English Premier League football returns from the World Cup break on Boxing Day when our focus is on Brentford v Spurs, Leicester v Newcastle, Aston Villa v Liverpool and Arsenal v West Ham and a search for potential goalscorers.
Note, odds are correct at the time of writing but are subject to change
Brentford 27/10 Draw 27/10 Spurs evens
Brentford are in mid table with 4 wins, 7 draws and 4 defeats and 3 of those wins came in front of their own supporters whilst the other was a huge surprise, a 2-1 victory away to Manchester City just prior to the World Cup break.
Spurs return to action in fourth place, 1 point behind third place Newcastle and 3 better off than Manchester United who have a game in hand. They have won 6 and lost 4 of their last 10 league games and they haven't kept a clean sheet in any of their last 5.
Verdict:
Brentford striker Ivan Toney is in trouble with the FA over alleged breaches of betting rules, whether that stops him taking and part until the hearing is not clear at the time of writing.
Richarlison is out for Spurs adding to the burden on Harry Kane who played a huge part for England in the World Cup. One player I do feel can play a big part for Spurs over the remainder of the season is Kulusevski and he is my any time goalscorer pick.
Bets: Anytime goalscorer Dejan Kulusevski at 33/10 with Betway
Leicester 9/4 Draw 2.55/1 Newcastle 12/10
After spending much of the early stages of the Premier League season in the bottom 3 Leicester have improved and 4 wins in their last 5 have seen them rise to thirteenth. Their only recent defeat came at home to Manchester City (1-0). In midweek they won 3-0 away to League 1 side MK Dons to reach the EFL Cup quarter finals.
Newcastle are third and they have lost just the 1 league game so far, 2-1 at Liverpool at the end of August. They have taken 22 points from the last 24 available and in their last 4 road trips they won 4-1 at Fulham, drew 0-0 at Manchester United, won 2-1 at Spurs and 4-1 at Southampton. Newcastle were 1-0 winners at home to Bournemouth in the EFL Cup in midweek.
Verdict:
Leicester look a different proposition now compared to the early stages of the season whilst if Newcastle start as they left off before the World Cup they will be tough to crack.
Games between these sides usually bring more than their fair share of goals but I'm not so sure this will provide an avalanche. I don't expect a 0-0 though and Harvey Barnes is my idea to pop up with a goal anytime.
Bets: Anytime goalscorer Harvey Barnes at 31/10 with Betway
Aston Villa 34/10 Draw 31/10 Liverpool 15/20
Villa's revival under Unai Emery has taken them from danger towards mid table. They have won 3 of their last 4, most recently 2-1 at Brighton whilst they were quickly out of the blocks and went on to complete a 3-1 win over Manchester United in their most recent home game. An earlier home game just after Gerrard left delivered a 4-0 win over Brentford but they did lose 4-0 at Newcastle.
Liverpool were in EFL Cup action in midweek and they lost their grip on that trophy when they went down 3-2 at Manchester City, a game where neither side was at full strength. They now return to Premier League action next week in sixth position in the standings, 15 points behind Arsenal and 10 shy of City. They have won their last 2 league games, at Spurs and at home to Southampton but they have yet to win 3 consecutive league matches this season.
Verdict:
Whilst Villa's Argentine goalkeeper emerged as one of the biggest stars of the World Cup Liverpool had many players representing nations that went pretty deep but Salah and Firminio were not involved and Nunez didn't go beyond the group stage.
With that in mind Liverpool should carry a huge goal threat but clean sheets have been thin on the ground this season and with Villa in decent shape I fancy goals for both sides. The price for that outcome is pretty short so let's continue with the “anytime” theme and Mo Salah gets a confident vote.
Bets: Anytime goalscorer Mo Salah at 14/10 with Betway
Arsenal 0.53/1 Draw 34/10 West Ham 52/10
Arsenal have won 7 and drawn 1 of their last 8 league games and they went into the World Cup break with a 5 point lead over Manchester City at the top of the standings. Their only league defeat this season came 2-1 at Manchester United in early September and the only other dropped points came when they were held to a 1-1 draw at Southampton. Only 6 of their 14 league games have been home fixtures and they won all of them scoring 30 goals in the process whilst conceding 9. Gabriel Jesus is on the injury list.
West Ham are fifth from bottom and they have lost 4 of their last 5. Their only recent win came 2-0 at home to Bournemouth and they have taken just 4 points from 7 road trips, scoring just 3 goals and conceding 7.
Verdict:
West Ham are surely better than their league position and away record suggests but with the Gunners in such great form I won't be attempting to make a case for a surprise and will again look for a goalscorer.
Jesus absence is a blow for the Gunners but they do share the goals around and one man who was not involved in the World Cup who is very capable of finding the net is Martin Odegaard
Bets: Anytime goalscorer Martin Odegaard at 5/2 with Betway
Note, odds are correct at the time of writing but are subject to change
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