Christmas is a wonderful time of the year. Families from around the world come together to share gifts and enjoy a Turkey dinner. But more importantly, the festive period brings us lots of Premier League football.
So make sure you don’t drink yourself into a frenzy and miss Boxing Day’s fantastic fixtures- a day that sees all 20 teams feature.
They say the table starts to take shape around Christmas and if indeed true, Leicester- who will be top of the League on Christmas day- will surely be brimming with Christmas spirit.
In stark contrast, the Chelsea players will be having a very Blue Christmas in their mansions. Don’t forget to spare a thought for them as you tuck into your roasties.
Here is what Boxing Day has to offer:
Stoke V Manchester United
Manchester United travel to Stoke for Boxing Day’s early kick off.
Louis Van Gaal is under a huge amount of pressure after suffering defeat at the hands of Norwich last weekend. Another unfavourable result could see the Dutchman relieved of his position.
The Brianna Stadium is always a tough place to travel for the big guns and the out of form Manchester United will have to be at their very best to walk away with the spoils.
The corresponding meeting between the pair ended in stalemate.
Betting Odds: Stoke 21/11 Draw 19/8 Manchester United 11/8
Prediction: Stoke City 1-0 Manchester United
Aston Villa V West Ham United
Both West Ham United and Aston Villa drew their last games. Both will be hoping for the three points in this for very different reasons.
Aston Villa sit at the bottom of the table, and West Ham sit 8th- Just four points behind fourth spot.
The Hammers will be favourites to walk away with the points, however the Villains need to start securing points if they are to have any hope of avoiding the drop.
The corresponding bettering between the pair ended in a Villa win, with Tom Cleverly scoring the only goal.
Betting Odds: Villa 22/19 Draw 23/10 West Ham 19/10
Prediction: Aston Villa 1-3 West Ham
Bournemouth V Crystal Palace
Bournemouth welcome Crystal Palace this boxing day in what should be an entertaining encounter.
Bournemouth have recently come into some fine form, winning all three of their previous three matches against Chelsea, Manchester United and West Brom respectively.
Crystal Palace have been one of the league’s most consistent teams, sitting comfortably in sixth position in the league- level on points with fourth placed Tottenham.
The last time these two teams met was in 1989 in the second devision. Bournemouth won the game 3-2.
Betting Odds: Bournemouth 6/4 Draw 29/12 Crystal Palace 21/10
Prediction: Bournemouth 1-1 Crystal Palace
Chelsea V Watford
Chelsea host Watford at Stamford Bridge in what will be Guus Hiddink’s first game in charge of the Blues since replacing the Special One.
Having sacked Jose Mourinho last week, the Blues recorded a 3-1 win last weekend against Sunderland, much to the displeasure of the Stamford Bridge faithful, who spent the entire game mourning their fallen leader while booing their under-performing stars.
Watford also won their last game, demolishing Liverpool 3-0.
This will be a tough game for the Blues who cannot afford to drop more points if they are to claim a top 4 spot, come May.
Betting Odds: Chelsea 4/9 Draw 4/1 Watford 38/5
Prediction: Chelsea 2-0 Watford
Liverpool V Leicester
Liverpool host high flying Leicester in one of Boxing Day’s highly anticipated fixtures.
Liverpool was humiliated at the weekend by Watford, as the Klopp effect starts to wobble.
It would appear life at Anfield is no breeze in the park, no matter who the manager is.
Leicester however are on fire. They sit top of the League and deservedly so to. They have been outstanding this season and show no signs of letting go of their lead.
The corresponding fixture ended in a 2-2 draw.
Betting Odds: Liverpool 66/67 Draw 3/1 Leicester 16/5
Prediction: Liverpool 1-2 Leicester
Manchester City V Sunderland
Having been beaten by Arsenal on Monday evening, Manchester City will be licking their wounds as their title challenge suffers a huge blow.
Having spent around £150m in the summer, City have massively under-performed this season.
Sunderland are another team struggling to get the results they need after being beaten by Chelsea at the weekend.
Manchester City will be clear favourites for this match and they will be hoping to put together a good run of results to drag themselves back into the title race.
The corresponding fixture ended in a 3-2 win for Manchester City.
Betting Odds: Man City 2/9 Draw 69/10 Sunderland 15/1
Prediction: Manchester City 4-0 Sunderland
Swansea V West Brom
Swansea City host West Brom at the Liberty Stadium on Saturday in what is sure to be a close encounter.
The two teams are separated by a mere five points, Swansea currently sit in the drop zone and desperately need points.
The corresponding fixture ended in a 3-0 win for the Welsh club.
Betting Odds: Swansea 21/20 Draw 5/2 West Brom 18/5
Precision: Swansea 2-2 West Brom
Tottenham V Norwich
Norwich heaped pressure on Manchester United last weekend with a well deserved victory at Old Trafford and they will be full of confidence going to White Hart Lane on Boxing Day.
That being said, their form is rather patchy and Spurs to be right up for this game as they look to make a statement to keep that Champions League place in the league that they now occupy.
The corresponding fixture resulted in a 2-0 win for Spurs back in 2013.
Betting Odds: Tottenham 4/9 Draw 4/1 Norwich 15/2
Prediction: Tottenham 2-1 Norwich
Newcastle V Everton
Newcastle have taken some heavy defeats this season and looked to be in free fall until recently, surprising pundits by registering successive victories against in-form Liverpool and Tottenham this month.
Everton’s eight-game unbeaten run came to an end when league leaders Leicester City won by the odd goal in five at Goodison Park on Saturday.
The Toffees have only been beaten once away from home in the league this season but have been guilty of giving away winning positions at Bournemouth and Norwich on their most recent road trips.
The corresponding fixture resulted in a 3-2 win for Newcastle.
Betting Odds: Newcastle 41/18 Draw 51/19 Everton 23/17
Prediction: Newcastle 1-1 Everton
Southampton V Arsenal
Southampton host Arsenal, with a 19:45 kick off in Boxing Day’s match at St Mary’s.
Southampton is usually a tough place to visit for most sides, however the Saint’s form hasn’t been great as of late, they have had 5 defeats and 1 draw in their last 6 games in all competitions, and that solitary point came at home to relegation favourites Aston Villa.
Arsenal’s form is the polar opposite of their opponents. Arsenal are unbeaten in their last 5 games with French talisman Olivier Giroud in red hot form scoring 4 goals in 2 games.
The corresponding fixture ended in a 2-0 win for the Saints.
Betting Odds: Southampton 119/40 Draw 49/18 Arsenal 11/10
Prediction: Southampton 2-1 Arsenal
