Two full rounds of the English Premier League will be played from the morning of Sunday, the 31st of December until Thursday, the 4th of January to cap off what has been an extremely busy few weeks of football. With the two rounds intertwining, we bring you preview and tips for some of the key games in both Week 21 and 22 of the EPL below.
EPL Week 21 and 22 Betting Tips
Chelsea vs Stoke (Week 21 Sunday 2am AEDT)
Chelsea will be seeking their 7th consecutive home Premier League win on Sunday morning when they take on Stoke. The Blues currently sit 15 points behind the rampant Manchester City but will be looking to end 2017 on a high and continue to collect points in the unlikely event of a Man City slip up. More importantly though, Chelsea sit just one point behind Manchester United in 2nd place, and will be looking to leapfrog them here with another home win.
Stoke have impressed in the last two weeks of play. In Week 19 they were too good for West Bromwich Albion, downing them 3-1 in a fantastic performance by Joe Allen. Last week saw them play out a 1-1 draw in a game where they probably deserved the win against Huddersfield.
Chelsea are undefeated against Stoke in their last four contests. Stoke has never taken maximum points, in fact, they have just one total point at Stamford Bridge since their promotion to the Premier League in the 2008-09 season. It’s a daunting stat for the visitors, and we expect Chelsea to play to form here.
TIP: Chelsea to win and both teams to score - $2.80 at Sportsbet
Liverpool vs Leicester City (Week 21 Sunday 2am AEDT)
Liverpool will be fresh off making one of the biggest signings in football history when they face Leicester this Sunday morning. The Reds were able to secure the services of defender Virgil van Dijk for a whopping £70 million. The star defender wont be able to suit up for Liverpool until January first though, meaning they’ll face the Foxes this Sunday without him.
A 2-2 draw with Manchester United in a game where Leicester were fantastic has been bookended by two disappointing losses to Crystal Palace and Watford. The Foxes sit in eighth place on the EPL table, six points behind Burnley, and will be eyeing off a Europa League berth in the back half of the season.
Liverpool have looked extraordinary going forward this season. If it wasn’t for the absolute dominance of Manchester City, Liverpool’s 46 goals scored on the season so far would be the benchmark. Leicester have also been no slouch to finding the back of the net, scoring 30 goals through their 20 games so far. The two teams combined for five goals in their last matchup and we expect this one to be another high scoring affair at Anfield Sunday morning.
TIP: Total goals OVER 3.5 - $2 at Ladbrokes
Everton vs Manchester United (Week 22 Tuesday 4.30am AEDT)
Everton have also recently made a splash in the transfer window, finally addressing a massive hole left by Romelu Lukaku up forward by signing Besiktas forward Cenk Tosun for a sum of £20 million. The deal is yet to be announced so it’s very unlikely that the recruit will lineup against Manchester United on Tuesday, leaving the door open for Wayne Rooney to line-up as striker again and edge closer to the Alan Shearer EPL goals record. Rooney has had a stellar last month after being thrust into the striking role at Everton, and while he’s probably more suited to slot in behind Tosun going forward, he’ll be out for blood no matter what position he plays against his old club this week.
Not only will Wayne Rooney be lining up against his old club, but so too will former Everton striker Romelu Lukaku. The Belgian forward left Everton in the offseason, heading to Old Trafford for a huge sum of £75 million. He’ll be keen to return to Goodison Park with a bang here. After a 4-1 drubbing at the hands of Southampton marked the low point of their season back in November, the Toffees have turned their fortunes around and are now undefeated through their last eight games in all competitions
It’s a tough match to call here. On paper and talent level its hard to look past Manchester United. However, they are winless in their last three games in all competitions and have really struggled to put teams away in the crucial moments. It’ll be a massive grudge match with both marquee players returning to their old clubs. At home, with some great form of late, we think the Toffees can secure a point at least here
TIP: Everton and draw (double chance) - $2.20 at Sportsbet
Arsenal vs Chelsea (Week 22 Thursday 6.45am AEDT)
We wont get EPL action for another ten days following this clash, but what a game it is set to be to round out Week 22 of the season. London rivals Arsenal and Chelsea will go head to head from the Emirates Stadium on Thursday morning, both vying for that crucial top four position to send them to next season’s Champions League. Obviously, both teams are yet to play their Week 21 matchups at time of writing, so we’ll have a bit better idea of form come match day, but both are expected to claim wins with Chelsea hosting Stoke and Arsenal playing at West Brom.
A 6-0 demolition job by Chelsea over the Gunners back in 2014 ended a dominant stretch by the Blues in this London Derby. Since that time, the two teams have practically traded wins and draws in what always promises to be a heated fixture. Through Week 20, both teams are undefeated over their last five matches and while Chelsea sit four points clear in 3rd position on the table, Arsenal are apart of a three team log jam with Liverpool and Tottenham, all vying for fourth spot.
Since that 6-0 game, goals have been fairly scarce in the London Derby fixture. Just 12 goals have been scored in the last seven EPL games between the two teams, and with so much on the line here for both clubs, we expect this to be another slugfest.
TIP: Total goals UNDER 2.5 - $2.28 at CrownBet
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