As Christmas approaches, we have an absolutely huge weekend of sporting action to look forward to, starting on Friday night with Arsenal vs Liverpool and continuing over the weekend with Real Madrid vs Barcelona, The PDC World Darts Championship and The Boxing Day Test Match in the Ashes. In this article, I will be giving you my five best betting tips for the weekend, some of them long shots and some of them bankers. Take a look through them and see what catches your eye!
Everton v Chelsea – HT Draw – 16/1 (Stan James)
Sam Allardyce has overseen a remarkable turnaround in Everton’s form since he took charge, with the club going on a run of four wins and a draw in his opening five matches. To coincide with that, Wayne Rooney has now scored six goals in his last five games and has reached 10 for the season before Christmas for the first time since 2011.
On Saturday, Everton take on a solid looking Chelsea side who have lost just once in their last 11 matches. I can see this one being a tight game and I’m backing it to be a draw at half time. I’m expecting Everton to line up similarly to the way they did against Liverpool and so I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see the two sides go in 0-0 at half time.
West Ham to beat Newcastle United – 11/10 (Ladbrokes)
Newcastle United come into this game on a terrible run of form which has seen them lose eight of their last nine matches. Rafael Benitez’s side are being dragged into the relegation dogfight after a strong start to the season and the manager and fans alike surely can’t wait for the January transfer window. This Newcastle United side look well short of the quality required for the Premier League and this weekend they come up against a resurgent West Ham United side. David Moyes has overseen an improvement at West Ham since he took over and at 11/10 to win here, his side look like great value for money!
English Premier League – West Ham United v Newcastle United – London Olympic Stadium, Saturday 23rd December 2017, Kick-off: 15.00 GMT
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Draw Best Odd of: 12/5 at Unibet |
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West Ham United
Newcastle UnitedManchester United to win and Over 3.5 goals – 8/5 (Coral)
Manchester United suffered an embarrassing 2-1 defeat to Bristol City in the EFL Cup in midweek and Jose Mourinho will have surely sent a rocket up the backside of plenty of those involved in the game. On Saturday evening they take on a Leicester City side who have been doing pretty well under Claude Puel and who pushed Manchester City all the way in their EFL Cup match before being eliminated on penalties. I’m backing goals in this one and with Romelu Lukaku looking to be back on form, I think it could be a Festive Goalfest.
Real Madrid v Barcelona – Draw – 11/4 (PaddyPower)
Real Madrid welcome Barcelona to Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday lunchtime in one of the biggest games in world football. This El Clasico comes at a time when Real Madrid find themselves a massive 11 points behind their bitter rivals in the title race with Zinedine Zidane knowing that his side cannot afford to lose. Ernesto Valverde’s Barcelona side are unbeaten in La Liga this season, winning 13 of their opening 16 matches and I’m backing this one to finish as a draw. Barcelona know that a draw will keep Real Madrid at arms length and I can see them setting up to avoid losing this game.
Spanish La Liga – Real Madrid v FC Barcelona – Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid – Saturday 23th December 2017 – 12:00 UK Time
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Draw Best Odd of: 11/4 at PaddyPower |
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Real Madrid
FC BarcelonaCrystal Palace to beat Swansea City – 11/8 (Coral)
Paul Clement was relieved of his duties as Swansea City manager this week after a terrible season to date has found them rock bottom of the Premier League. Experienced midfielder, Leon Britton, has stepped in on a caretaker basis and it will be interesting to see how he gets on this weekend. They will come up against a Crystal Palace side who are unbeaten in their last seven matches and I’m backing Palace to continue that run with a win here. They may have only won one game away from home all season, but they look quality at the moment and they should be far too good for Swansea in this one.
English Premier League – Crystal Palace v Swansea City – Selhurst Park – Saturday 23th December 2017 – 15:00 UK Time
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Draw Best Odd of: 21/10 at Ladbrokes |
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Crystal Palace
Swansea City