Week 20 of EPL action aligns with Boxing day in what should be another round of great football. There’s still little surprise in the fact that Manchester City have a commanding lead at the top of the table, that also became bigger during the week after Manchester United had to settle for a 2-2 draw with Leicester. Their lead is now 13 points at the halfway mark of the season which doesn’t look like being caught, albeit for a catastrophe of poor results.
Week 20 Best Bet: Watford vs Leicester – Over 2.5 goals at $1.79
Week 20 Best Value Bet: Liverpool vs Swansea – Over 4.5 goals at $3.45
Week 20 Head to Head Multi Bet: Tottenham Win ($1.33), Chelsea Win ($1.17), Everton Win ($3), Manchester City Win ($1.2) = $5.6
**Odds from Sportsbet.com.au as of 24thDecember
Tottenham vs Southampton
Tottenham turned around some of their recent poor form with a strong 3-0 win away at Burnley last time out. It was an impressive win considering that prior to that match Burnley had only conceded 3 times at home all season. The question mark remains though on Tottenham’s consistency to make it 2 in a row here but judging by their performance during the week, coupled with some returns of key players such as Sanchez, Spurs should be taking care of Southampton with relative ease.
Predicted Result: Tottenham 3-1
Best Bet: Over 2.5 goals at $1.68
Best Value Bet: Tottenham to win & BTTS at $3
Bournemouth vs West Ham
The Cherries had little chance against Manchester City last time out when they lost 4-0 but may have a better time of it here against West Ham. The Hammers were slightly shocked when they lost 3-2 at home to Newcastle and an away trip here could be tough given Bournemouth will be pretty eager to bounce back from a poor result on the road at Manchester City. All in all though, this should be a pretty even contest with both sides coming off poor results and eager to bounce back.
Predicted Result: Draw 2-2
Best Bet: BTTS – Yes at $1.72
Best Value Bet: Over 2.5 goals at $2.02
Chelsea vs Brighton
The Blues had to settle for a 0-0 draw at Everton last time out, but it wasn’t through a lack of effort given they had 25 shots on goal with 8 on target. Hosting Brighton this week though they should be able to break the deadlock if they play with the same intent, they just need some luck to go their way. Brighton have lost their last 3 away games and causing an upset here looks too much to ask.
Predicted Result: Chelsea 2-0
Best Bet: Chelsea to win to Nil at $1.62
Best Value Bet: Chelsea to win both halves at $2.4
Huddersfield vs Stoke
Stoke broke through for a win during the week when they beat West Brom 3-1 at home. They had been on a 3 game losing streak prior to that but a win now gives them some momentum ahead of a trip to Huddersfield. Huddersfield have been in pretty good touch lately having lost just once in their last 4. This should be a pretty close contest but Huddersfield have been playing some good football at home that should see them edge this one. Stoke at the moment are difficult to trust, despite such a good home win last time out.
Predicted Result: Huddersfield 2-1
Best Bet: Half-Time Draw at $1.91
Best Value Bet: Huddersfield to win at $2.5
Manchester United vs Burnley
Manchester United have slipped further behind Manchester City in the title race, not that it’s a very close title race at the moment. Their 2-2 draw at Leicester would have hurt having dropped the 3 points in injury time. Burnley have been a tough side to play this season but their 3-0 loss at home to Tottenham along with some key absences through injury means some cracks are starting to show. It’s not a great time to dip in form given the number of fixtures coming up in quick succession.
Predicted Result: Manchester United 2-0
Best Bet: Manchester United to win to Nil at $1.72
Best Value Bet: Manchester United Correct score 2-0 at $5
Watford vs Leicester
It’s now 4 straight losses and no wins in 6 for Watford which continues their dip in form after what had been a great start to the campaign where they were pushing into the top 5 or 6 sides. This week looks really tough too against a Leicester side that have lost just once in their last 5 league games. Their fightback to draw 1-1 against Manchester United during the week will be a big boost too.
Predicted Result: Leicester 2-1
Best Bet: Over 2.5 goals at $1.79
Best Value Bet: Leicester to win at $2.88
West Brom vs Everton
The Toffees are now undefeated in their last 7 in all competitions and are well placed to make it undefeated in 8 at the very least when they head to West Brom. The Baggies are struggling down in 19th having not won a match since 20th August when they beat Burnley 1-0.
Predicted Result: Everton 1-0
Best Bet: Under 2.5 goals at $1.48
Best Value Bet: Everton to win at $3
Liverpool vs Swansea
There’s just too much firepower in this Liverpool side to not see a Liverpool win here. There’ll be some fight and resistance from Swansea here given their need to get results and having given their manager the flick but really it’s a big ask to try and stop a frontline of Salah, Firminio and Mane.
Predicted Result: Liverpool 4-1
Best Bet: Liverpool/Liverpool Half-Time/Full-Time at $1.57
Best Value Bet: Over 4.5 goals at $3.45
Newcastle vs Manchester City
Newcastle showed plenty of fight to come out victors against West Ham on the road during the week but Manchester City are a train that is coming at them at full steam. There just seems no way to stop this Manchester City side at the moment.
Predicted Result: Manchester City 3-0
Best Bet: Manchester City to win to Nil at $2
Best Value Bet: Manchester City -2 Handicap at $2.63
Crystal Palace vs Arsenal
A London derby is a good way to finish week 20 off with Palace hosting Arsenal. The Gunners have been a little up and down lately as evidenced by their draws with West Ham and Southampton whilst their draw against Liverpool would have also taken a bit out of them having come from behind to go 3-2 up. Palace have been difficult to beat lately which may make it a tough day at the office for Arsenal. They’re currently undefeated in their last 8 and will certainly be up for the fight here especially given they have enough talent too cause Arsenal’s defence problems. It may be another one of those tough days for Arsenal once again.
Predicted Result: Draw 2-2
Best Bet: BTTS – Yes at $1.62
Best Value Bet: Over 3.5 goals at $2.77
