Sports Blog 24/12/2015: Match Preview – Premier League, Saturday 26th December 2015

With the mighty Leicester heading into Christmas at the top of the table there are sure to be a few more twists in this most bizarre of Premier League seasons when the turkey-stuffed teams run out on Boxing Day.

Louis van Gaal will be looking for a desperately needed, if late, Christmas present when his Manchester United travel to Stoke at 12.45pm on BT Sport 1. Winless in 6 games United are having a torrid, if self-inflicted, time of it; last Saturday’s 2-1 loss to Norwich came hot on the heels of defeats to Bournemouth and Wolfsburg alongside draws against West Ham, PSV Eindhoven and the league leaders Leicester. Another loss against Stoke would leave van Gaal, since Jose Mourinho got sacked the bookies favourite for the boot, in a precarious situation at the least and jobless at the worst. He will be praying, then, that Anthony Martial can continue to build on whatever insufficient form he finds himself in at the moment, the Frenchman going into Saturday at a Super Mega PGM of 18-22.



Not that Stoke have been any great shakes in the past month or so. Whilst their 2-0 home win over Manchester City at the start of the December was an undoubted season highlight (even more so than their 1-0 victory over an eminently beatable Chelsea), that has been surrounded by a draw against West Ham and losses against Sunderland and, most recently, Crystal Palace. Yet that form still leaves Stoke in 11th, on the same amount of points as 10th place Everton and only 6 away from 5th place United. It helps that whilst the Potters have the joint worst attack in the league alongside Aston Villa (with Marko Arnautovic, at a Super Mega PGM of 11-15, on 5 goals) they also have one of the meanest defences, conceding only 16.

That stands Stoke in good stead for Saturday’s game, and whilst Manchester United may be favourites, at a Goal Supremacy quote of 0.1-0.3, as shown by slender spread it looks like the post-Xmas meet-up will be much closer than Louis van Gaal would like.

Moving to Saturday afternoon and Newcastle will be looking to remain above the relegation fray when they host Everton at 5.30pm on BT Sport 1. A 1-1 draw with the perpetually awful Aston Villa last weekend brought to an end the Toon’s astonishing (and Steve McClaren’s job-saving) 2 game winning streak over Liverpool and Tottenham. Add that onto wins for Norwich, Chelsea and Bournemouth and Newcastle, for all their gumption in the past few weeks, now sit in 17th place, 2 points above 18th place Swansea. Matters aren’t helped by the fact that the Toon have one of the worst defences in the league, their 32 goals conceded second only to bitter rivals Sunderland. And with Georginio Wijnaldum and Ayoze Perez (at Super Mega PGMs of 19-23 and 17-21 respectively) only firing in fits and starts McClaren and co. face an uphill battle at the weekend.



As Everton are a team brimming with quality, if a team that admittedly amounts to slightly less than the sum of its parts at the moment, a trait that has left them frustratingly in 10th place in the league. Barring a semi-final securing victory over Middlesbrough in the League Cup the Toffees are without a win since the end of October, their last 4 league games seeing draws against Bournemouth, Crystal Palace and Norwich alongside last Saturday’s loss to an indomitable, if fallible, Leicester. It’s not that Everton are wanting up front; in Romelu Lukaku (at a Super Mega PGM of 41-48) they have the kind of forward dreams are made of, the young Belgian international scoring 9 goals in his past 8 games, finding the back of the net in each. Yet somehow Everton just haven’t passed muster for too much of this season, something Roberto Martinez will be looking to change on Boxing Day.

Both sides are more than capable of winning this tie, and if anything the Toon are going into the weekend in better form. Yet there is something special about the Toffees, if only in flashes, meaning our Spreadex traders are offering am Everton/Newcastle (h) Goal Supremacy spread of 0.2-0.4 alongside a Total Goals spread of 2.75-2.95.

Finally Saturday evening’s game will see Arsenal’s title push hot up when they travel to Southampton at 7.30pmon BT Sport 1. A triumphant win 2-1 over Manchester City on Monday night, complete with 2 more assists for the awe-inspiring Mesut Ozil, may still see the Gunners 2 points shy of Leicester, but with the Foxes facing a tough Christmas weekend against Liverpool and City, Wenger’s side will be looking to capitalise on any potential slip from the league leaders. Of course Arsenal themselves are no stranger to the odd implosion, but with Oliver Giroud on 6 goals in his last 5 games, and miniature Chilean maestro Alexis Sanchez potentially set to return, Wenger will be feeling confident that his side can finally make a sustained title challenge the likes they of which they haven’t seen in years.



After recovering from a shoddy start to the season with a series of impressive results between the end of September and start of November, Southampton have fallen by the way side once again. Ronald Koeman’s side are currently without a win in 4 league games (5 if you include the 6-1 walloping dished out by Liverpool in the League Cup quarter final), leaving the Saints in 12th place. And with top scorer Graziano Pelle goalless since November 1st, and Sadio Mane with a meagre 3 in 16 league appearances, Southampton may have a tough time outscoring an in-form Arsenal.

There must always be a hint of trepidation around Arsenal, especially when they appear to be in league-winning form. However, the Gunners shouldn’t find too much to worry about in this shadow of a Saints’ side, with our Spreadex traders offering an Arsenal/Southampton (h) Goal Supremacy spread of 0.25-0.45 alongside a Total Goals spread of 2.5-2.7.