England Round 20

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Tottenham vs Newcastle Preview:

Possible starting lineups:

Tottenham:
Forster; Porro, Gray, Dragusin, Spence; Kulusevski, Sarr, Maddison; Johnson, Solanke, Son

Newcastle:
Dubravka; Livramento, Kelly, Burn, Hall; Guimaraes, Tonali, Joelinton; Murphy, Isak, Gordon

Tottenham are in the middle of the table with 24 points, far away from the European spots. The fans are disappointed and manager Ange Postecoglou is under enormous pressure. He like to play open football, but the defense isn't at desired level. The last results are poor, particularly at home. The Spurs have scored three goals against Liverpool and Chelsea, but lost both games conceding six and four goals respectively. In the last match of 2024, they played a 2:2 draw with Wolverhampton. If something is positive, that's the cup results, both European and domestically. Tottenham secured the semi-finals of the EFL Cup and they are well positioned in UEFA Europa League. However, the results in the Premier League must be a priority, starting from this match. The injury situation is very complicated. Destiny Udogie is the latest victim as he sustained hamstring injury against Wolves. Seven players remain sidelined - Guglielmo Vicario, Micky van de Ven, Mikey Moore, Richarlison, Cristian Romero, Wilson Odobert and Ben Davies. Finally, Rodrigo Bentancur is suspended due to accumulation of yellow cards,

Newcastle are in very good form at the moment. They have four victories on the last four matches and the atmosphere in the squad is excellent. The Magpies managed to record triumphs over Leicester City, Aston Villa, Ipswich Town and Manchester United at Old Trafford. However, the fans are not fully satisfied as their team sit fifth on the table. Their ambitions are clear, Top-4 finish and Champions League football next season. There is chance England to have five participants, but it is too early for conclusion. It is important Newcastle to continue with victories, but it is easier to say. Edie Howe is well aware about that, particularly because he has big injury issues in defense. Jamaal Lascelles, Nick Pope, Emil Krafth and Sven Botman are all struggling with injuries and most probably they will miss the trip to London. This match come too soon for Callum Wilson. Finally, Fabian Schar picked up his fifth yellow card of the season in the win at Old Trafford and he is suspended..

Tottenham vs Newcastle Prediction:

This should be an efficient encounter. Tottenham play at home and they will go for victory. Postecoglou is offensive-minded coach and he has no "Plan B". The Spurs have played some "crazy" home games in December, like a 6:3 defeat to Liverpool, 4:3 loss to Chelsea and a 2:2 draw with Wolverhampton. As You could see, all three matches have finished with at least four goals. Newcastle are in good form, they are in series of four victories and the players confidence is high. The Magpies will go for a win, so there should be goals.

Tottenham vs Newcastle Pick: Over 3.5 goals @ 1.86 with Everygame

 

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Crystal Palace vs Chelsea Preview:

Possible starting lineups:

Crystal Palace:
Henderson; Chalobah, Lacroix, Guehi; Munoz, Hughes, Lerma, Mitchell; Sarr, Mateta, Eze

Chelsea:
Sanchez; Gusto, Tosin, Colwill, Cucurella; Enzo, Caicedo; Pedro Neto, Palmer, Sancho; Jackson

Crystal Palace will welcome Chelsea to Selhurst Park in their first match in the New 2025. The Eagles are on the 15th place with 20 points. They are just five points away from the relegation zone and the fans are not satisfied However, the current form is solid. Palace are unbeaten on the last two matches in the Premier League. They managed to beat Southampton, while shared the points with Bournemouth at Vitality. I think manager Oliver Glasner is happy with the last results, but not entirely. The reason is the big defeat from Arsenal, when Palace lost 5:1. The home form remain a big problem for Glasner. It is poor as Palace played 10 matches as hosts, but have just two Premier League wins this season at Selhurst Park. The manager has another worry as three, possibly four players are not available. Adam Wharton remains out with a groin issue. Matheus França and Franco Umeh-Chibueze are sidelined too, while Rob Holding is rated as doubtful. On the positive note, captain Marc Guehi, is eligible to play after he sat out the win over Southampton due to suspension last week.

Chelsea are fourth with 35 points and I believe the fans are satisfied. Last season was awful for the Blues, so the fourth place now looks like a very good position. Chelsea were even closer to the leaders Liverpool, but failed to win any of the last three matches. First they played a goalless draw with Everton, while then suffered defeats from Fulham and Ipswich Town. It is hard to explain what happened with Chelsea, but Maresca insisted they are not title pretenders yet. The Italian coach has the majority of his players available, but Wesley Fofana and Benoit Badiashile remain sidelined. Reece James was part of the squad against Ipswich Town, but did not come off the bench. Romeo Lavia, Carney Chukwuemeka and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall are rated as doubtful. Finally, Ukrainian winger Mykhailo Mudryk is suspended by the FA after failing a drugs test. However, the Blues are optimists ahead the short trip to Stamford Bridge. Chelsea have won on their last six visits to Selhurst Park, and should win again.

Crystal Palace vs Chelsea Prediction:

This should be an interesting encounter. Palace play at home and they will try to remain unbeaten, but Chelsea are huge favorites. The Blues are in poor form, they suffered defeats on the last two matches, but they were unlucky. Chelsea controlled the match against Fulham for 82 minutes, but conceded two goals in the finish and lost. A "light" penalty and big mistake were the reasons for another defeat in the last round, this time from Ipswich. Furthermore, Maresca decided to rest some of his key players. He handed start to some of his Conference League performers such as Christopher Nkunku, Joao Felix and Filip Jorgensen, but they failed to impress. I believe Maresca will play with his best eleven on this match and he will find a way to motivate them. The quality is on their aide and I expect to win here.

Crystal Palace vs Chelsea Pick: Chelsea to win @ 1.95 with Everygame

 

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Liverpool vs Manchester United Preview:

Possible starting lineups:

Liverpool:
Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Quansah, Van Dijk, Robertson; Gravenberch, Mac Allister; Salah, Szoboszlai, Gakpo; Diaz

Manchester United:
Onana; Yoro, Maguire, Martinez; Mazraoui, Mainoo, Ugarte, Dalot; Diallo, Fernandes; Hojlund

Manchester United and Liverpool are the two most successful English clubs. United have won 63 trophies, while Liverpool 60. The club from Anfield have dominated English football from 1975 to 1990, winning 11 league titles and four European Cups. Manchester United, meanwhile, have dominated during Ferguson's era, from 1993. In that period the Red Devils won 13 league championships and two European Cups. Liverpool are better side in the recent years, while this season is probably the worst one for Man United in the Premier League history. However, this is a big derby and I am sure the players from both teams will give the maximum.

Liverpool are first with 45 points and they have a 6-point advantage to second-placed Arsenal. The Reds are in excellent form, winning the last three matches in the Premier League. They managed to beat Tottenham 6:3, Leicester City 3:1 and West Ham 5:0. The whole season is successful, they are also first in the Champions League and secured semi-final of the EFL Cup. Slot has confirmed some good news connect with the injury situation. Both Ibrahima Konate and Conor Bradley have returned to training on Friday. They have both been sidelined since suffering knee and hamstring injuries respectively against Real Madrid at the end of November. Slot has been left short of defensive options throughout December as a result. Joe Gomez, who suffered a hamstring injury against West Ham, remain sidelined.

Manchester United go in this derby knowing another defeat will be a catastrophe. The Red Devils have 22 points and they are in very complicate situation - just seven points from the relegation zone and big 23 points from the leaders Liverpool. The former manager Erik ten Hag was sacked during November, but little have changed under Ruben Amorim. Three points from the possible 18 is definitely a poor result. However, a positive outcome in this derby will erase the previous defeats. Two important midfielders - Manuel Ugarte and Bruno Fernandes - are back from suspension and Amorim should not hesitate to throw both men back into the first eleven. Mason Mount, Victor Lindelof and Luke Shaw remain sidelined, while the situation with Marcus Rashford is not clear.

Liverpool vs Manchester United Prediction:

Liverpool are big favorites, they even won 3:0 the reverse fixture played at Old Trafford in September. However, it won't be easy. That being said, a home win was widely expected to be on the cards when Ten Hag's United visited Anfield 13 months ago only to keep their hosts at bay with a dogged defensive performance. A total of 34 shots were coughed up that day, but failed to score a single goal. I think Liverpool will have problems again. It is not difficult to predict how the guests will play, a "full-scale catenaccio". Amorim have lost five of the six Premier League fixtures in charge. His only success was the narrow victory against Manchester City. The Red Devils were totally outplayed on that match, but two big mistakes by Guardiola's men changed everything. I think this will be a tight match and I don't expect Manchester United to be humiliated.

Liverpool vs Manchester United Pick: Manchester United +1.5 AH @ 2.05 with Pinnacle