Golden Goals Matchday 20: Manchester United to end year with morale-boosting win

After a jam-packed festive football programme, Golden Goals is back for a monster New Year schedule.

Some surprise results mean nobody managed to hit the jackpot last time out but there is always another chance to see in 2024 in memorable style.

Remember: if you can pick the correct six scorelines, you could win up to £2 million. You don't even have to get all six to earn something. If the jackpot is not 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 the final Golden Goals of 2023…

Luton Town vs Chelsea

Form (all competitions) Luton Town: WWLLL ; Chelsea: WLWLL

Luton Town probably don’t want the festive period to end. The Hatters backed up an incredible 1-0 at home to Newcastle with an impressive, if slightly fortunate, 3-2 victory on the road at relegation rivals Sheffield United.

But you cannot be surprised by Rob Edwards’ side picking up points with the performances they have put in recently. They have been moments away from taking points off the biggest sides in the Premier League and it might be finally coming together.

They are still vulnerable at the back with 11 goals conceded across the last five matches but they have found their footing in front of goal; Edwards’ men have scored in six consecutive Premier League matches, which is not bad for a team with the third-lowest overall xG.

Of course, we can’t bring up xG without mentioning Chelsea. The Blues continue to be alarmingly wasteful in front of goal, scoring almost eight goals below their expected this season. Unsurprisingly, that makes them the league leaders in that statistic.

Nicolas Jackson is proving to be the biggest culprit in Chelsea’s attacking options with a 3.5-goal underperformance in the campaign so far. Fortunately for Mauricio Pochettino, he is finally getting a tune out of the players on the periphery of the squad.

Mykhailo Mudryk looks to be finding his feet after a difficult start at Stamford Bridge while Noni Madueke scored his maiden goal of the campaign after earning his side a late penalty against Palace.

Encouragingly, they have a returning attacking option in Christopher Nkunku after he featured in the last two games. He has already been on the scoresheet once and could be the difference for Chelsea in the second half of the season given he netted 36 goals over his last two seasons of league football in Germany.

Luton are always tough to beat at home, and Chelsea need to provide more examples of their clinicality, but they will just squeeze by in this one and grab the three points – narrowly.

Prediction: Luton Town 1-2 Chelsea

Manchester City vs Sheffield United

Form (all competitions) Manchester City: WWWDW ; Sheffield United: LDLWL

The brand-new Club World Cup champions are back in town with a focus on fixing some domestic issues and making up for some lost time.

Manchester City are without a win in three at home in the league – drawing their last three while conceding six along the way – but that’s where the doubts begin and end ahead of this fixture.

In the red corner on this occasion is Sheffield United. The Blades are yet to win a game on the road, with seven defeats and two draws, while they have conceded 23 goals and scored just five in those games too.

Moreover, Pep Guardiola’s men have a pretty emphatic record over the Blades. The last time they lost to them was a 2-1 FA Cup defeat in 2008 where goals from Luton Shelton and Jon Stead were enough to do the business despite a Daniel Sturridge consolation.

Since then it’s been uninterrupted pain for the Blades against City – six straight defeats with only one goal scored. This one should be straightforward… home win.

Prediction: Manchester City 4-0 Sheffield United

Aston Villa vs Burnley

Form (all competitions) Aston Villa: LDWDW ; Burnley: LWLDL

It has been a magnificent season for Aston Villa – but is it starting to stall somewhat?

After almost losing to Sheffield United at home earlier in the week – with only a last-minute equaliser from Nicolo Zaniolo saving them from the ignominy of becoming the third Premier League team this season to lose to the Blades – they let a 2-0 lead slip away to the inconsistent Manchester United.

Even their last away win, to a 10-man Brentford, was fraught with tension. They were 1-0 down until the 77th minute before late goals from Alex Moreno and Ollie Watkins saved their skins.

The defeat to United also ended a fascinating statistic: it marked the first time Aston Villa have dropped points from a winning position this Premier League season. They have been impeccable at frontrunning all year and fans will hope the Old Trafford lapse is not the beginning of a bigger malaise.

This matchday they face Burnley – and they do have a good recent record against the Clarets, having won two of their previous three against them in all competitions and tasting defeat in just one of their last seven.

The men from Turf Moor, meanwhile, registered an invaluable win away at Fulham last weekend before a gritty display at home to Liverpool gave further cause for optimism.

However, it is still pertinent to point out that only lowly Sheffield United have conceded more goals in this campaign than Vincent Kompany’s ailing outfit. As such, this represents the perfect chance to bounce back for Aston Villa. They will do so.

Prediction: Aston Villa 2-1 Burnley

Crystal Palace vs Brentford

Form (all competitions) Crystal Palace: LDDLL : Brentford: LLLLW

You will not find two teams in poorer form over the last six games than Crystal Palace and Brentford. They have combined for six points out of a possible 36 – Palace securing three draws and Brentford with one sole victory over Luton Town.

But where do their respective problems lie? For Palace, they are crying out for a goalscorer since the departure of Wilfried Zaha in the summer. The Eagles have the third-fewest goals in the Premier League, sitting ahead of bottom two Burnley and Sheffield United.

Odsonne Edouard has scored a third of Palace’s league goal tally but the Frenchman is currently sidelined with an injury and scored just once between mid-September and the end of November.

Michael Olise has provided a boost upon his return with three goals in six starts. The winger is second among Palace players in successful dribbles and shots taken per 90 minutes and leads the team in passes into the final third per 90 too. In short, he is proving himself to be one of the few sources of attacking inspiration for Roy Hodgson.

Brentford have found themselves in a similar spot with a bluntness up front in recent outings, which means the desperation for Ivan Toney’s return is heightening.

Both Bryan Mbeumo and Yoanne Wissa were proving capable deputies with seven and four goals respectively but, with the former out with an ankle injury, the Bees are lacking sting at the top end of the pitch.

Palace have only scored more than once on three occasions this entire campaign and Brentford have scored more than once on a singular occasion over their last seven games.

Add to those facts that the last five encounters have been draws – a pair of 0-0s and three straight 1-1s – and it seems unlikely this one will buck the trend and end in a goal-fest.

Prediction: Crystal Palace 1-1 Brentford

Wolves vs Everton

Form (all competitions) Wolves: WWLDW ; Everton: LLWWW

It’s a meeting between two surprise packages which rounds out the 3pm Saturday kick-offs this week as Everton travel to Molineux to face Wolves.

Both sides, at some point or another throughout the campaign, have been branded as possible relegation fodder but the two of them have continued to defy the odds in that regard.

Gary O’Neil has put together an impressive run on what is a relatively shoestring budget, almost mirroring his job on the south coast last season with Bournemouth, while Everton have eradicated their 10-point deduction and would be in the top half of the table had it never been administered.

Who will come out on top when they meet on Saturday? History suggests it will be a home win for Wolves.

The Midlands outfit have not lost to the Toffees in their last five meetings, winning four of them. They do tend to keep it a tight affair, though, as no side has won by two clear goals in this fixture since 2020 (a 3-0 home win for Wolves in July that year).

Interestingly, this fixture seems to lend itself to goals from central defenders. In four of their last five meetings, a goal has come from a player lining up in the heart of defence. That could be music to the ears of Everton centre-back Michael Keane, who has the second-highest xG amongst Premier League defenders per 90 minutes.

These two both sit among the top 10 in the form table and they could cancel each other out. Wolves have the edge historically but Everton currently have the fifth-best away record in the league (bettered only by Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool and Tottenham).

It’s too close to call, put us down for a score draw here.

Prediction: Wolves 1-1 Everton

Nottingham Forest vs Manchester United

Form (all competitions) Nottingham Forest: WLLDL ; Manchester United: WLLWW

This is a meeting between two teams enjoying a mini redemption, of sorts, after some impressive results on Boxing Day.

December 26th saw Nottingham Forest beat Newcastle United 3-1 away from home while Manchester United came from behind to defeat Aston Villa 3-2.

A Chris Wood hat-trick against the Magpies upset the apple cart – it was just the fourth time in Premier League history a player has scored a hat-trick against their former club (the others, if curious, are Marcus Bent vs Blackburn Rovers, Andy Cole vs Newcastle and Joshua King vs Everton).

It was a much-needed fillip for the Tricky Trees, who had gone seven games without a win beforehand. With the pace of ex-Red Devil Anthony Elanga on the pitch, they were able to put Newcastle to the sword in the first hour, as our match momentum graph above demonstrates.

After 1,026 Premier League minutes, Rasmus Hojlund has his first goal – and boy did it come at the right time. Pressure was mounting on Erik ten Hag but United’s come-from-behind win over the Villans means they are still in with a shout of finishing in the European places.

While both sides had a morale-boosting victory last time out, history is with the visitors; no Forest side has beaten United since December 1994 and, with some players expected to return from injury, we can see an away win here.

Prediction: Nottingham Forest 1-3 Manchester United

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