Golden Goals Matchday 23: Arsenal to get their Liverpool revenge

Another week, another opportunity to win life-changing money with BetMGM Golden Goals.

After some surprise results midweek, attention turns to the weekend with a mammoth showdown between Arsenal and Liverpool headlining affairs.

We have gone deep into the details to help you pick out some correct scores from this week's games.

Remember: if you can pick the correct six scorelines, 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 look at Matchday 23…

Brighton vs Crystal Palace

Nobody on the south coast saw Tuesday night coming – the 4-0 defeat to Luton is a genuine low point of Brighton's season. Manager Roberto De Zerbi said as much in his post-match interview, apologising to fans for his side's 'blackout' before adding: "We are suffering from this result more than people think."

A match against their fiercest rivals is an excellent opportunity to put things right.

Crystal Palace, meanwhile, nabbed a much-needed 3-2 win over Sheffield United to ease the pressure on Roy Hodgson and climb six points clear of Everton in the bottom three.

Despite the 40km-plus distance between the two teams, the Brighton and Crystal Palace rivalry is no joke. It began in the 1970s, when ill-feeling was stoked by genuine animosity between respective managers Terry Venables and Alan Mullery as both successfully guided their teams from the Third Division to the First Division. The line in the sand came after an FA Cup first-round replay in 1977, when Brighton boss Mullery – possibly smarting after a 1-0 defeat – stormed into the dressing room to throw £5 on the floor, reportedly telling Venables “your team's not worth that”.

It has been a tasty match-up ever since. Indeed, in the previous 10 matches between these two, there have been 41 yellow cards and one straight red card – that's 43.5 booking points on average (10 points per yellow card and 25 points per red card).

It's also typically a tightly-contested affair. In six of the previous 10 matches between these two, it finished 1-1 and only once in the last 10 years has a game been settled by more than one goal.

Keeping with that tradition, we’re going with a 1-1 draw.

Prediction: Brighton 1-1 Crystal Palace

Burnley vs Fulham

It's been a little over five weeks since Burnley snatched a shock away win against Fulham at Craven Cottage as strikes from Wilson Odobert and Sander Berge securing a much-needed three points for Vincent Kompany's men.

It was supposed to spark a better run of results for the Clarets – it's done anything but. They have since managed just one point from 12 available and crashed out of the FA Cup into the bargain.

Despite their woes this season, Burnley actually have a decent record on the road. It's at home where they struggle — with just one win in 11 across all competitions at Turf Moor. They also also labour when it comes to chance creation, carrying the joint-lowest expected goals (xG) ranking in the league per 90 minutes.

Fulham, meanwhile, come into the tie in need of that winning feeling. After scoring 16 goals in eight games across December, winning three of them, they have managed just three in six matches in January with their sole victory coming over Rotherham in the FA Cup.

The 0-0 draw with Everton on Tuesday night was the 10th time in the league that Fulham have failed to find the net – and the loss of key striker Raul Jimenez will further blunt their attacking thrust.

We think Burnley can get a much-needed home win.

Prediction: Burnley 1-0 Fulham

Newcastle vs Luton

Has Eddie Howe weathered the storm? After a wretched run of results and some awful luck with injuries, Newcastle have put back-to-back wins together in all competitions for the first time since the beginning of November.

The 3-1 triumph over Aston Villa on Tuesday night was especially notable – it helped end a record run of victories at home for Unai Emery's high-flying Champions League contenders – and if the statistics are anything to go by Magpies might feel a little calmer.

Indeed, according to expected points (xPts) this season, Newcastle should be fourth in the league. This metric quantifies the probability of a team winning, losing or drawing the match based on the two team's total xG during the match.

Newcastle do need to address their sliding home form, though. They have suffered three defeats in the previous four games at St James' Park. Before that run, they had lost just six home games in all competitions since the beginning of 2022.

They come up against a Luton team in the groove. They have registered three wins on the trot and have lost just one of their last eight matches across all competitions.

A goal from Andros Townsend delivered a 1-0 victory for Luton over Newcastle as part of that run of games, so they have a recent blueprint in place to beat the Magpies.

It’s tough to see Newcastle not taking all three points, though, despite recent concerns around their home form.

Prediction: Newcastle 2-0 Luton

Manchester United vs West Ham

How to solve a problem like Manchester United? If it's not anti-board mutiny in the stands by fans, it's on the dancefloor in Belfast. If it's not finishing bottom of your Champions League group, it's letting a two-goal lead slip to League Two Newport County.

He has made mistakes but there is no doubt Erik ten Hag has had his plateful of external issues since taking the reins. Despite the off-the-pitch drama, he does have as close to a full squad as he's ever had thanks to the return from injury of key players Lisandro Martinez, Casemiro and Luke Shaw.

The Red Devils also have a good record against West Ham at home – winning seven of their last 10 against the Hammers at Old Trafford with just two draws and one loss in that run.

They will cast a nervous eye over West Ham's recent away record though. The East London outfit can count victories over Brighton, Tottenham and Arsenal in a run that's seen them land five wins from 10 on the road.

However, we think a full-strength Manchester United can get the job done.

Prediction: Manchester United 3-1 West Ham

Chelsea vs Wolves

Are the Blues bouncing back from their dose of the Blues? After a tricky opening period to life under Mauricio Pochettino, they found their groove, as evidenced by some encouraging recent results. However, a 4-1 defeat against Liverpool on Wednesday night has brought them back down to earth with a bump.

There is a feeling among fans, though, that the result should not overshadow a decent run of form which now reads five wins from their previous eight games.

The 6-1 mauling of Middlesbrough last week means Pochetinno has a chance to finally win his first trophy in England. The Argentine has been close before - getting his Tottenham team to the Carabao Cup final in 2015 before taking them to the Champions League final in 2019.

They should be concerned by the number of shots they conceded to Liverpool – the Reds racked up 28 efforts on goal. For context, Chelsea managed just four.

Meanwhile, Wolves are maintaining an excellent run of form. They are one of the hot teams at the moment and have a genuine eye on the European places. Given many had them down for the drop, this campaign is yet another tick on the Gary O'Neil CV.

The Midlands team can also be excited by a good recent record against their London opponents – they have won two of their previous two league games against Chelsea.

Can they make it three from three? On this occasion, we don’t think so. Score draw.

Prediction: Chelsea 1-1 Wolves

Arsenal vs Liverpool

All of the headlines over the last week have been focusing on Jürgen Klopp – the German manager has announced he will stand down at the end of the season after eight hugely successful years at the club.

His team has responded with two mammoth victories since the news became public, scoring nine goals at Anfield in 5-2 and 4-1 wins over Fulham and Chelsea respectively.

But Arsenal away represents an entirely different kind of challenge. A win for the Gunners throws them straight back into the title race and would put them just two points behind the Reds, who are the current leaders.

The 2-0 FA Cup defeat to their title rivals at the Emirates last month is likely still ringing in the ears of Arsenal fans, especially given the game pattern. Many observers feel they should have won but a failure to take their chances let them down.

While they have not exactly been ruthless in front of goal at home this season, they have been defensively sound, conceding just 10 goals all year at the Emirates in the Premier League. Had it not been for the aberration 2-0 loss against West Ham, they would be top of the pile in that regard.

After a worrying run where they managed just five goals in seven games they have found their scoring boots in their previous two matches, with seven in total coming thanks to wins against Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest.

Whatever happens, expect shots on goal. Liverpool (18.9) and Arsenal (16.3) have the two highest average number of attempts per 90 minutes this term.

Arsenal have an opportunity here – they are playing well, they look like they have some confidence back and, as a result, we think they can replicate their victory in the same fixture last season.

Prediction: Arsenal 3-2 Liverpool

Add our Golden Goals predictions to your betslip here

Odds correct at time of publication but subject to fluctuation

Please note: This week's Golden Goals deadline is Saturday, February 3 at 15:00. Opt-in is required, and you can find out more here.

Golden Goals Terms and Conditions

Opt in & predict 6 correct scores weekly (see Game Lobby for weekly Tournament cut-off time) to win up to £1m jackpot or up to £5k Prizepool if Jackpot is not won. Void if 1 or more matches are postponed/abandoned or not completed. Verification procedures apply. T&Cs apply.