It’s a brand new year and we’re into the home leg of the English Premier League season, with everything to play for up and down the EPL table.
The second half of the campaign kicks off with a full set of fixtures between Saturday and Monday – and they don’t come any bigger than Sunday’s derby between Liverpool and Manchester United.
Ruben Amorim and his Red Devils face a grim assignment on Merseyside, with the Reds topping the standings by six points coming into the opening weekend of the new year.
United have lost three on the bounce ahead of their trip to Anfield, with Arne Slot’s home side having put together the mirror image with three consecutive wins as they charge towards the title.
Seven Saturday matches build towards the evening kick off between Brighton and Arsenal, as the Gunners seek to at least temporarily take a chunk out of Liverpool’s advantage at the summit.
Mikel Arteta’s men are second and matching the Reds’ recent searing form going into their visit to the Amex Stadium, while the Seagulls need to arrest their slide towards the bottom half.
Back-to-back defeats have seen Chelsea tumble out of the immediate reckoning, but they will fancy their chances of bouncing back in a London derby away to Crystal Palace.
The Eagles have perked up over the festive period, though, chalking up a couple of handy wins to pull them clear of relegation trouble for the time being.
Manchester City are also desperate to keep the show on the road, as they survey the wreckage of their Premier League title defence despite returning to winning ways a week ago.
Pep Guardiola’s side play host to West Ham at the Etihad Stadium, with the Hammers’ encouraging unbeaten streak brought to a crunching halt by Liverpool last weekend.
The Saturday lunchtime kick off sees Newcastle take their four-game winning run to the capital to face struggling Tottenham.
Eddie Howe’s side could break into the top four with victory, while Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou is desperate for a positive result to take the heat off from an expectant home crowd.
Aston Villa remain in the pack chasing European qualification, despite their own iffy form.
They host a Leicester side from across the Midlands that have lost their last four, in an alarming downturn despite the appointment of Ruud van Nistelrooy as their new head coach.
The Villa Park result will have consequences at either end of the table for Bournemouth and Everton, who meet at the Vitality Stadium.
Andoni Iraola’s side could rise as high as fifth if they can clinch another home win, while the Toffees could really use three points in their survival bid despite securing draws against three big hitters in recent weeks.
Monday night sees the latest installment of Nottingham Forest’s rise and rise, as they head to Molineux to do battle with Wolves.
Forest will keep their place in the EPL top four no matter what happens here or elsewhere, with the home side intent on making it four unbeaten to keep their turnaround on track.
Fulham also have eyes on the top six thanks to an excellent season so far.
They are on home turf at Craven Cottage for Sunday’s other Premier League contest, with Ipswich the relegation-threatened visitors despite following their west London hosts in beating Chelsea last weekend.
Southampton and Brentford wrap up this weekend’s Premier League action with their Saturday date at St Mary’s Stadium.
New coach Ivan Juric has yet to breathe life into the Saints, who are rock bottom with just six points to their name, although the Bees are four without a win and also heading in the wrong direction.
All EPL Predictions for thhis round of fixtures
Tottenham Hotspur v Newcastle United
| Result prediction | draw |
| Over/Under prediction | over 2.5 goals |
| HT / FT prediction | Tottenham Hotspur / draw |
| Team to Score prediction | both teams |
| Anytime Goalscorer prediction | J. Maddison(Tottenham Hotspur) D. Kulusevski(Tottenham Hotspur) J. Murphy(Newcastle United) A. Isak(Newcastle United) |
AFC Bournemouth v Everton
| Result prediction | AFC Bournemouth to win |
| Over/Under prediction | over 2.5 goals |
| HT / FT prediction | Everton / AFC Bournemouth to win |
| Team to Score prediction | both teams |
| Anytime Goalscorer prediction | n/a |
Aston Villa v Leicester City
| Result prediction | Aston Villa to win |
| Over/Under prediction | under 2.5 goals |
| HT / FT prediction | Aston Villa / Aston Villa to win |
| Team to Score prediction | both teams |
| Anytime Goalscorer prediction | J. Durán(Aston Villa) |
Crystal Palace v Chelsea
| Result prediction | Crystal Palace to win |
| Over/Under prediction | over 2.5 goals |
| HT / FT prediction | Crystal Palace / Crystal Palace to win |
| Team to Score prediction | both teams |
| Anytime Goalscorer prediction | I. Sarr(Crystal Palace) C. Palmer(Chelsea) |
Manchester City v West Ham United
| Result prediction | Manchester City to win |
| Over/Under prediction | under 2.5 goals |
| HT / FT prediction | Manchester City / Manchester City to win |
| Team to Score prediction | both teams |
| Anytime Goalscorer prediction | n/a |
Southampton v Brentford
| Result prediction | Brentford to win |
| Over/Under prediction | under 2.5 goals |
| HT / FT prediction | Brentford / Brentford to win |
| Team to Score prediction | Brentford |
| Anytime Goalscorer prediction | B. Mbeumo(Brentford) |
Brighton & Hove Albion v Arsenal
| Result prediction | Arsenal to win |
| Over/Under prediction | over 2.5 goals |
| HT / FT prediction | Arsenal / Arsenal to win |
| Team to Score prediction | both teams |
| Anytime Goalscorer prediction | Gabriel Jesus(Arsenal) |
Fulham v Ipswich Town
| Result prediction | Fulham to win |
| Over/Under prediction | under 2.5 goals |
| HT / FT prediction | draw / Fulham to win |
| Team to Score prediction | both teams |
| Anytime Goalscorer prediction | n/a |
Liverpool v Manchester United
| Result prediction | Liverpool to win |
| Over/Under prediction | over 2.5 goals |
| HT / FT prediction | Liverpool / Liverpool to win |
| Team to Score prediction | both teams |
| Anytime Goalscorer prediction | Mohamed Salah(Liverpool) C. Gakpo(Liverpool) L. Díaz(Liverpool) |
Wolverhampton Wanderers v Nottingham Forest
| Result prediction | Wolverhampton Wanderers to win |
| Over/Under prediction | over 2.5 goals |
| HT / FT prediction | Wolverhampton Wanderers / Wolverhampton Wanderers to win |
| Team to Score prediction | both teams |
| Anytime Goalscorer prediction | Matheus Cunha(Wolverhampton Wanderers) C. Wood(Nottingham Forest) A. Elanga(Nottingham Forest) |