THE GAMES COME thick and fast this time of year and there is a full round of Premier League fixtures on St Stephen’s Day before all 20 teams play again on 28/29 December.
Manchester United and Newcastle to score over 2.5 goals – 4/7
Third-placed Manchester United saw a six-game winning run come to an end as they could only manage a 1-1 draw against 10-man Aston Villa. Newcastle, meanwhile, were beaten 1-0 by Sunderland in the Tyne/Wear derby.
Five of Man United’s last six Premier League matches have seen three or more goals scored, while the same can be said of all but one of the Magpie’s four previous outings.
Everton and Stoke to draw – 5/2
Everton are having a hard time trying to find consistent form at the moment and have gone down to Man City and Southampton this month either side of a 3-1 win over QPR. Mark Hughes’ Stoke earned a terrific 3-2 victory at home to Arsenal at the beginning of December but have since drawn with Crystal Palace and lost to Chelsea.
Three of their past five league meetings have ended in a 1-1 draw and we can see this one being close.
First goalscorer: Swansea v Aston Villa: Wilfried Bony – 3/1
Swansea’s in-form striker Wilfried Bony has bagged eight league goals in his last 12 games, which has prompted a number of clubs to express an interest in signing the former Vitesse Arnhem star.
Manager Garry Monk has brought Portuguese international Nelson Oliveira on a loan deal and the Benfica forward will join Bafetimbi Gomis as the Swans’ two recognised strikers when Ivorian Bony leaves for the African Nations Cup in January.
He still has a couple of games to play before departing, however, and I fancy him against Villa.
Treble: Chelsea to win at home to West Ham 1/3, Southampton to win away to Crystal Palace 11/10, Sunderland to win at home to Hull Evs
League leaders Chelsea look unstoppable at the moment and should have enough to overcome Sam Allardyce’s resurgent West Ham, currently fourth. Southampton stopped the rot and got back to winning ways against Everton and they can close the gap on the Hammers by picking up three points away to relegation-threaten Palace.
Sunderland, meanwhile, will take confidence from their derby win over Newcastle and see off Hull — winless in ten matches and lying in 19th place.
Manchester City -1 v West Brom – 6/4
The reigning champions may not have a recognised striker in their squad due to the injuries of Sergio Aguero and Edin Dzeko, but as they showed in the 3-0 in over Crystal Palace, there are still goals throughout the team.
The Baggies have lost their last two and are without a win since the 1 November.
