Top Soccer Betting Picks of the Week –  December 11th Edition

Major League Soccer has gone into hibernation for the winter, as Atlanta United FC took down the Portland Timbers to win MLS Cup this past weekend. However, the European leagues are still in midseason form. In the English Premier League, Liverpool has moved past Manchester City by a point with 42 points, as the Reds remain unbeaten with 13 wins and three draws. Tottenham, Chelsea and Arsenal round out the top five in the EPL table. In La Liga, Barcelona sits three points clear of Sevilla atop the table, with Atletico Madrid, Real Madrid and Alaves completing the top five. In the Bundesliga, Dortmund leads the table by seven points over second-place Moenchengladbach, with 36 points after 14 matches. We have put together three soccer betting picks for you to consider in the coming week’s action on the pitch.

Top Soccer Betting Picks of the Week –  December 11th Edition

Sky Sports: Premier League Power Rankings: Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah top https://t.co/IOOrewn13B # pic.twitter.com/w25Y2vh7B4

— Huddersfield News 365 (@TerriersNews365) December 11, 2018

Saturday, December 15

EPL: Everton at Manchester City (7:30am ET)

Everton had made some signs of contending in the EPL this season with some early fireworks, but they had to scramble just to pull off the home draw against Watford last week. They took the early goal with a score from Richarlison in the 15th minute, but then they bumbled back into a tie with an own goal in the 63rd minute. Watford took the lead with a goal by Abdoulaye Doucoure in the 65th minute, and Lucas Digne had to pull off heroics in the sixth minute of extra time at the end of the second half to deliver the draw. Everton only possessed for 57% of the game and allowed Watford way too much space. Manchester City will be looking for some redemption a week after getting blanked at Chelsea to slide into second place in the EPL table for the first time in over a year. In their loss to Chelsea, they saw N’Golo Kante score just before halftime and then David Luiz add to the advantage in the 78th minute. City led in shots, 14-8 and in possession, 62%-38%, and had an 87% pass accuracy rate. They even forced 13 corners, to just 1 for Chelsea, but they could not find the back of the net. They will look to apply similar pressure at home against Everton and should have considerably more success. Soccer Betting Prediction: Manchester City 3, Everton 1

Sunday, December 16

EPL: Manchester United at Liverpool (11:00am ET)

Manchester United demolished Fulham last week at home, rolling to a 4-1 win that was essentially over at halftime, with Man U taking a 3-0 lead on the strength of goals from Ashley Young (13th minute), Juan Mata (28th) and Romelu Lukaku (42nd). The second half saw Fulham answer with a goal from Aboubakar Kamara, who converted a penalty in the 67th minute, but the red card shown to Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa one minute later made it even easier for Man U to hold onto that lead, and Marcus Rashford added insult to injury with a fourth goal in the 82nd minute. Liverpool is riding high right now thanks to their own strong start and to the loss Manchester City took last week at Chelsea, allowing the Reds to climb atop the table. Liverpool also played a laugher of their own last week, rolling to a 4-0 shellacking of Bournemouth on the road. Mohamed Salah put up the hat trick, scoring in the 25th, 48th and 77th minutes, and then an own goal gave the Liverpool their last tally. Liverpool only put four shots on net, but three of them eluded the goalkeeper. If they can host Manchester United with similar accuracy on their shots and with similar control of possession, they should pick up the home win. Soccer Betting Prediction: Liverpool 3, Manchester United 2

La Liga: Barcelona at Levante (2:45pm ET)

Levante went on the road last week and drew in a 4-4 match against Eibar. The fireworks started early, as Sergi Enrich opened the scoring for Eibar in the eighth minute, followed a minute later by the equalizer from Levante’s Jose Luis Morales Nogales. Levante took the lead into halftime thanks to a goal from Roberto Suarez Pier in the 25th minute. Eibar answered in the 57th minute with a score from Gonzalo Escalante. Then Eibar looked to have salted away the game with a pair of goals from Charles in the 61st and 65th minutes. However, Levante took advantage of an own goal in the 75th minute and then got the tying goal from Borja Mayoral in extra time at the end of the second half. Levante will need to find some defense as La Liga-leading Barcelona shows up. Barcelona delivered a 4-0 rout at Espanyol last week. Lionel Messi opened the scoring in the 17th minute, and then Ousmane Dembele (26th) and Luis Suarez (45th) followed him, before Messi returned to cap the scoring in the 65th minute. Barcelona led in shots (17-15), shots on target (9-3), possession (56%-44%) and passing accuracy (85%-84%). If Levante can’t get some better coverage, this could be another big day for Barcelona. Soccer Betting Prediction: Barcelona 4, Levante 2