Many of Europe’s top soccer leagues have shuttered operations for the holidays, with La Liga down for another weekend and the Bundesliga closed even longer. Not so for the English Premier League, which features five matchups on New Year’s Day. Liverpool is running away with things right now, with 18 wins and one draw in 19 matches for 55 points. In their last action, they went to Leicester City, sitting in second place with 42 points with 20 matches, and delivered a 4-0 shellacking. Don’t miss the schedule for tomorrow’s English Premier League betting action along with our thoughts on the key matchups.
English Premier League New Year’s Day 2020 Betting Preview
❤ A decade of the Premier League ❤ pic.twitter.com/8nbghVwpKl
— Premier League (@premierleague) December 31, 2019
- Live Stream: NBCSports.com
Brighton & Hove Albion vs Chelsea (7:30 am ET, NBC Sports / fuboTV)
Chelsea rebounded nicely from their 2-0 home loss to Southampton in their last EPL match with a 2-1 away win at Arsenal on Sunday. Chelsea started slowly, giving up a goal to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in the 13th minute, and things looked grim for the Blues well into the second half, but then Jorginho found the back of the net in the 83rd minute and Tammy Abraham tallied four minutes later to give the Blues all of the points. Chelsea outshot Arsenal 13-7 (4-2 on target) and possessed for 58 percent of the game, controlling action against a game opponent — and finally getting rewarded.
Brighton is well down the table but delivered a rousing 2-0 home win over Bournemouth on Saturday, opening the scoring in just the third minute thanks to a goal from Alirez Jahanbakhsh. Brighton added insurance in the 79th minute thanks to a score by Aaron Mooy. Brighton outshot Bournemouth 16-10 (6-2 on target) and possessed for 56 percent of the game, forcing nine corners. Can Brighton play as well when Chelsea, way up the table in fourth place, comes to town?
Final Score Prediction: Chelsea 2, Brighton 0
Newcastle United vs Leicester City (10:00 am ET, NBC Sports Gold)
Leicester City rebounded from that drilling they took from Liverpool with an away win against West Ham United on Saturday. Kelechi Iheanacho scored for the Foxes in the 40th minute, but Pablo Fornals brought the hosts level just before halftime. Demarai Gray had the winner for Leicester City in the 56th minute, and then the Foxes held on for the win. West Ham outshot Leicester City 14-13, but the Foxes had more on target, 8-4, and they possessed for 58 percent of the game. West Ham played a physical game, committing 16 fouls and drawing four yellow cards, but Leicester City still held on.
Next for the Foxes come Newcastle United, who fell 2-1 at home to Everton on Saturday. The Toffees opened the scoring in the 13th minute with a goal from Dominic Calvert-Lewin, but then Newcastle drew level as Fabian Schaer scored in the 56th minute. Calvert-Lewin completed a brace in the 64th minute, which brought the scoring to a close. There were lots of shots, as Everton outshot the hosts, 22-20 (9-5 on target), and Newcastle only possessed for 42 percent of the match. Can Newcastle do a better job with an elite team coming to town on short rest?
Final Score Prediction: Leicester City 3, Newcastle 1
Arsenal vs Manchester United (3:00 pm ET, NBC Sports / fuboTV)
We’ve already gone over Arsenal’s home loss to Chelsea, so let’s take a quick look at Manchester United’s last match, a 2-0 away win against Burnley FC. The two sides played a tight first half before Anthony Martial scored for the visitors in the 44th minute. Matters stayed at 1-0 until Marcus Rashford added the insurance tally in injury time at the end of the second half. Burnley never threatened, possessing for just 38 percent of the game and putting just one shot on frame (to five for the visitors). Manchester United will have a sterner test from the Gunners.
Final Score Prediction: Arsenal 2, Manchester United 2
Other Games to Watch on New Year’s Day:
- Watford vs Wolves (10:00 am ET, NBC Sports Gold)
- Southampton vs Tottenham Hotspur (10:00 am ET, NBC Sports / fuboTV)
- West Ham United vs Bournemouth (12:30 pm ET, NBC Sports Gold)
- Manchester City vs Everton (12:30 pm ET, NBC Sports / fuboTV)
- Norwich City vs Crystal Palace (12:30 pm ET, NBC Sports Gold)
