Golden Goals Matchday 21: Tottenham to take something from Old Trafford

After a brief break for the FA Cup, the Premier League is back.

With the African Cup of Nations and the AFC Asian Cup taking centre stage internationally over the next few weeks, thousands of fantasy football managers have frantically made transfers to bring in replacements for the likes of Mohamed Salah, Son Heung-min and Andre Onana.

Another set of Premier League games means another set of Golden Goals predictions – and we have all the stats and facts to help guide your selections in pursuit of our £2million jackpot.

This matchday Golden Goals is an elongated one as we enter the mid-season player break, which sees the fixtures played out over two weekends, with five games in each. Our six Golden Goals matches take place across six different days from Saturday January 13 to Thursday January 22, so each one is the star of its own show as far as we are concerned.

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 isn't won, just get more scores correct than your BetMGM peers to win a share of our £5,000 prizepool.

Let’s get going with Matchday 21…

Newcastle United vs Manchester City

Form (all competitions) Newcastle United: WLLLL Manchester City: WWWWW

Newcastle needed that FA Cup win over their bitter local rivals Sunderland on Saturday.

It was the first Tyne-Wear derby in eight years and there was plenty of pre-match hype in the region. The tension was added to by widespread discontent among Sunderland fans, who were angry at Newcastle fans getting a 6,000-seat allocation ahead of the tie as well as the removal of Sunderland merchandise from the famous in-stadium Black Cats Bar.

A spicy atmosphere welcomed both teams to the pitch but it was men against boys in the end, with the visitors running out 3-0 winners thanks to an Alexander Isak double and a Daniel Ballard own goal.

Manchester City, meanwhile, appear to be back to their best. The defending champions have won five on the bounce across all competitions, while there is a major bit of good news with the return of a certain Belgian midfielder who topped the division for chances created per 90 minutes last term. Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp said what most people were thinking when he quipped: "Kevin De Bruyne is warming up and the whole country is shaking.”

Recent fixture history does not favour Newcastle – they have won just one of their previous 32 encounters with the Citizens. They have, however, proved difficult to beat at home this season with the defeat to Nottingham Forest in their previous home game ending a run of seven wins on the bounce at St James' Park.

They will have to be careful of Phil Foden. The tricky England international has been on fire recently, registering seven goal contributions (four goals and three assists) in his previous 10 Premier League appearances. He is also responsible for creating the most chances in open play in the Premier League since Christmas.

This remains a difficult one to call but the return of De Bruyne – coupled with Erling Haaland’s imminent return from injury – makes us think it has to be Manchester City.

Prediction: Newcastle 1-2 Manchester City

Manchester United vs Tottenham

Form (all competitions) Manchester United: WLWLD Tottenham: WWLWW

In many ways, Manchester United's 2-0 win over Wigan Athletic in the FA Cup encapsulated their season: plenty of chances and possessional dominance but a failure to find the onion bag. On Monday night, it was like watching a darts player throw arrows with a rubber.

They had 33 shots on goal and 14 shots on target but relied on a 25-yard strike from full-back Diogo Dalot and a Bruno Fernandes penalty to beat League One Wigan.

United simply struggle to break down teams who do the defensive basics –they are in the bottom half for expected goals (xG) in open play and rank in the bottom five for goal-creating actions (GCA) with just 1.95 per 90 minutes.

The ultimate humiliation? Only Burnley (20) and Sheffield United (15) have fewer goals in the Premier League this season than the Red Devils (22).

In Tottenham, they face an opponent with no such stymie on creativity – they rank third and fourth for GCA (3.50 per 90 minutes) and shot-creating actions (28.75 per 90 minutes) respectively.

However, the loss of Son to the Asian Cup could prove costly for Ange Postecoglou, the South Korean is Spurs’ top scorer this season and is a key part of his manager’s plans.

One statistic worth noting is this: no team has won more home games against an opponent in Premier League history than Manchester United have against Tottenham.

It's hard to see how Erik ten Hag's men have the form or the arsenal in attack to cause too many issues to Tottenham this time round, but the historical record prevents us from going for an away win. Score draw.

Prediction: Manchester United 1-1 Tottenham

Burnley vs Luton

Form (all competitions) Burnley: LWLLL Luton: DLWWL

The first top-flight match between these two at Turf Moor in nearly 50 years is a relegation six-pointer if ever there was one.

A win is incredibly valuable for both teams here, with each battling to avoid the drop on their first attempt back in the big time.

This season is a rap sheet of unwanted records for Burnley – but the most alarming one relates to their results at Turf Moor. They are the only team in English top-flight history to lose nine of their first 10 home games. They are struggling to create meaningful chances while the fact seven of their 20 goals this season have come from outside the box (a league-high) merely reinforces that perception.

Conversely , Luton are looking for a third win in four Premier League games. After a tough opening half to the season, recent form has awarded hope to some Hatters fans.

It could be an interesting clash of styles that may actually favour Burnley – despite their poor reason so far, the Clarets average 47.6% in possession of the ball compared to Luton's 37.4%, which is the second-lowest in the division. Vincent Kompany’s side have a good recent record against them, too, remaining unbeaten in two games against them last year (winning one and drawing one) while earlier in the campaign, they bagged a 2-1 victory.

This one will go to the hosts. Could it be the result that drives forward their campaign to stay in the Premier League?

Prediction: Burnley 2-1 Luton

Arsenal vs Crystal Palace

Form (all competitions) Arsenal: LLLDW Crystal Palace: DWLDD

Are panic buttons being pressed in North London?

A disastrous set of results for Arsenal over the festive period has replaced confidence with unease. The Gunners' exit from the FA Cup has only served to increase anxiety as they aim to win a league title for the first time since 2004.

Bukayo Saka is a phenomenal talent but it does not reflect well on the club that he is their top scorer in the league with six goals. In their last two games at the Emirates – against Liverpool in the FA Cup and West Ham in the league – they have taken 48 shots without scoring once.

It seems clear what Arsenal are lacking – a number nine who can put the ball in the back of the net. Their title hopes, you feel, will live or die by how well they address that issue in the January transfer window.

In Crystal Palace, the Gunners face an awkward and tricky opponent that nabbed a draw against Manchester City over the festive period and whose defensive record reads well for a team in their position in the table.

With just 29 goals conceded in the league so far, Roy Hodgson’s men have the joint-seventh-best defensive record, level with Newcastle and Tottenham.

Arsenal have won their previous three games against the Eagles but, on current form, we have a feeling another upset awaits. Score draw.

Prediction: Arsenal 2-2 Crystal Palace

Bournemouth vs Liverpool

Form (all competitions) Bournemouth: WLWWW Liverpool: WWWWD

At the beginning of the campaign the Cherries looked ripe for picking and many had them as one of the favourites for the drop.

However, since losing 6-1 to Manchester City at the beginning of November, Bournemouth have been on an incredible run of form and have now won seven and lost just one of their last nine matches in all competitions.

They are already at 25 points from 19 games, with just another 15 needed from their second half of the season to all but guarantee Premier League status for another year.

The slight issue this week is that their recent record against Liverpool does not make for pretty reading; they have lost nine of their previous 10 matches against the Reds by an aggregate score of 33-4.

A come-from-behind win over Fulham in the EFL Cup on Wednesday night raises the prospect of this being a memorable season for Jurgen Klopp's devastatingly chaotic side. They are still in with a shout of winning four trophies and are playing some exciting football.

That said, the recently confirmed injury to Trent Alexander-Arnold is a big blow and, with Salah off to the African Cup of Nations, they will need their other players to step up.

One such player is Darwin Núñez. The Uruguayan is thrilling, absorbing, infuriating and frustrating in equal measure. He has had 21 big chances this season – second only to Haaland – but has only five goals from 58 attempts in total.

Can he get going here? If he clicks, so will Liverpool.

Prediction: Bournemouth 1-2 Liverpool

Brighton vs Wolves

Form (all competitions) Brighton: WDWDL Wolves: DWWWL

Matchday 21 at the Amex features two teams who have rediscovered their mojo over recent weeks – but the Seagulls still have some catching up to do after a disappointing start to their domestic campaign.

Part of the issue for Brighton is the number of draws they are racking up. With seven ties so far this season, they are leading the way for the number of draws in the Premier League. It has almost hamstrung them in their push for Europe although, in a campaign where there will be up to 10 teams vying for a spot in continental competition, manager Roberto De Zerbi will hope they can start turning those draws into wins.

One curious stat that stands out is that no team has a higher shots on target percentage than Brighton (40.3%). Only 0.26 of those shots found the net, though, which is the fifth-poorest goals-to-shots on target ratio in the league.

Meanwhile, Wolves continue to defy expectations. Many had them down as relegation candidates at the beginning of the campaign but a win over Brighton will make it four Premier League victories in a row.

They are level on points with the free-spending Chelsea and only six points off a European spot. Like many Wolves teams down the years they have an edge to them – they have committed 258 fouls so far this season, the most in the entire division, as well as54 yellow cards and three reds. There are multiple variables here but it certainly won’t be boring… score draw.

Prediction: Brighton 1-1 Wolves

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