There’s little time to let the Christmas pudding settle for the Premier League stars who are in action between Boxing Day and the 28th December. Watford and Crystal Palace find themselves with the least rest, having been given the lunchtime Boxing Day kick-off. Both sides have just one win in five coming into this match as they look to end the year on a more positive note. Also on Boxing Day we see struggling Hull City host Manchester City. The Tigers find themselves propping up the rest of the table but even a point could be enough to change this.
The following day’s sole match sees second placed Liverpool up against an inconsistent Stoke outfit. Jurgen Klopp’s side have lost just two games at home in 2016 in all competitions, so Stoke are going to have to produce something very special to leave Merseyside with three points. On Wednesday, we see Mauricio Pochettino return to his former club, Southampton, as Tottenham look to stay in contention for a top four spot. The Saints are very rarely beaten at St Mary’s but it’s a place Tottenham have enjoyed going in recent years.
Monday 26th December 2016
Watford v Crystal Palace (12:30) – Both teams to score (4/5 with Betfred)
Neither team have enjoyed much success of late but you feel Watford will be confident of getting something here against a struggling Palace side. The Hornets haven’t been able to maintain their free scoring start to the season though and have failed to score in three of their last five matches. There’s reason to think they won’t draw blank again however. Not only is Italian striker Stefano Okaka in contention to return but they are up against a defence that has managed just one league clean sheet since April.
Having won just six league games in the whole of 2016, Alan Pardew is one of the bookies’ favourites to be the next manager getting the sack. A win here would be a very timely one but while that may be asking too much, his side should at least be able to score. The only time they’ve failed to do that in their last nine matches was against a formidable Chelsea side. Against lesser opposition, they should be able to add to their 28-goal tally this season, the sixth highest in the league. Both teams look like finding the back of the net here and are decent value to do so at Betfred.
Hull City v Manchester City (17:15) – Manchester City to win by one goal (29/10 with Betfair)
Hull find themselves three points adrift from safety coming into this round of fixtures and anything gained from this game would be a boost for their survival hopes. Results haven’t gone their way lately but performances haven’t been quite as bad. They were incredibly unfortunate not to get something against West Ham in their last match and they also gave Tottenham a close game for an hour three days earlier. If this is anything to go by then they should be able to put up a fight here, especially as they are on a four game unbeaten streak at the KCOM Stadium.
It’s hard to know exactly what we’ll get from City on Monday. They’ve failed to win three games a row, across all competitions, since September and Guardiola is still trying to find their former consistency. They dominated the second half against Arsenal last time out but were brushed aside by Leicester in their most recent away match. The win against Arsenal will have been a huge boost for them though, as they play one more time without Sergio Aguero who serves the final game of his ban. This game shouldn’t be as straightforward as the league table suggests but City should have enough to clinch the three points.
Tuesday 27th December 2016
Liverpool v Stoke (17:15) – Liverpool to win with a -1 handicap (4/5 at Coral)
A loss against Bournemouth and draw against West Ham proved to be nothing more than a blip for Liverpool who have since won two games on the bounce. Both victories included clean sheets for the Reds, something which they have now managed in five of their last seven matches. At the other end, the absence of Philippe Coutinho is still a noticeable one but Liverpool have shown they have enough attacking quality to get by without him. With Jurgen Klopp’s side riding high after their last gasp winner against rivals Everton, they should perform with plenty of belief here.
It’s hard to see Stoke giving a Liverpool side with a great home record a run for their money. The Potters hold a very average away record and come into the game having thrown away a 2-0 goal lead to a 10 man Leicester side last time out. A lack of a consistent goalscorer looks like being one of the thorns in their side here. Currently their top scorer is midfielder Joe Allen on five goals, two clear of anybody else. With them not having enough fire power to worry Liverpool and with Marko Arnautovic still suspended, they look like losing this game by more than a one goal margin.
Wednesday 28th December 2016
Southampton v Tottenham (19:45) – Draw (19/20 with BetVictor)
Southampton had gone 14 games in all competitions without managing to score more than two goals in a game but that run came to an end recently when beating Bournemouth 3-1. Two goals from Jay Rodriquez ended a three month drought and there is hope he’ll be able to push on and help fill the boots of the injured Charlie Austin. Against a Tottenham defence that has let in just seven league away goals this season though, things will not be easy, especially as Toby Alderweireld should have recovered from a back problem in time.
Things looks like being equally tough for Tottenham though. Their main man, Harry Kane, has looked out of sorts in the past couple of games and they’ve had to rely on goals from midfield recently. The Saints have the joint second meanest defence at home and have only lost two league games at St Mary’s in 2016. Spurs have tended to enjoy their trips to the south coast since Southampton were promoted but with them far from top gear just lately, a draw, and probably a low scoring one, looks likely.