The English Premier League continues to rattle headlong into 2023, with another round of midweek fixtures by way of a post-festive season treat.
Thursday’s sole clash sees a blue-on-blue battle between Chelsea and Manchester City at Stamford Bridge.
The reigning champions are in by far the better position as they head to London, although Pep Guardiola and his side were irritated to have dropped to precious points in the title race at the Etihad Stadium at the weekend.
Graham Potter also had to watch on in despair as his men also let a one-goal lead slip on the road, leaving them seven points adrift of fourth place.
It all kicks off on Tuesday with a fascinating fixture between leaders Arsenal and high-flying Newcastle.
Three points for the Gunners last time out, coupled with City’s stalemate, left them with an imposing seven-point cushion at the top of the EPL table as the campaign heads towards its halfway mark.
Eddie Howe’s Toon Army suffered the same fate at City and Chelsea last time out, unable to pinch victory albeit remaining well in the hunt for the dream of Uefa Champions League qualification.
Manchester United also feature on Tuesday, as they continue life without Cristiano Ronaldo.
Marcus Rashford atoned for the lie-in that saw him benched last weekend by boss Erik ten Hag, popping up to pinch a handy win on the road that proved enough to keep them fourth in the Premier League.
They now face Bournemouth at Old Trafford, with the Cherries loitering just above the relegation zone after a miserable home loss to Crystal Palace.
The Eagles aim to back that up on Wednesday when they host Tottenham in a London derby.
Antonio Conte was once again spitting feathers as his side conspired to lose at home on New Year’s Day, leaving them with one win in four and an increasingly tenuous place in the top six.
It was Aston Villa that turned over sorry Spurs, with Unai Emery’s men very much on the up thanks to three victories in their last four EPL outings.
The Villans host Wolves on Wednesday in a West Midlands derby that sees the visitors in desperate need of points under their new boss, Emery’s compatriot Julen Lopetegui.
There’s plenty more drama at the bottom elsewhere, as Leeds tackle West Ham who can’t buy a point at the moment under veteran boss David Moyes.
And 20th plays 18th as Southampton go up against Nottingham Forest at St Mary’s Stadium.
Tuesday sees two other EPL matches, as Leicester meet Fulham at the King Power Stadium, with the visitors improbably eyeing up a place in the top six.
Everton and Brighton also meet with Frank Lampard’s side just a point clear of the drop zone, while the Seagulls are going well despite being overpowered by leaders Arsenal last time around.
English Premier League predictions for 3 – 5 January
Prediction methodology explained: The expected win percentage is based off publicly available odds. For example, if a team’s odds are 2.30, the expected chance of winning is 43%. If the odds are 1.62 the expected chance of winning is 62% and so on. These are accurate at the time of writing but are subject to change. Where there is no value listed, the odds were not available at the time of writing.
| Chance of winning (%) | Usual win % with these odds | |
| Arsenal | 56 | 64 |
| Newcastle | 24 | 43 |
| Chance of winning (%) | Usual win % with these odds | |
| Everton | 29 | 25 |
| Brighton | 48 | 33 |
| Chance of winning (%) | Usual win % with these odds | |
| Leicester | 45 | 50 |
| Fulham | 32 | 46 |
| Chance of winning (%) | Usual win % with these odds | |
| Manchester United | 78 | 60 |
| Bournemouth | ||
| Chance of winning (%) | Usual win % with these odds | |
| Southampton | 50 | 65 |
| Nottingham Forest | 27 | 50 |
| Chance of winning (%) | Usual win % with these odds | |
| Leeds | 38 | 33 |
| West Ham | 38 | 38 |
| Chance of winning (%) | Usual win % with these odds | |
| Aston Villa | 51 | 11 |
| Wolves | 25 | 43 |
| Chance of winning (%) | Usual win % with these odds | |
| Crystal Palace | 31 | 24 |
| Tottenham | 45 | 46 |
| Chance of winning (%) | Usual win % with these odds | |
| Chelsea | 60 | 67 |
| Manchester City |