BETMGM GOLDEN GOALS MD22: DERBY DESPAIR FOR MAN UTD
Michael Carrick’s interim reign at Manchester United begins with a derby against a Manchester City side searching for a win after three consecutive Premier League draws.
Elsewhere in-form Leeds host Fulham while basement boys Wolves take a three-game unbeaten run into their game with Newcastle, leaders Arsenal head to Nottingham Forest and there is a huge London Derby as relegation-threatened West Ham make the trip to Spurs.
Finally, high-flying Aston Villa play Everton at Villa Park in the latest instalment of the most-played Premier League fixture.
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Here’s how we see things playing out on Matchday 22 (which, please note, has an earlier-than-usual 12.30pm deadline)…
Manchester United 1-3 Manchester City
Michael Carrick is officially the interim manager of Manchester United – and the visit of their city rivals on Saturday lunchtime is quite the welcome back.
Fresh from a first-leg win over Newcastle in the EFL Cup semi-final, Pep Guardiola’s Citizens will be relishing the prospect of dumping more misery on their neighbours, given they haven’t lost in the league since November.
City may have drawn their last three Premier League matches but the cup competitions over the last week have allowed them to return to winning ways. Alongside the Newcastle win, they hit 10 against Exeter City in the FA Cup.
Antoine Semenyo has started his City career on fire following his move from Bournemouth – the Ghanaian has two goals and an assist already and looks in top form having picked up where he left off for the Cherries.
He will certainly cause United problems and, with just one win in six at Old Trafford, the writing looks to be on the wall here.
Semenyo scored and had one disallowed at Newcastle and already has a goal against United this season in Bournemouth’s 4-4 draw on this ground.
He can add another against a defence that has shipped 32 league goals – the most in the top half – and which faces their fewest games in a season since 1915 after their FA Cup defeat to Brighton.
He is 10/3 to score in an away win here, a price that warrants serious consideration for a player who has four in his last six league games, in a team that has lost just one of their last six trips to Old Trafford.
New manager, but same old story for United in their hopes of Champions League qualification.
Leeds 1-1 Fulham
Leeds have become the masters of attrition.
Just two league defeats at Elland Road have been built on a foundation of dogged resistance, a strategy that has seen them grind out seven draws in their last nine matches across all competitions.
That pragmatism faces a stern examination from a goal-hungry Fulham side.
Marco Silva’s men are unbeaten in six and arrive in West Yorkshire brimming with confidence as the fifth-best side in the division over the last 10 games.
The statistics hint at goals: both teams have scored in 11 of Leeds’ last 12 games and nine of Fulham’s last 11.
This is reinforced by the two main protagonists. Leeds’ Dominic Calvert-Lewin is in lethal form with seven goals in his last seven league starts while Fulham’s Harry Wilson has been a force of nature, contributing 10 goals in 15 games for club and country since returning from injury in November.
With their combined matches averaging over nine corners per game, all the ingredients are there for an end-to-end contest.
That confluence of factors makes our match Bet Builder look like a smart play: both teams to score, over 8.5 total corners and a shot on target apiece for Calvert-Lewin and Wilson at a tasty 6/1.
As for the final result, a share of the spoils seems the logical selection.
Tottenham 2-1 West Ham
This is an enormous game for both sides.
West Ham may have won in the FA Cup at the weekend but defeat in their last league game at home to Nottingham Forest was hugely damaging. The 2-1 reverse has left them seven points from safety and eight goals worse off than Forest and Championship football at the London Stadium next season is a real possibility.
Things aren’t rosy for Spurs either. Dumped out of the FA Cup by Aston Villa, the Lilywhites have just one win in six and two league victories at home all season.
Thomas Frank is under pressure as they sit 14th in the table and eight points off the top four, though the imminent arrival of Conor Gallagher will add some much-needed steel and leadership to the midfield.
Mathys Tel, meanwhile, has had a shot on target in his last two games and scored the opener in defeat at Bournemouth. We like the look of the 33/20 for Tel to have an effort on target in a home win.
Spurs do have a good recent record against the Hammers, losing just one of their last nine, and West Ham very much look like a side heading for relegation.
The FA Cup win over QPR was their first in any competition since 8th November but, even then, they needed extra time to get it. With five losses in six, it is hard to see where their next league win comes from.
It won’t be here. Despite Spurs’ struggles, they will have the quality to get over the line.
Nottingham Forest 1-4 Arsenal
The new manager bounce has well and truly worn off for Sean Dyche.
The ex-Burnley boss has seen his team win just twice in seven games and a penalty shoot-out defeat to Wrexham in the FA Cup did nothing to quell the growing discontent at the City Ground.
In all competitions, Forest have now conceded 46 goals; Wolves are the only Premier League team to have shipped more.
We don’t fancy their chances against an Arsenal outfit that is getting its full attacking armoury back in action.
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Mikel Arteta’s charges are in frightening form in front of goal. In four of Arsenal’s last five outings, they have scored three goals or more.
In the reverse fixture, they came out comfortably on top, winning 3-0 thanks to a double from Martin Zubimendi and a Viktor Gyokores strike.
Both were on the scoresheet in the 3-2 win over Chelsea in the EFL Cup on Wednesday. In that form, Zubimendi to score or assist, Gyokores to score or assist and Arsenal to win looks generously priced at odds of 17/2.
Wolves 2-2 Newcastle
Wolves’ New Year’s resolution: do the opposite of whatever they were doing before.
So far it’s working.
Unbeaten in 2026 and in four with two wins and two draws in all competitions, the Old Gold have finally found form – much to the annoyance of Newcastle, who could really do with a day off right about now.
Despite climbing to sixth in the table, they are still 14th for away form and haven’t looked nearly as convincing as the Newcastle of seasons gone by under Eddie Howe.
Injuries to the likes of Dan Burn, Emil Krafth, Jamal Lascelles, Fabian Schar and now Tino Livramento have only dampened their ability to keep teams out consistently, conceding six goals in the past week to two teams in the bottom half of the table.
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That’s the same number of goals Wolves scored in last week’s emphatic 6-1 win in the FA Cup alone.
Jorgen Strand Larsen, a player Newcastle tried to buy in the summer, has certainly underperformed this season but a hat-trick in the cup easily makes him one to watch as they look to do the near impossible in the last 17 games of the season.
Wolves’ great escape is as ambitious as this 22/1 Bet Builder: the match to end in a draw, over 2.5 total goals and Strand Larsen to have over 1.5 shots on target.
Will it be enough to beat a Champions League side at Molineux on Sunday? Probably not. But enough to earn a point in another end-to-end thriller? Most definitely.
Aston Villa 2-0 Everton
Two of the oldest, most successful teams in English football meet on Matchday 22 but, right now, they’re moving in different directions.
The fact Aston Villa are third in the league with a 62% win rate tells its own story – and becomes even more convincing when you put it next to Everton’s recent struggles, having lost half of their last six games.
This is a fixture Villa have made their own too. They’re unbeaten in the last 13 league meetings with the Toffees, not to mention in the midst of 11 home wins on the bounce in all competitions; the majority by a margin of two goals or more.
The visitors are averaging just 0.90 goals a game on the road this season and, with the Villans conceding only 0.69 on average, it puts David Moyes and co. in a sticky situation before the game’s even started.
Ollie Watkins is someone who loves a goal in this fixture, scoring in both meetings last season including a brace at Villa Park.
After a slow start, the England international is firmly up and running again with four goals in his last four games so will be one to watch – especially in our 13/2 Bet Builder: Aston Villa to win to-nil, Watkins to score anytime and over 1.5 total goals.
The 0-0 at Selhurst Park was a bump in the road, but if Villa are serious about staying in the title conversation, these are the games they have to take care of.
Which they should, if history’s taught us anything.
Odds correct at time of publication but subject to change. Please note: This week's Golden Goals deadline is Saturday 17th January 2026 12:30. Opt-in is required and you can find out more here.
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