled to give both teams a share of the points.
In the 7-December Premier League games, Daniel Farke’s men have Drawn-3 and Lost-4, giving them 3-points from a possible 21, which, although the draws were against Arsenal, Leicester and Tottenham, 3-points from 21 is simply relegation fodder and Norwich could be heading back to the Championship unless Daniel can bring in a few players in January that enhances the squad.
Maybe Lionel Messi likes Coleman’s Mustard.
Crystal Palace earned a point from a 1-1 draw against Southampton at St Mary’s on Saturday.
After a goalless 1st-half, James Tomkins gave the Eagles a lead after the break.
Unfortunately for Roy’s boys, Palace couldn’t hold on to that lead and conceded a Saints equaliser giving both teams a point.
The Eagles only played 6-Premier League games in December and have a record of Won-2, Drawn-3 and Lost-1, which gives them 9-points from a possible 18.
In the 6-games, Palace have only scored 5-goals and although they don’t concede many, 4 in total, it’s scoring the goals that appears to be the stumbling point in turning the draws into victories.
At Selhurst Park back in September, Roy’s Eagles hate up Daniel Farke’s little Canaries getting a great 2-0 victory.
Luka Milivojevic scored an early penalty but Palace had to wait until the 92nd-minute to kill the game off when Andros Townsend scored to give Crystal Palace the 2-0 win.
Betway offer Norwich at 6/4, the Draw at 5/2 and 7/4 for Crystal Palace to come away with all 3-points.
Betway offer slight Odds On 19/20 that there are Under 2.5 Goals and 15/4 that Crystal Palace Win to Nil.
Away Win 0-2
ARSENAL v MANCHESTER UNITED
The final New Year’s Day game at the Emirates kicking off at 20.00 PM in England.
Mikel Arteta is at the helm at the Emirates now but the Gunners fortunes haven’t changed much in the 2-games Pep 2 has overseen.
Arsenal drew the 1st-game against Bournemouth then in his debut home game, suffered a 2-1 defeat against London rivals Chelsea.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang put the Gunners in front in the 1st-half and things looked to be going well for Mikel and his boys.
Unfortunately, the Arsenal goalkeeper Bernd Leno decided to fly out of his goal to try and punch a Chelsea free-kick but completely missed the ball which allowed the Blues to score an equaliser.
Chelsea then scored the winner to inflict a debut home defeat on Mikel Arteta.
Arsenal are one of the clubs that have registered 7-December Premier League games and have a record of Won-1, Drawn-3 and Lost-3 giving them 6-points from 21 and leaving them in 12-position in the Premier League table, which is quite possibly the lowest the Gooners have seen their beloved team in a long while.
Robbie Lyle and his crew will not be happy.
Manchester United are continuing their rise up the Premier League table following another victory against Burnley on Saturday.
Anthony Martial gave United the lead just before the break.
Although United never looked troubled, the Gold Devil’s had to wait until the 95th-minute to get the 2nd goal through Marcus Rashford to give Ole’s Wheels a 2-0 victory following the 4-1 Boxing Day win against Newcastle.
A few of the travelling faithful were heard singing,
‘United are back, United are back’
yet the majority are still sceptical and just want to wait a while before the chant becomes more popular.
United have been the busier of all the Premier League teams in December, not only playing 7-Premier League fixtures but also a Europa League game and the Quarter-Final of the Carabao Cup.
United won that Quarter-Final and will now face Noisy Neighbours City in the 2-legged Semi-Final in the New Year.
In the 7-League games, United have Won-4, Drawn-2 and Lost-1, giving them 14-points from the 21-on offer, taking Ole’s boys up to 5th in the Premier League table.
Paul Pogba has had a couple of brief cameo appearances over Christmas but missed the victory against Burnley.
There is still talk that Paul will be heading out of Old Trafford in January with Madrid a possible destination.
At the minute, everything is being denied but apart from the odd United fan who still thinks Paul enhances the team, not many will be disappointed to see the French World Cup winner leave if the inevitable happens.
Regardless of whether Paul stays or leaves Old Trafford, Ed Woodward still needs to back Ole in the January Transfer Window and purchase a couple of players.
At Old Trafford back in Game Week Seven, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s 2nd-half strike for Arsenal cancelled out Scott McTominay’s opener for United scored just before the break giving both teams a share of the points.
Betway offer Arsenal at 7/5, the Draw at 11/4 and 17/10 for Manchester United to come away with all 3-points.
Betway offer Odds On 13/20 that there are Over 2.5 Goals and slight Odds On 10/11 that Manchester United lead 1-0 at Anytime.
Away Win 1-2
LIVERPOOL v SHEFFIELD UNITED
This game kicks-off at 20.00 PM in England on the 2nd of January 2020 bringing a close to BT Sport’s epic coverage of the Premier League games.
Liverpool continued their relentless pursuit of their first Premier League title and their first League title in 30-years by getting a professional 1-0 victory against Wolves on Sunday.
Sadio Mane got the solitary goal in the dogged display at Anfield even having the dreaded VAR helping them out by cancelling a perfectly good Wolves goal.
It’s rumoured VAR had switched channels and were watching Frozen on the BBC iPlayer.
Jurgen’s Reds have only taken part in 5-December Premier League fixtures due to competing and winning the World Club Cup in Doha.
Liverpool’s December Premier League record is simply Won-5.
One result that will show on Liverpool’s record though, is a 5-0 defeat against Aston Villa in the Carabao Cup.
There are extenuating circumstances that resulted in the heavy loss against Villa with Jurgen deciding to field a youth team in Birmingham, 24-hours before fielding his first eleven in Doha.
In essence, Jurgen decided to sacrifice the Carabao Cup for the chance to become World Champions.
Jurgen Klopp knows what he is doing and even the most ardent Reds fan will forgive Jurgen anything if the Reds win the Premier League.
Sheffield United suffered a 2-0 defeat at the Etihad on Sunday against Man City.
After 9-unbeaten away games, Chris Wilder’s Blades were finally beaten away from Bramall Lane.
To lose against City at the Etihad is certainly no disgrace and Chris just needs to move on to this next tough ask at Anfield which could quite conceivably see back-to-back away defeats.
James from Swinton is still not happy with the dreaded VAR, or when he spells it, RAV.
Little Jim, who was over the moon with his orange Santa brought him, is already writing his Christmas wish list for next year and has asked for a lump of coal, to go with last year’s apple and this year’s orange.
Bless him, most kids want an X-Box or PlayStation, not the little Blunt, he struggles to spell X-Box and thinks a PlayStation is where he catches the Train to his beloved Bramall Lane.
VAR, whilst watching Worzel Gummidge, on BBC 1, decided Lys Mousset early goal should be ruled out because Lys had half of his right foot offside.
In truth, whilst the dreaded VAR is more interested in Aunt Sally than proceedings at the Etihad, the referee should have awarded a foul on Sergio Aguero by the Blades Right-Back Jack O’Connell before Lys had put the ball in the City goal.
Chris Wilder was not happy with the officials, it was clear in his facial expression and feels VAR is ruining the game.
VAR isn’t ruining the game, it’s the controversial decisions that are made by a group of officials 100s of miles away in Stockley Park and not by the on-field referee who could simply look at a pitch-side monitor but chooses not to, or is advised not to, that is preventing the game from progressing.
It’s now clear that the decisions made over the first part of the season and this festive period has exposed the fact that football’s 156-year-old rule book and the 21st-Century Technology used to enforce them are an imperfect match.
Both need to be looked at.
VAR is supposed to clear up errors that referees have missed.
Someone’s half-foot or armpit that is a millimetre offside isn’t an error.
Diego Maradona punching the ball into the net, is!
VAR can enhance football but only when the rules and the technology are married together.
Whatever happens, Jimbo doesn’t like RAV, hope he doesn’t work for Toyota.
Sheffield United’s 7-December Premier League games are Won-3, Drawn-2 and Lost-2 giving the Blades 11-points from a possible 21 on offer, leaving them 8th in the Premier League table, which is simply brilliant for the Yorkshire club.
An error from Sheffield United’s goalkeeper Dean Henderson gave Liverpool a close 1-0 victory over the Blades at Bramall Lane back in September.
Betway offer Liverpool at massive Odds On 2/11, the Draw at 6/1 and 16/1 for Sheffield United to come away with all 3-points.
Betway offer 7/5 that there are Over 3.5 Goals and 2/1 that Liverpool Win and Both Teams To Score.
Home Win 3-1
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