* All prices are bang up to date with our snazzy widgets, while odds in copy are accurate at time of publishing but subject to change.
Ah Boxing Day. You’re still tucking into the leftovers of the Christmas turkey that your mother-in-law made that you had to pretend wasn’t too dry, much like her sense of humour.
Those among us who truly understand the spirit of Christmas know that the best part is the borderline concussive state you enter after that feed. That and a bucketload of footy to get stuck into.
Liverpool v Leeds, Wolves v Watford and Burnley v Everton have fallen by the wayside, but we’ve still got six matches to get stuck into. Here’s who we fancy to find the back of the net.
HELLO FROM PADDY POWER NEWS!
Man City v Leicester: No
3pm
When Man City hit a run, they’re fairly much impenetrable. It’s not to do with their defensive structure or their attacking turnover, but actually to do with the fact that, when in rhythm, they simply don’t lose the ball.
If they don’t lose the ball, then they shan’t be conceding. It’s no Christmas miracle.
Norwich v Arsenal: No
3pm
WHERE ARE YOU? LET’S BE ‘AVIN YOU!
Sorry, this just spares me having to write the same old things about Norwich. You know, about not being good enough for this level, and all.
Arsenal may well be reaping the benefits of their young crop at the moment, particularly in front of goal, but without established scorers, they could be in severe trouble over a larger sample size.
Moving on from Auba could be the right move culturally, but it should hurt their goalscoring potential short-term. And this is without me even considering Norwich into the equation. An easy no.
Spurs v Palace: No
3pm
The one thing Conte doesn’t do when he’s finding his groove is concede goals on the break. They’re often carved open by creative nuance but generally speaking, from set-pieces and losing the ball, they’re so well organised that they’ll never be caught unawares.
Palace have probably coughed up their entire season’s worth of goals in their last outing, too. Poor distribution – very un-Vieira-like.
West Ham v Southampton: Yes
3pm
David Moyes is a curious fellow. It’s like he can prepare for huge games and concoct masterplans to beat top sides, convincing us they’re a good bet for the top four.
And yet when it comes down to a simple game like Southampton at home at Christmas – a team who have absolutely no depth – you can guarantee they’ll be conceding at least once, conning them out of a positive result to kickstart the second half of the campaign.
Aston Villa v Chelsea: Yes
5.30pm
TV: Sky Sports Premier League
Steven Gerrard can smell blood. That’s not a metaphor or an endorsement – he very much can. So can you. It’s not a talent.
But when a wounded animal comes to Villa Park now, I’d feel confident of them not getting the result they badly needed. Chelsea’s bad run looks set to continue until they can figure out how to switch Romelu Lukaku back on.
Brighton v Brentford: No
8pm
Sky Sports Premier League
We’ve done it – we’re here! Hang on, who put this bloody game as the primetime slot on Boxing Day?
You know well how this goes. Brighton, making themselves temporarily look like Barcelona, only to go on and lose 1-0, citing some ‘problems’ in the final third again.
Some traditions are eternal.
* A Bet Builder on these six best bets pays at approximately 31/1 with Paddy Power. CLICK HERE TO ADD IT TO YOUR BETSLIP.
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