Just 48 hours after the Boxing Day fixtures in the Premier League, there is another round of action beginning on Saturday with seven games taking place up and down the country as the race for the top four and the battle to survive takes centre stage.
We’ve seen some brilliant action over the course of the Christmas period already and with four kick off times, and three matches live on TV for us in the UK on Saturday, we should be in for another excellent day of football.
Early Kick Off
The action gets underway at the Amex Stadium where Brighton and Hove Albion host AFC Bournemouth in a clash between two sides who sit a little too close to the bottom three for comfort and who if results go against them could find themselves in the relegation zone at the end of the day were they to be beaten here. Neither team are in particularly good form so we could be in for a somewhat nervy opening to a long day of football.
3pm Matches
There are three matches in that traditional 3pm kick off slot on Saturday afternoon. Two teams in the bottom three meet in one of them at Vicarage Road when Watford host Aston Villa in what is a big game for both sides. Carlo Ancelotti will look to pick up a second win in as many matches in his reign as Everton boss when he takes his Toffees outfit to St James’ Park to take on Newcastle United. The other match sees Southampton looking for a third successive victory when they play host to Crystal Palace who are always dangerous on their travels.
Place 5 accumulators either in a Boylesports shop or online and get an acca free! Click the image above to bet. 18+ T&Cs apply. Gamble Aware.
Early Evening Matches
We have two matches kicking off at 5.30 pm on Saturday, one of which is live on TV and the other only switched because of the way the Boxing Day games were scheduled. The live game comes from Carrow Road as the bottom team Norwich City host Jose Mourinho and his Tottenham Hotspur side while the other match takes place at the London Stadium where West Ham United go in search of a much needed win when they take on a Leicester City side who might be a little bruised from their defeats to the big two over the last week or so.
Late Game
The action concludes at Turf Moor in the late evening kick off where Burnley will look to take it to Manchester United. United had an excellent win over Newcastle on Boxing Day but have been nothing better than bang average on their travels this season. Burnley are never not competitive but they might actually fancy their chances of picking up three points here given how weak their opponents have been on the road. Both sides can move up a few places with a win which should add to the competitiveness of it.
Betting
I’ll take a couple of bets here although I am cautious because there are going to be some strange results just given the short gap between these games and the last ones. The first bet comes from Carrow Road where I am expecting to see Norwich City and Tottenham Hotspur combine for some goals in what should be an entertaining enough contest. Norwich are in a position where they have to have a go here although in truth that is their modus operandi regardless of the situation. Spurs are generally decent against the lesser sides in the league, or have been under Mourinho, but they have a vulnerability to their defence that you can see Norwich capitalising on. I think over 2.75 goals lands here.
The other bet comes at the same time as Leicester City go to West Ham in a match where I think the visitors are overpriced. West Ham’s players look like they are done with Manuel Pellegrini and it is only a matter of time before the Chilean is changed and I expect Leicester to feast on that here. Leicester might have been brought down a peg or two over the last week but they don’t become a bad side overnight and should have the bit between their teeth to deliver the goods in this match. There is a vulnerability to this West Ham side that teams like Leicester can take advantage of and at just under evens they look a decent bet to do just that.
Tips
WON – Back Norwich City vs Tottenham Hotspur – Over 2.75 goals for a 5/10 stake at 1.78 with BetVictor
Back it here:
WON – Back Leicester City to beat West Ham United for a 4/10 stake at 1.95 with Coral
Back them here:
Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2019
