Four matches get the second half of the of the English Premier League season under way on Saturday and we have a play for each game including Aston Villa v Notts Forest, Brighton v Burnley, Wolves v West Ham and Bournemouth v Arsenal
Prices quoted are correct at the time of publication but subject to change.
Aston Villa v Notts Forest
Villa’s record breaking winning streak came to an end at Arsenal on Tuesday when a frantic second half saw them eventually go down 4-1. They remain in third spot and now 6 points behind The Gunners who lead the way.
Forest put in a poor shift in their 2-0 home defeat to Everton in midweek and they remain fourth from bottom, 4 points clear of third bottom West Ham. They also lost recent road trips 3-0 at Everton and then went down 1-0 at Fulham, they have won at Liverpool this season and have collected 8 points from 9 away fixtures.
A test of Villa’s character after the blistering run of results came to an abrupt end at Arsenal. My enthusiasm for a bet in this one is not overly high but I’ll include the Morgan Rogers price boost for an assist.
Bet: Morgan Rogers 1 or more assists boosted to 4/1 with Sportingbet
Brighton v Burnley
Brighton have slipped into the bottom half of the log after 3 draws and 3 defeats in their last 6. Results over the Xmas period comprise of draws at home to Sunderland (0-0) and away at West Ham (2-2) either side of a -1 defeat at Arsenal.
Burnley’s 3-1 home defeat to Newcastle in midweek sees them remain second bottom, 6 shy of fourth bottom Forest and without a win in their last 10 league games. They did draw at home to Everton (0-0) and at Bournemouth (1-1) over Xmas and despite their troubles they have scored in each of their last 8 road trips since losing 3-0 at Spurs on the opening weekend.
This is an ideal opportunity for Brighton to return to winning ways and I’ll side with the tend of Burnley finding the net and losing
Bet: Brighton to win and both teams to score? Yes at 21/10 with Sportingbet
Wolves v West Ham
Wolves snapped an 11 match losing streak with a 1-1 draw away at Man United last time out. There have been encouraging signs in narrow defeats at Arsenal and Liverpool recently although a more winnable looking fixture, at home to Brentford delivered a 2-0 defeat and they remain rock bottom, without a win and just 3 points to their name.
West Ham are third bottom with 14 points. These Xmas and early new year fixtures have been seen as an opportunity to get some momentum but results in their two most recent outings, home games against Fulham (lost 1-0) and Brighton (drew 2-2) have done little to lift the gloom.
Wolves have been playing well against top side and West Ham don’t fall into that category but a win remains elusive and whilst I am far from confident, my preference is for a West Ham win.
Bet: West Ham to win at 19/10 with Betway
Bournemouth v Arsenal
It’s now 10 league games without a win for Bournemouth although 4 of the last 5 have ended all square, most recently a 2-2 draw away to Chelsea. At the time of writing it looks likely prize asset Semenyo will be heading to Man City although whether that transfer goes through prior to this match is unclear.
Arsenal put the hammer down in the second half to thrash Villa 4-1 at The Emirates on Tuesday. They have won 14 of 19 league games this season and although the previous 3 had been won by just a single goal margin they now have their first choice centre back pairing back from injury after keeping just 2 clean sheets in the last 9 EPL outings.
Calafofiora is ruled out for Arsenal but Gabriel returned to the defence against Villa and I’m with Arsenal to win 1-0, 2-0 or 3-0 in the multi score market.
Bet: Multi correct score, 0-1, 0-2, 0-3 at 21/10 with Sportingbet
Happy new year to all, wishing you all the best for 2026
Note, odds are correct at the time of writing but are subject to change