Boxing day promises a thrilling feast of football as matchday 18 of the 2024/25 Premier League season unfolds, marking the halfway point of an action-packed campaign. With eight matches lined up, fans can look forward to a day full of excitement, drama and pivotal clashes that could shape the league standings.
In this article, we will be diving into the standout fixtures and picking out our top tips:
Manchester City vs Everton
Manchester City have endured their worst run of results since Pep Guardiola’s arrival at the club in the summer of 2016 in their past 12 matches, leaving them quickly slipping behind the league leaders Liverpool.
With this marking the halfway point of the campaign, Man City must get back to their best if they are to stand any chance of catching up to the league leaders and rejoining the ongoing title race, and a match against Everton could prove the perfect opportunity.
Everton are once again in the relegation battle this season, and while their defensive record is once again rather impressive for a side toward the bottom of the table, their lack of goals has come back to haunt them from previous season.
With these issues, while Man City also boast the home advantage, we believe the Citizens will secure the win here.
Manchester City to win, 1.28
Nottingham Forest vs Tottenham
Nottingham Forest have made a remarkable start to the season, currently in a battle for the European places after 17 matches played, while Tottenham have had an extremely inconsistent season thus far.
Forest find themselves battling at the top of the table thanks to their brilliant defensive solidity, with top scorer Chris Wood supplying the crucial goals to help deliver them victories and points. On the other hand, Tottenham have been riddled with inconsistency, from beating the likes of Manchester City 4-0 and 2-1 in the space of three weeks to losing against Ipswich, Galatasaray and Fulham in the meantime.
With this, Forest will be full of confidence, especially as they are playing at home, leading us to believe the hosts will secure a narrow win here.
Nottingham Forest to win, 2.68
Newcastle United vs Aston Villa
These two sides appear to be rather evenly matched on paper, while they are also extremely close in the Premier League table having experienced similar seasons thus far.
While both teams are pushing for a place in the European places in the league table, neither have been able to hit the consistent heights that they have achieved in the past seasons, meaning they are already playing catchup to the teams above them.
However, both have seemingly returned to form in recent weeks, meaning this game is lining up to be an extremely tightly contested affair, and for this reason, we believe it will end all square.
Newcastle United & Aston Villa to draw, 3.90
Liverpool vs Leicester City
Liverpool have been one of the best teams, if not the best, across the entirety of Europe so far this season, remaining as the only team to have a flawless record in the Champions League while also battling for the Premier League title, something very few people expected of the Reds in their first season under Arne Slot.
Leicester, on the other hand, are firmly in the relegation battle, having already switched managers from Steve Cooper to Ruud van Nistelrooy, which has had a slight positive impact on their form.
However, Leicester have conceded a massive number of chances and goals throughout the campaign, and with Liverpool boasting one of the best attacks in the league, we expect them to secure a big victory here.
Liverpool to win & over 3.5 goals, 1.65
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