as usual, there’s little rest between the games for top flight sides across christmas, and after a brief break the league returns for the boxing day fixtures. this is generally one of the highlights of the premier league calendar, and this year is no different. ahead of the latest round of matches, you can see our betting tips and odds comparison below.
southampton’s season has got even tougher of late, after a string of big games. after making a poor start with a relatively easy fixture list, many started worrying for them as they approached clashes with some of the top sides in the division. those concerns certainly seem founded, with the saints struggling for goals when they come up against better defences. having looked goal-shy all season, the saints have got a huge task on their hands ahead of this trip to wembley on boxing day, marking an early start for their travelling faithful.
this game seems like a late christmas present for tottenham, who are heavy favourites according to our odds comparison. they are kicking off the day with a straightforward clash, going up against a solid side, but also an unspectacular one. we do expect spurs to ultimately have too much class for their opponents, but we struggle to see the saints putting up much of a fight up front. spurs are starting to settle defensively in their new surroundings, and we’re backing them to pick up a win and clean sheet when they host southampton this week. a win to nil is well priced ahead of this clash, and it can be backed at 5/4 with betvictor.
the evening clash on boxing day sees high flying liverpool facing off with a swansea side who are struggling to stave off relegation. this is the visitors’ second game without boss paul clement, who they sacked just before christmas. that seemed like a harsh decision, especially as he hasn’t been given a particularly potent squad to work with this season. he’s seen his two main attacking threats from last season sold off, leaving the swans shy of goals, leading to a few too many defeats. while they had an impressive campaign to ultimately beat the drop last time out, this season’s results haven’t been deemed good enough by the swans board, who are set to enter the new year in the bottom three for the second season in a row.
however, the swans are heading to one of the grounds where clement enjoyed one of his biggest results as manager. his side won at anfield in early 2017, setting them up for their push for safety. however, we can’t see a managerial change having the same effect on the swans, as they’re lacking in attacking talent ahead of this trip. there’s little backing for the welsh side across the board on our odds comparison.
on top of that, the reds have been impressive at the back at anfield this term; they have one of the best home defensive records in the top flight and that should continue here. we’re going for another win to nil for one of the big sides, with a liverpool win and clean sheet best priced at 17/20 with coral.
newcastle are on an awful run of form in the premier league, so the last thing they want is to come up against a rampant man city team on boxing day. pep guardiola’s side could run riot here, based on the form of these two teams. while the former bayern munich boss has enjoyed a big transformation in his city side, his opposite number here would love a similar turnaround.
rafa benitez is dealing with a newcastle side who have completely dropped off after making a good start in their return to the top flight, and that’s left them struggling at the wrong end of the table.
the hosts are expected to be on the end of a heavy loss on wednesday night, following their struggles against some of the league’s mid-ranking sides. the magpies have lost their defensive organisation, and there are few sides who have the resolve to hold off city anyway. with newcastle in such dire straits, we can see this being a long night for the home faithful, as we’re backing a thumping city win. we’re backing city with a -2 handicap here, which is best priced at 15/8 with betfair.
this round of fixtures wraps up on wednesday night, as arsenal head to selhurst park. the gunners have struggled on their travels this term, with just two away wins to their name from nine matches. that’s not the kind of record they’d have expected coming across the half-way point of the campaign, but it is still enough to keep them in the champions league chase. however – continued struggles away to average sides will cost the gunners a place in the top four. despite that, they could well be set for another slip before the end of 2017.
palace have hit a great stretch of form at home of late, which started as they beat the champions at selhurst park. having gone on an impressive scoring run in front of their own fans since that victory, there’s bound to be plenty of confidence surrounding the eagles camp. they head into this game as massive outsiders, but we think it’s worth backing against an arsenal win given how poor they’ve been on the road this term. selhurst park was the scene of one of their worst nights of the year, and we see them coming away with another poor result. we’re backing palace to avoid defeat, which is well priced on our odds comparison at 11/10 with coral.