The festive season of football so far has certainly delivered with plenty of goals, entertainment and drama along the way, and hopefully that continues with this weekend’s fixtures.
Man City at one time looked invincible, however, three defeats in four games have left Pep Guardiola’s side with plenty of work to do as Liverpool and Jurgen Klopp blaze a trail at the top.
Huddersfield are bottom of the table going into this weekend and only three sides have previously been bottom of the league at Christmas and survived the drop.
Our football betting expert runs through a pick of this weekend’s games and gives you some of the best bets to look out for.
Fulham v Huddersfield
We may still only be in December, but this is definitely a ‘six-pointer’ already as both sides desperately need the win to boost their top-flight survival hopes.
Claudio Ranieri’s side were within inches of winning their Boxing Day encounter with Wolves, only for a late Romain Saiss goal, and then a Connor Coady goalline clearance denying the Cottagers a much-needed win.
Their performance showed signs of improvement and they created a number of chances for star striker Aleksandar Mitrovic who on another day could have easily had a hat-trick.
Huddersfield caused Man United a few problems at Old Trafford last time out but were again outclassed and David Wagner’s side look in serious trouble.
Fulham go into the game rightly as evens favourites, but the value bet looks to be in the half-time/full-time market where a Draw/Fulham is good value at 4/1.
Liverpool v Arsenal
The standout fixture of the gameweek sees Liverpool’s unbeaten record put to the test by Unai Emery’s Arsenal at Anfield.
The Reds have looked in imperious form all season and have had a festive period to remember with respective 2-0 and 4-0 wins over Wolves and Newcastle helping them to establish a six-point lead at the top of the table going into this game.
Arsenal’s run of 22 games unbeaten was impressive but they have stuttered in recent weeks and have only picked up one win from their last four matches, with the Gunners having to battle to secure a draw at Brighton last time out.
Liverpool are unsurprisingly 4/9 favourites to take this contest, while Arsenal are out at 11/2.
The Reds have been solid at the back all season, but I do see the Gunners breaching the backline at some point on Saturday, so a Liverpool win plus both teams to score looks to be the bet of the game at 13/8.
Southampton v Man City
Man City’s season has derailed massively in recent weeks, and while they are still in the hunt for the quadruple, it is going to be tough to overhaul Liverpool and win the league title.
Defeats to Crystal Palace and Leicester leave Guardiola with plenty of work to do to get the Citizens back on track, and they travel to a rejuvenated Southampton side under Ralph Hasenhuttl.
The Saints may have lost last time out to West Ham at St Mary’s, but have boosted their survival hopes in recent weeks and look a different team under the Austrian.
Although I see Man City coming away with victory this weekend, Southampton will provide another stern test and at 15/8 a bet on City to win and both teams to score is very appealing.
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