Some 12 top-flight teams will play again before 2025 finishes, as Premier League week 19 straddles both sides of the New Year celebrations. There’ll be no place for sore heads in the camps of the other eight clubs, however, as they face fixtures on 1 January itself. Games in and around New Year is something of a football tradition.
Premier League leaders Arsenal facing Aston Villa in a rematch from earlier in December is the pick of those half-dozen fixtures on Tuesday. Chelsea and Manchester United also play games on 30 December. Come New Year’s Day, meanwhile, Liverpool host Leeds United, while Manchester City travel to another promoted side in Sunderland.
These midweek matches promise much in the way of thrilling action and drama on pitches across England. Ring in the New Year with our Premier League betting tips for every single one of these fixtures. Get the lowdown on which teams and wagers we fancy and why as the division reaches its halfway stage.
Premier League Week 19 Tuesday Games
Burnley v Newcastle
The Magpies took the reverse fixture 2-1 when Burnley had Lucas Pires sent off late in the first half. Going into the return game at Turf Moor, however, Newcastle haven’t won in the league since. In fact, Eddie Howe’s side only have one victory on their travels in this division for the entire campaign so far.
While there’ll always be a good following from the Toon Army on the road, this meeting in Lancashire gives Scott Parker hope of getting something. His Clarets have drawn their last two matches and could conceivably pick up another point on their own patch. While backing a share of the spoils comes in at tempting price of around 3/1, it’s another bet that appeals even more here.
Newcastle have conceded the last goal in six of their seven matches throughout this month. Burnley by contrast have scored last in three of their last four (latest game ended 0-0), so the 9/5 price about them having the final word regardless of the outcome looks well worth a wager.
Tip: Burnley to Score Last – 9/5
Chelsea v Bournemouth
Two more out of form sides meet at Stamford Bridge. Defeat to Aston Villa here last time had many Blues fans raging after they succumbed to Ollie Watkins’ second-half brace. Enzo Maresca will want a response from his Chelsea side here after they couldn’t break down the Cherries on the South Coast in the reverse fixture earlier this month that ended 0-0. Something quite different could be on the cards now, however.
Bournemouth on their travels has invariably resulted in a lot of goals in recent outings. In fact, each of their last five away days has seen at least four fly in. Five of the Blues’ seven games in December ended up with at least three goals, so plenty points to the final score being high. Fresh from conceding four goals at Brentford and Manchester United, the Cherries defence continues to leak like a sieve.
On top of all that, Bournemouth’s star forward Antoine Semenyo looks to be on his way and may not be risked with his reported £65,000,000 release clause activated. The suggestion from a gambling perspective is to hedge on Over 2.5 and Over 3.5 Total Goals. The former is a safer proposition at around 4/7, while the latter offers a more attractive 11/8.
Tip: Over 2.5 Total Goals – 4/7 & Over 3.5 Total Goals – 11/8
Nottingham Forest v Everton
The Toffees trounced former boss Sean Dyche’s Reds on Merseyside 3-0 earlier in the month. Will the Tricky Trees come unstuck again? Everton come into Premier League week 19 after picking up 11 of their 25 points on the road.
Consistency is the essential element both sides lack. Forest responded to that comprehensive defeat by David Moyes’s boys with consecutive victories in the Europa League and over Spurs. They’ve since lost their two latest games by a single goal margin. It’s difficult to know what to expect here really.
Both sides have averaged a goal per game in the league so far, yet the Toffees haven’t managed one at all since the reverse fixture. Only two sides have stopped the Reds scoring at home across all competitions since September, so the City Ground could provide some solace for Forest.
Under 2.5 Total Goals is tempting at around 4/6 with online football bookmakers, despite four of the Tricky Trees’ last five games containing exactly 3 goals. Everton look to have dried up in attack, coinciding with their number nine and ten going off on international duty at AFCON. That may explain the Toffees’ malaise.
Don’t be surprised, therefore, if Forest gain a measure of revenge on Everton. They showed enough fight against Manchester City over the weekend to think they can turn the tables on Moyes’s visitors with home advantage on the banks of the Trent. It’d be a fitting tribute to Reds legend John Robertson, who passed away on Christmas Day.
Tip: Nottingham Forest to Win – 5/4
West Ham v Brighton
Yet another couple of out of form teams collide. Since a 1-1 draw played out between these two on the South Coast, Brighton & Hove Albion have only scored once in three matches. West Ham United, meanwhile, have lost all their subsequent games, netting twice but shipping seven goals. If the Seagulls are ever going to get back into the groove in attack, then it’s surely against this opposition.
Nuno Espirito Santo hasn’t really addressed the defensive frailties the Hammers demonstrated under predecessor Graham Potter. He may get the chance if West Ham’s much-maligned owners stick their hands in their pockets when the January Transfer Window opens and back him to bring in reinforcements.
That’s a possible eventuality for down the line, though, and doesn’t apply to Premier League week 19 in the here and now. Odds of around 4/5 for Brighton to score last, given the Hammers’ tendency to concede second-half goals, look tempting. Albion managed this on six occasions in their last nine games as well.
With West Ham letting in two goals per game on average and posting the second-worst home record in the division, it may instead be worth chancing the Seagulls to resume winning ways against the easiest opposition they’ve met on paper all month.
Tip: Brighton to Score Last – 4/5 & Brighton to Win – 5/4
Arsenal v Aston Villa
Own goal is the Gunners’ top scorer this month with four. They succumbed to old boss Unai Emery at Villa Park earlier in December when a 95th minute winner sent the Holte End into raptures. Villa are in absolutely scintillating form with a run of 11 consecutive victories across all competitions. Sooner or later, that hot streak must surely end, but for now they’re flying.
In the early weeks of the campaign, they couldn’t score a goal. Oh, how times have changed! Villa have 15 goals in six matches throughout December, yet are as big as 6/1 and even 7/1 in a place to win at the Emirates Stadium. It’s a fortress for Arsenal, and they haven’t lost a Premier League game there all season. If anyone can mastermind their downfall, however, it’s Emery.
Villa came back at Chelsea and from behind at West Ham on their two previous away days in London. Is it so hard to envision something similar happening here? With the Gunners grinding recent results out, while conceding to Wolves, Crystal Palace and Brighton all at home, the bet that leaps off the page is Both Teams to Score at the right side of Evens.
Tip: Both Teams to Score – 6/5
Man Utd v Wolves
There seems no hope for basement side Wolves, sitting 16 points from safety going into this round of matches. Manchester United put four past them at Molineux, but the Red Devils do now have some key players missing. Even so, if Ruben Amorim’s team could beat Newcastle at Old Trafford, they should have no problem in dispatching Wanderers again.
Since that drubbing earlier in the month, Rob Edwards’ West Midlands outfit conceded twice to Arsenal, Brentford and Liverpool. That seems par the course for United, then. The way to make this work from a wagering perspective on the best betting sites out there is to give the hosts a handicap to overcome.
With an imagined deficit of one goal to overturn, the Red Devils are Evens with some firms to defy that handicap. It greatly enhances their long odds-on price to hand another beating to Wolves, who have the worst defensive and scoring records in this division.
Tip: Man Utd to Win with -1 Handicap – Evs
Premier League Week 19 Thursday Games – New Year’s Day
Crystal Palace v Fulham
Marc Guehi’s late goal was the different between these two sides at Craven Cottage in December. Since then, however, Crystal Palace have lost three Premier League games in a row, while Fulham’s form has had an upturn. Both sides suffered quarter-final exits from the Carabao Cup, but the might be a blessing for the overly busy Eagles.
Palace played eight matches across all competitions in the space of just 25 days from 3 December to 28 December. That hectic schedule really started taking its toll in the run-up to Christmas with players absent at AFCON. These sides now sit next to one another in the table both on 26 points.
Marco Silva’s side going on a fine run that has put plenty of distance between themselves and any relegation worries could well continue against the weary Eagles. Palace lost 1-o to another London club in Tottenham on Sunday and two narrow offside calls in their favour limited the damage. They haven’t won a Premier League game at Selhurst Park since 1 November.
As a result of that weak home recent home form, Fulham / Draw in the Double Chance market recommends itself at 3/4. The Craven Cottage club also appeal to score the first goal of this game at 11/8, having done so in each of their recent league wins subsequent to defeat by Palace and half of their games in the division so far.
Tip: Fulham / Draw Double Chance – 3/4 & Fulham to Score First – 11/8
Liverpool v Leeds
A thrilling 3-3 draw played out between these two at Elland Road in December with Leeds battling back from 2-0 and 3-2 down for a hard-earned point. Both haven’t tasted defeat since either with the Whites notching away draws either side of a home win over Palace. Liverpool, meanwhile, have four consecutive victories in all competitions.
Only Burnley and Bournemouth have conceded more away goals than Leeds, however, so this might be difficult for Daniel Farke. In front of the Anfield Kop, the Reds are always formidable. With big money buy Alexander Isak sidelined by injury, in-form Hugo Ekitike has this stage to himself. He scored five Premier League goals in December including a brace in the reverse fixture.
Ekitike is the wrong side of Evens, however, so there might be better value on top betting apps in other markets. With Leeds scoring in each of their last eight matches, and Liverpool doing the same, that strongly suggests goals. While it’s difficult to imagine three at either end flying in again, the smart play could be Arne Slot’s Reds winning this one, but both teams finding the target at a tempting 2/1 price.
Tip: Liverpool to Win & BTTS – 2/1
Brentford v Tottenham
Some narrow offside calls went against Spurs are they rounded off 2025 with a 1-0 victory over Palace. Another London derby, this time with Brentford, beckons on Premier League week 19 on 1 January. December’s meeting between these two ended in a 2-0 home win for Tottenham with Xavi Simons setting up Richarlison, then scoring himself.
The Bees can now be considered high-fliers under Keith Andrews after consecutive wins before New Year saw them climb into the top eight. This fixture pits the fourth best home record against one of the best away performers in the Premier League. When on their travels this season so far, Spurs are on a par with Arsenal and Villa in picking up 17 points.
Thomas Frank’s team hasn’t done so well of late on the road, though. Brentford have lost just once on their own patch in the division this season. All but six of their points are ones earned in front of their own fences in West London. Something’s got to give with injuries, bans and AFCON absences all potentially decisive in the outcome here.
There’s a real sting in the Bees at home after thumping wins over Man United, Liverpool and Newcastle in the autumn. That tale continued over Christmas when they put four past Bournemouth. It’s tempting to suggest another Brentford win and BTTS at 100/30 here, but the general 5/4 about them gaining revenge on Tottenham looks safer.
Tip: Brentford to Win – 5/4 (& BTTS – 100/30)
Sunderland v Man City
A comprehensive 3-0 success at the Etihad in December was the third in an eight-match winning streak across all competitions for Manchester City. Pep Guardiola’s side are right in the title race after that excellent run and want to start 2026 off the right way on the road at the Stadium Of Light.
Strong home form has given Sunderland the perfect platform to stay up, but there are signs of that excellent first-half of the season starting to wane now. Player absences at AFCON probably lies behind it but, alongside an own goal in the derby with Newcastle, they managed to net just twice themselves in December. Man City, meanwhile, hit 20 goals in their last eight matches.
They’re also the division leaders for finding the target on the road, averaging two per game on their travels so far (18 in nine). Despite the Black Cats’ fine record on Wearside where they’ve conceded just eight Premier League goals since returning to the top flight, City had too much for them in the reverse fixture and should do so again.
As attractive as an away win with both teams scoring looks at around the 2/1 mark, there’s a safer bet to consider. Namely, Man City and Over 2.5 Total Goals at 11/10 just like when these two last met. Sunderland hung on for a home draw against Leeds, but Guardiola’s side look to have really hit their stride as the winter wears on.
Tip: Man City to Win & Over 2.5 Total Goals – 11/10
