GOLDEN GOALS MATCHDAY 19: BOXING DAY & BEYOND
What’s the main reason most football fans love Christmas time so much?
While on the face of it they no doubt look happy when opening their stockings on December 25th, a big factor behind lots of those smiles is often the anticipation of a stacked Premier League fixture list kicking off a day later.
This year all 20 Premier League teams are in action between Boxing Day and December 28th, including Manchester United vs Aston Villa, Everton vs Manchester City and Brighton vs Tottenham.
We have picked out six of the most intriguing encounters for the Matchday 19 edition of Golden Goals. Remember if you can pick the correct scorelines in all six, you could win up to £1 million. You don't even have to get all six to earn something. If the jackpot isn't won, just get more scores correct than your BetMGM peers to win a share of our £5,000 prizepool.
Let’s take a closer look at Boxing Day and beyond…
Burnley vs Liverpool
Where to start? Burnley simply do not have a great record at home this season – they have lost eight of their nine games at Turf Moor. Their one win, a 5-0 thrashing of Sheffield United, also makes up 50% of their goal tally.
It gets worse for the Clarets in that they have lost their previous five home games against this year’s Boxing Day opponents Liverpool.
Conversely, the Reds have scored in every away game this season and tasted defeat just once on the road. That solitary loss, it must be noted, came in the infamous match against Tottenham where they were reduced to nine men and had a goal ruled out for offside that led to VAR recriminations and an admission of ‘significant human error’ from the PGMOL.
Liverpool tend to do well on Boxing Day recently too, with six wins from six attempts on December 26th over the past decade and only one goal conceded. All things considered, then, this one will go to the Reds.
Prediction: Burnley 0-3 Liverpool
Manchester United vs Aston Villa
If, in the immediate aftermath of last season, a soothsayer said one of these clubs would be challenging at the top of the table come Christmas 2023 while the other languished a few points outside the Champions League places, fans of the Red Devils would have been extremely excited.
Instead, it is Aston Villa whose future looks brightest – at least on current form. With recent victories over Tottenham, Manchester City and Arsenal, there are some in the Holte End daring to whisper those fateful words: "title challenge".
Who can blame them? They have been superb at home and are addressing their results away from Villa Park too. Indeed, they have only lost one in eight on the road in all competitions.
Erik ten Hag's men, meanwhile, look lost, bereft of confidence, fluidity, goals and general cohesion. That said, they have the quality to hurt Villa and have lost just one in 10 home league appearances against them.
We're going with a score draw – the first between these two at Old Trafford in more than four years.
Prediction: Manchester United 1-1 Aston Villa
Chelsea vs Crystal Palace
This one features two London clubs underperforming compared to pre-season expectations meeting in a fixture that, sometimes, can struggle to get the blood pumping.
Chelsea, it must be said, do have a good recent record at Stamford Bridge and have won four of their last five, scoring 12 for the loss of just seven. Their other match in that run was a draw against reigning champions Manchester City.
Palace have won once in five away from home – against struggling Burnley – and are currently on a seven-match losing streak at the Bridge stretching back to 2017.
Conceding a late goal to rivals Brighton in their Thursday night pre-Christmas meeting will not have prompted an upturn in optimism at Selhurst Park but the returning presence of Eberechi Eze might.
As for this fixture, well, there is an undeniable vulnerability to Chelsea this season so we are going with a score draw.
Prediction: Chelsea 2-2 Crystal Palace
Everton vs Manchester City
A 10-point deduction seems to have lit a fire beneath Everton, who are in an excellent vein of form. It is likely Manchester City would have preferred a game against a different opponent on their return from the Club World Cup in Saudi Arabia.
Sean Dyche's Toffees have lost just one of their last five games at Goodison Park and, were it not for their points penalty, they would be sitting in the top half.
However, their recent record against the Citizens makes for fearful reading. They have lost six in a row at home against the champions, scoring three and conceding 15.
While Manchester City are suffering a domestic form blip, they could have Erling Haaland back and will likely view this as a ‘must-win’ to keep pressure on their title rivals. As such, we predict it will be another comfortable victory for the treble winners in this fixture.
Prediction: Everton 1-4 Manchester City
Brighton vs Tottenham
The tie of the post-Christmas football feast? Possibly.
In Brighton and Tottenham, we have two teams setting out to play attractive and free-flowing attacking football this season, though Spurs have so far proven more successful with it in terms of their league position.
Until their defeat against Arsenal on Matchday 17, all Premier League games involving Brighton had seen both teams score, speaking to their entertainment value. That trend, of course, returned during their 1-1 draw against rivals Crystal Palace before Christmas weekend.
Games involving Tottenham, meanwhile, average more than three goals per game and they last failed to find the net on the road back in March 2023.
The North London men have come out on top in four of the previous five contests with the Seagulls, and on current form, we can see Ange Postecoglou and co. making it five from six.
Prediction: Brighton 1-3 Tottenham
Arsenal vs West Ham
The Gunners are starting to tick at the Emirates in the Premier League.
Since drawing with Tottenham in September they have won five on the bounce, scoring 13 and conceding just twice. In that run, they can count wins over defending champions Manchester City and a Brighton outfit that had beaten them three times in the previous four meetings going into the game.
Do West Ham have enough in the tank to cause Arsenal any trouble here? They are bristling with exciting and dangerous attacking talent but there is a sense that when the Hammers show vulnerability, they are punished for it considerably; witness their 5-1 League Cup thrashing at the hands of Liverpool just before Christmas.
In that game they conceded 29 shots. In their previous three away games they have allowed 66 attempts on their goal or, if you prefer, 22 shots per game.
They will have to shore up defensively if they are to stand a chance against Arsenal, who are beginning to look very dangerous indeed. We reckon they won’t and this will be a heavy Arsenal win.
Prediction: Arsenal 4-0 West Ham
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