The Premier League is now back in full swing following the shutdown for the World Cup, and there was no shortage of excitement in the Boxing Day round of fixtures, with 34 goals scored.
Teams will have to pick themselves back up quickly for the next round of games, spread out across the final weekend of 2022 and New Year’s Day 2023. Bet9ja has you covered, with all the latest odds, tips and analysis going into three more days of action.
Nottingham Forest vs Chelsea
The City Ground
Sunday 1st January, 17:30
Chelsea visit The City Ground for the first time in more than 23 years on New Year’s Day, and while they will have taken confidence from their recent win against Bournemouth, they should be very way of the threat their opponents pose on home territory.
The World Cup break was much needed for Graham Potter’s Chelsea, as they went into that break with four defeats in five games, no goals in three games and no wins in their last five league games.
All those unwanted spells were brought to an end in a reasonably comfortable 2-0 win at home to Bournemouth when they returned on Tuesday, with first-half goals from Kai Havertz and Mason Mount sealing the win.
What will be of great concern for the Blues is that Reece James aggravated the same knee injury that kept him out of the World Cup. Chelsea seemed to lose their shape and rhythm after he was substituted early in the second half, and had Bournemouth possessed more cutting edge in the final third, the result would likely not have been as straightforward. James’ initial injury he picked up in October sparked Chelsea’s loss of form, and with the full-back set to miss a few more weeks of action, this could make Chelsea’s defence far more vulnerable.
Chelsea have tended to be consistent this season, as before their winless run in October and November, they were unbeaten in their first nine games under Potter, so the win against Bournemouth was crucial in terms of momentum. What Forest can take confidence from though is that Chelsea are still struggling at the top end of the pitch. They have scored 19 goals from their opening 15 league games, which is by some distance the weakest attacking return of all top-half teams.
Steve Cooper’s hosts come into this one on the back of a 3-0 defeat at Manchester United, but their home games against teams where they have been clear second favourites have been a different story in recent times. Their 1-0 win against Liverpool in October was one of the most surprising wins in the Premier League this season, and they knocked Arsenal out of the FA Cup with a win by the same scoreline last season. Tottenham secured a 2-0 win at Forest in August, but Forest had strong spells in that game and competed well.
If Forest can get off to a good start, they could then frustrate a Chelsea team with attacking weaknesses as the game goes on, but one of their biggest challenges is how they respond to adversity. The first two goals they conceded at Old Trafford on Tuesday marked the fourth time this season they have conceded two goals in the space of five minutes.
Three of those four games have been away from home though, and the Reds have generally been much more difficult to play when they have been at home. They are unbeaten in their last five games at The City Ground, winning three and drawing two; they produced clean sheets in three of their last four home games.
Bearing that in mind, along with Chelsea’s struggles going forward and particularly with James missing, we could see this being a low-scoring game, with Chelsea allowed to have a large majority of possession. Betja is offering odds of 2.03 on 1-2 goals being scored, while the draw at 3.90 should not be ruled out.
Bet9ja odds (at time of writing): Nottingham Forest win: 5.20, Draw: 3.90, Chelsea win: 1.68
Wolves vs Manchester United
Molineux
Saturday 31st December, 13:30
Fans of both clubs may be feeling positive going into the New Year, particularly after some impressive results in the last round of fixtures.
Julen Lopetegui has got off to a strong start as Wolves manager, winning three of his first four games in charge, with the only defeat coming against league leaders Arsenal. His team’s 2-1 success at Everton on Boxing Day was a throwback to the days of Nuno Espirito Santo’s successful tenure as manager, with Rayan Ait-Nouri’s 96th-minute winner the result of a counter-attack at the end of a game where Wolves had 41% of the ball.
That result took the Wanderers off the bottom of the table, although they still go into the weekend in the bottom three. It is worth remembering though that they played six league matches without a permanent manager in place after the sacking of Bruno Lage, and with Lopetegui now firmly in place, they should expect to pull away from danger.
The main stumbling block towards achieving that will be scoring goals. They have racked up just 10 league goals this season; the lowest total of any team in the Premier League. The signing of Matheus Cunha from Atletico Madrid on loan with an obligation to buy for €50m could change that, but for now at least, a back-to-basics approach is expected.
This is not the best time to be running into Manchester United, who continue to progress under Erik ten Hag. They go into this game on the back of four consecutive wins, with the last one being a comfortable 3-0 home success against Nottingham Forest on Tuesday.
While they are placed fifth in the table and are still some way off being ready to compete for the title, they are in a much happier place than they were at the start of the season, when they lost their opening two games to Brighton and Brentford respectively. The Red Devils’ league record since then reads much more positively, with nine wins, two draws and two defeats; one of those was away to Manchester City.
Recent history would point towards a low-scoring game on Saturday, with six of the last seven games between the teams producing fewer than two goals. United can expect to be allowed a greater share of possession, but given they have only been shut out once in the league since that defeat at Brentford in August, they should be able to break through Wolves’ defence. One of the standout markets for this one is an away win with under 3.5 goals, which is priced at 2.56.
Bet9ja odds (at time of writing): Wolves win: 4.10, Draw: 3.65, Manchester United win: 1.92
West Ham vs Brentford
London Stadium
Friday 30th December, 20:45
The pressure is building on West Ham going into this London derby, as they have won one game in their last six in all competitions and have lost all of their last four league games. The form book reads similar for Brentford though, who have picked up just one win in seven; albeit their last two games have produced a win at Manchester City and a draw at home to Tottenham.
That points us towards an away win on Friday, with Brentford priced at 3.65. Brentford have scored and conceded in all of their last five games, so you could be bold and go for Brentford and both teams to score at 6.80.
Bet9ja odds (at time of writing): West Ham win: 2.04, Draw: 3.60, Brentford win: 3.65
Liverpool vs Leicester
Anfield
Friday 30th December, 21:00
This game may have been viewed differently if it had been played before the World Cup break. Liverpool looked refreshed in their 1-3 away win at Aston Villa on Boxing Day, and while Leicester went into their last match with four straight wins and clean sheets, they were outplayed by Newcastle in a 0-3 home defeat.
While Liverpool will likely still be missing forwards Luis Diaz, Diogo Jota and Roberto Firmino due to injury, Mohamed Salah did not have to go to the World Cup and scored in the win at Villa. He is 4.80 to be first scorer in this one, and we also have our eye on Liverpool to win with a -2 handicap at odds of 2.75.
Bet9ja odds (at time of writing): Liverpool win: 1.30, Draw: 5.90, Leicester win: 9.20
Bournemouth vs Crystal Palace
Vitality Stadium
Saturday 31st December, 16:00
A run of six defeats in eight games looks quite damning for Bournemouth, but they did beat Everton 3-0 in their last home outing. Palace’s problems meanwhile seem to be in attack, having scored three goals in their last six games and none in their last three, although they had to complete their 0-3 Boxing Day home defeat to Fulham with nine men after picking up two red cards.
Recent form makes it hard to come down on the side of either team, but Bournemouth’s nine goals in their last three home games makes us see some value in odds of 2.12 on over 2.5 goals.
Bet9ja odds (at time of writing): Bournemouth win: 2.90, Draw: 3.30, Crystal Palace win: 2.54
Fulham vs Southampton
Craven Cottage
Saturday 31st December, 16:00
While Fulham have made a strong start to the season and go into this game in ninth, they have been difficult to predict, with six wins, four draws and six defeats in the league so far. However, five of those six defeats have come against the current top five teams.
That makes them favourites to beat a Southampton team desperate for points, as they are bottom of the table and have lost all of their last four league games, conceding 11 goals. Fulham’s odds of 2.00 at the time of writing offer some value, and we would also be looking at Aleksandar Mitrovic adding to his 10 Premier League goals this season; he is priced at 2.20 to score at any time.
Bet9ja odds (at time of writing): Fulham win: 2.00, Draw: 3.60, Southampton win: 3.75
Manchester City vs Everton
Etihad Stadium
Saturday 31st December, 16:00
The hosts had looked unstoppable at home before the World Cup, as they won all of their first 11 home games this season, but that run came to an end with a shock loss to Brentford. City’s 3-2 win at home to Liverpool in the Carabao Cup last week took their home goal tally for the season to a staggering 45.
That does not bode well for Everton, who have lost seven of their last nine games and have lost all of their last 10 matches against Saturday’s opponents.
We can expect to see goals in this one, and you can bet on 4-5 goals in the match at odds of 2.67. Meanwhile, City’s Erling Haaland has moved on to 26 goals for the season, and he is 3.25 to score first.
Bet9ja odds (at time of writing): Manchester City win: 1.14, Draw: 8.30, Everton win: 21.00
Newcastle vs Leeds
St. James’ Park
Saturday 31st December, 16:00
This is not a good time for any team to be playing Newcastle, who have lost just one game all season and have won 10 of their last 11 matches when including penalty shootout wins.
It’s been a different story for Leeds, who have lost seven of their last nine games, although they did win away to Liverpool within that run. Given the hosts have kept five clean sheets in their last six games, this makes their odds of winning without conceding at 2.19 stand out.
Bet9ja odds (at time of writing): Newcastle win: 1.47, Draw: 4.75, Leeds win: 6.60
Brighton vs Arsenal
Amex Stadium
Saturday 31st December, 18:30
Brighton have a strong recent record against the league leaders, having come out on top in their last two encounters; albeit the last one was in the Carabao Cup. Their recent league form has been strong too, with three wins from their last four games.
Arsenal have looked unstoppable at times this season though, winning 13 of their opening 15 league games, and they seemed to cope without the injured Gabriel Jesus in their last game at home to West Ham, winning 3-1. Brighton have proved they can make things difficult for them, but the Gunners should have enough quality to beat them, and are priced at 3.60 to win by one goal.
Bet9ja odds (at time of writing): Brighton win: 3.50, Draw: 3.50, Arsenal win: 2.12
Tottenham vs Aston Villa
Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
Sunday 1st January, 15:00
The question going into the first Premier League game of 2023 is on whether Tottenham can end their run of conceding first, which has happened in all of their last nine games, although they have only gone on to lose two of them.
Aston Villa got off to a great start under new manager Unai Emery, winning their first two league games of his reign, but were beaten 1-3 at home by Liverpool on Boxing Day.
Recent form may point towards a home win and both teams to score at odds of 3.20.
Bet9ja odds (at time of writing): Tottenham win: 1.68, Draw: 4.10, Aston Villa win: 4.90
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