The thing with round 19 of EPL fixtures is that it marks the start of the New Year’s madness, when teams enter a crazy tempo of play with several games taking place in a short span. We have several big-time matches coming our way, with the one at the Emirates being the biggest: Arsenal VS Aston Villa. This is the clash between the two title favorites, and teams in excellent shape.
Meanwhile, there are other interesting events as well, such as Sunderland VS Manchester City and Chelsea VS Bournemouth.
For more EPL odds, follow this link, and stay tuned to see our predictions and picks for the upcoming round.
Arsenal VS Aston Villa Predictions
Arsenal has won 5 in a row and has only suffered one defeat since late August this season. Aston Villa has won in its last 11 appearances, shaking up the entire league and entering the title race. If they win this one, the Villans are becoming a legit title contender, and no one can argue that.
The Gunners have won in a row, but their play isn’t as confident as before. Still, Arteta’s unit is winning and is scoring goals, netting two or more in 4 of those 5 wins. Overall, the efficiency of their matches is moderate, meaning two or three goals, and that occurred in 6 of the recent 8 contests.
Aston Villa’s games are very interesting, and only one in the past 8 hasn’t seen both teams netting. Of course, all of those contests were with three or more hits, and we need to say that Villa plays much more efficient football than in the past.
Since this is a high-stakes game and both managers are fantastic tacticians, we don’t expect many goals, but the offensive potential of either unit rules out a goalless draw. So our pick here is a moderate efficiency that is 2 or 3 goals.
- Pick: 2 or 3 goals
Chelsea VS Bournemouth
The Blues are in trouble, and they need to react fast; otherwise, their situation might be even more complicated. They are already 13 points behind Arsenal, and the title quest is getting out of hand, but more importantly, the UCL spot is now endangered.
Bournemouth has 9 games without a win in a row, and that’s the worst streak the Cherries have experienced in the last few years. What’s happening with this crew, we don’t know, but what we do know is that they have to react fast.
Four of Chelsea’s last five games saw over 2.5 goals and both teams netting, while Bournemouth’s previous five away matches were terrible, with them conceding 18 goals. All had at least four hits as well.
Chelsea has to win here, and we are saying that because the Blues have a lot at stake, which is why we pick them to win and score at least twice.
- Pick: Chelsea and Over 1.5
Sunderland VS Manchester City
City is two points behind Arsenal and hopes to see a scenario from a couple of years ago, when the Gunners held a long EPL lead, but the Citizens overtook them to win the title. Beating Sunderland is a must, but the Black Cats won’t go down that easily, and they’ve shown that several times this year.
Sunderland has three wins in the last 10 games, just two losses, and five ties, suggesting they are a tough rival. Their games don’t feature many goals, and 5 of the last 7 have gone under 2.5 goals.
City has 8 wins in a row, three of the previous four without a goal conceded, and all of them with at least two hits in the rival’s net. Rayan Cherki is slowly taking over the midfield, and overall, City’s improvement is impressive.
Since their morale is on the rise, as is their form, Man City is our pick to win this event.
- Pick: Manchester City
