Deck The Halls Because The Premier League Is Back With A Bang On Boxing Day!

After the drama and excitement of the World Cup in Qatar, we are now heading back to domestic football with some action beginning tonight in the Carabao Cup (details below), but most fans will be focused on the big weekend of Premier League games that take place this weekend.

As we head into this crucial festive period, which sees the teams play three games in the space of ten days, these nine points on offer could make a crucial difference to any of the teams, whether they are fighting for the title or a Champions League place or trying to climb away from the relegation zone.

It is also going to be interesting to see how the teams get on with what is in effect another start to the season. Will those at the World Cup be more fatigued than their teammates who stayed at home? What effect will that have on the team selections managers will make over this busy period?

Of course, you will find plenty of betting on the Carabao Cup matches and the Premier League games coming up at the weekend with bet365 Sport and remember new customers that sign up can avail themselves of the Welcome Bonus for some additional Bet365 Credits too.

Let’s now take a look at the Carabao Cup Round of 16 games we have coming up this week.

Carabao Cup – Round of 16 – Fixtures

All games kick off at 7.45pm unless otherwise stated.

Tuesday 20^th December

• Wolverhampton Wanderers v Gillingham
• Southampton v Lincoln City
• Newcastle United v Bournemouth
• MK Dons v Leicester City

Wednesday 21^st December

• Charlton Athletic v Brighton
• Blackburn Rovers v Nottingham Forest
• Manchester United v Burnley (8pm)

Thursday 22^nd December

• Manchester City v Liverpool (8pm)

Obviously, the Manchester City v Liverpool clash is the biggest game of the week and it is going to be intriguing to see what calibre of teams both managers select for this game ahead of the busy festive period, but coming on the back of a lengthy break for a number of regular first teamers.

My tips here would be to back four Premier League teams to win Tuesday’s games (Wolves, Southampton, Newcastle United and Leicester City) and to follow a similar script for Wednesday where I think Brighton and Man Utd will win but Nottingham Forest may be taken into extra time or penalties.

The Man City v Liverpool clash is a tough one to call but I am going to go for a City win here and you can back that and both teams to score at 9/4 with bet365.

Premier League Fixtures & Best Bets – Matchday 17

All the matches on Boxing Day kick off at 3pm unless otherwise stated. Other games on the following days kick off at 8pm unless otherwise stated.

Monday 26^th December

• Brentford v Tottenham Hotspur (12.30pm)

Tale of the Tape

• EPL Record – BRE – 10^th P15, W4,D7,L4, 19pts (-2); TOT – P15, W9,D2,L4 29pts (+10)
• Top Scorer – BRE – I.Toney – 10 Goals, TOT – H.Kane – 12 Goals
• Head To Head – Brentford Wins – 6, Tottenham Wins – 24, Draws – 14
• Trends Of Note – Brentford have not beaten Spurs since Mar 1948 (13 games in total)

Betting Tip

Back Harry Kane (5/4) or Ivan Toney (15/8) or both to score at any time in this game.

• Crystal Palace v Fulham

Tale of the Tape

• EPL Record – CRY 11^th P14, W5,D4,L5, 19pts (-3); FUL 9th P15, W5,D4,L6 19pts (-2)
• Top Scorer – CRY – W.Zaha – 6 Goals, FUL – A.Mitrovic– 9 Goals
• Head To Head – Crystal Palace Wins – 14, Fulham Wins – 17, Draws – 16
• Trends Of Note – Crystal Palace have not beaten Fulham in any of the last 5.

Betting Tip

Fulham have been a bogey team for Palace in recent times. Take them to land the win at 12/5.

• Everton v Wolverhampton Wanderers

Tale of the Tape

• EPL Record – EVE – 10^th P15, W3,D5,L7, 14pts (-6); WOL 20^th P15, W2,D4,L9 10pts (-16)
• Top Scorer – EVE – A.Gordon – 3 Goals, WOL – R.Neves – 4 Goals
• Head To Head – Everton Wins – 63, Wolves Wins – 48, Draws – 27
• Trends Of Note – These two teams have scored the fewest EPL goals this season – 11 v 8.

Betting Tip

Neither of these inspire me with much confidence as a winner, so back the draw here at 23/10.

• Leicester City v Newcastle United

Tale of the Tape

• EPL Record – LEI 13^th P15, W5,D2,L8, 17pts (0); NEW 3^rd P15, W8,D6,L1 30pts (+18)
• Top Scorer – LEI – J.Maddison – 7 Goals, NEW – M.Almiron – 8 Goals
• Head To Head – Leicester Wins – 49, Newcastle Wins – 55, Draws – 27
• Trends Of Note – The last 6 games between the two have seen over 2.5 goals scored.

Betting Tip

Callum Wilson will be itching to get back playing and I’d back him to score anytime at 8/5.

• Southampton v Brighton

Tale of the Tape

• EPL Record – SOU 19^th P15, W3,D3,L9, 12pts (-14); BHA 7th P14, W6,D3,L5 21pts (+4)
• Top Scorer – SOU – C.Adams – 4 Goals, BHA – L.Trossard – 7 Goals
• Head To Head – Southampton Wins – 36, Brighton Wins – 21, Draws – 20
• Trends Of Note – 6 of the last 11 between these two teams have finished as score draws.

Betting Tip

The draw is a good value bet here, take the 5/2 on offer with bet365 on the points being shared.

• Aston Villa v Liverpool (5.30pm)

Tale of the Tape

• EPL Record – AVL – 12^th P15, W5,D3,L7, 18pts (-6); LIV – 6th, P14, W6,D4,L4 22pts (+11)
• Top Scorer – AVL – D.Ings – 5 Goals, LIV – R.Firmino – 7 Goals
• Head To Head – Aston Villa Wins – 59, Liverpool Wins – 100, Draws – 40
• Trends Of Note – There has not been a 0-0 draw in this fixture since Aug 2008.

Betting Tip

Darwin Nunez looked sharp against Milan. Back him to score anytime at 13/8.

• Arsenal v West Ham United (8pm)

Tale of the Tape

• EPL Record – ARS – 1^st,P14, W12,D1,L1, 37pts (+22); WHU – 16^th P15,W4,D2,L9 14pts (-5)
• Top Scorer – ARS – M.Odegaard– 6 Goals, WHU – M.Antonio – 2 Goals
• Head To Head – Arsenal Wins – 71, West Ham Wins – 35, Draws – 40
• Trends Of Note – Since Sep 2007, West Ham have won 2 of 30. Arsenal winning 23.

Betting Tip

Take Arsenal to win and both teams to score at 12/5.

Tuesday 27^th December

• Chelsea v Bournemouth (5.30pm)

Tale of the Tape

• EPL Record – CHE – 8^th P14, W6,D3,L5, 21pts (0); BOU – 14^th  P15, W4,D4,L7 16pts (-14)
• Top Scorer – CHE – R.Sterling – 3 Goals, BOU – P.Billing– 4 Goals
• Head To Head – Chelsea Wins – 11, Bournemouth Wins -5, Draws – 1
• Trends Of Note – Chelsea have lost twice and drawn once with Bournemouth in their last 3.

Betting Tip

I like the HT/FT Draw/Chelsea bet here which is a 3/1 chance with bet365.

• Manchester United v Nottingham Forest

Tale of the Tape

• EPL Record – MNU – 5^th P14, W8,D2,L4, 26pts (0); NFO – 18^th – P15, W3,D4,L8 13pts (-19)
• Top Scorer – MNU – M.Rashford – 4 Goals, NFO – T.Awoniyi – 3 Goals
• Head To Head – Man Utd Wins – 48, Nottm Forest Wins – 33, Draws – 24
• Trends Of Note – Man Utd have won all the last 6 and lost just 1 of the last 11 against Forest

Betting Tip

Back the Number of Goals in the match as over 3 goals at 13/8.

Wednesday 28^th December

• Leeds United v Manchester City

Tale of the Tape

• EPL Record – LEE – 15^th P14, W4,D3,L7,15pts (-4); MNC – 2^nd P14, W10,D2,L2,32pts (+26)
• Top Scorer – LEE – Rodrigo – 9 Goals, MNC – A.Haaland – 18 Goals
• Head To Head – Leeds Wins – 43, Man City Wins – 47, Draws – 18
• Trends Of Note – Both Teams have scored in all of Leeds last 6 EPL games.

Betting Tip

I like Manchester City to land the win here and both teams to score, which is an 8/5 shot with bet365.

*All odds shown in this article were courtesy of bet365 Sport and were correct at the time of writing, but may have changed since.

Tags:  bet365 Sport Premier League sports betting

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