Premier League Boxing Day Odds & Best Bets – EPL Matchday 19

• It is EPL Matchday 19 on Boxing Day and Monday, December 27
• Man City now leads the table, three points ahead of Liverpool and six ahead of Chelsea
• We list the odds for the eight games and preview three, offering our best picks

EPL Matchday 19 kicks off on Boxing Day, Sunday, December 26, with six games, while the final game of the round, Newcastle vs Manchester United, takes place on Monday.

Liverpool vs Leeds United, Wolverhampton Wanderers vs Watford and Burnley vs Everton have all been postponed because of Covid cases in the Leeds, Watford and Everton camps.

Read on to see the odds and our best bets for EPL Matchday 19 below.

English Premier League Matchday 19 Odds

All odds as of December 24 at Barstool

Aston Villa vs Chelsea Prediction

Chelsea’s title surge has faltered in recent weeks and they desperately need a win to keep the pressure on the leaders, Man City, after falling six points behind.

Soon back at it in the Premier League! 👊 pic.twitter.com/F78gbpuUMr

— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) December 23, 2021

But with Thomas Tuchel’s squad being hampered by positive Covid-19 tests and injuries, this will be a below full-strength Blues team that takes the field at Villa Park although, in midweek, a young Blues’ team beat Brentford 2-0 to earn a place in the last four of the EFL Cup. Prior to that game, they drew back-to-back games with Everton and Wolves.

Villa has had a resurgence since the arrival of Steven Gerrard – who replaced the sacked Dean Smith – and while they were without a game at the weekend, last time out they won 2-0 away at Norwich. The Villans have injuries and health concerns of their own but will be roared on by a noisy, vibrant Villa Park and will look to make the most of Chelsea’s dip in EPL form.

📍 Bodymoor Heath
🔜 #AVLBUR pic.twitter.com/1OY85SiLmx

— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) December 17, 2021

The Blues start as odds-on favorites but this will be tricky for them given their need to rely on youngsters to replace some ill/injured big names. While it is not clear that Villa has enough to force the win, they could limit Chelsea to their third successive draw. For me, that’s where the value is.

Picks: Aston Villa and Chelsea to draw  (+275) 

Newcastle United vs Manchester United Prediction

Newcastle may not be bottom of the table but one win in 18 games is representative of a terrible season for the Toon, who have yet to feel the benefit of the vast wealth of their new Saudi owners. That may well change in January when the transfer window opens but until then manager Eddie Howe has to make do with a squad that is low on both confidence and belief.

Eddie Howe on Covid cases:

"We have a clean bill of health currently and we're going though our testing every day. With the current infection rate around the country, we're doing well at the moment to stay clear of it." pic.twitter.com/EsQ1afm11V

— Newcastle United FC (@NUFC) December 23, 2021

Manchester United has improved since the arrival of Ralf Rangnick – who replaced Ole Gunnar Solkjaer –  but it was a fairly low base from which he started his tenure and this is not the imperious, seemingly unbeatable, United team of seasons gone by. Newcastle will believe they can win this and will have noted how close bottom side Norwich came to taking points off United two weeks ago.

Wednesday's winners 🥇

📱 @Cristiano#MUFC pic.twitter.com/dQqX0Tx9X5

— Manchester United (@ManUtd) December 22, 2021

What Newcastle always has in its favor is a huge, fervent, noisy home support and will be particularly up for a visit from United’s superstars, including one Cristiano Ronaldo. This could make for a tricky 90+ minutes for the Red Devils and so, with that in mind, and assuming the talented Allan Saint-Maximin is fit to play for the Toon, let’s go big here and go for the home win at a very tempting +575.

Pick: Newcastle United to win  (+575)

Brighton & Hove Albion vs Brentford Prediction

Brighton will be hoping to end a disappointing winless run when newly-promoted Brentford visits the Amex Stadium on Sunday. After a bright start to the campaign, the Seagulls are now in freefall and a run of 11 games without a win has seen them drop down to 13th place; just nine points clear of the relegation zone.

Building up to Brentford. 🧱💪 pic.twitter.com/B2hBbpA7lD

— Brighton & Hove Albion (@OfficialBHAFC) December 23, 2021

While Brentford is on the same number of points as Brighton, their expectations are far different from those of the Seagulls, and Thomas Frank’s rookies have looked at home in the Premier League. A 5-5-6 record from the Bees has been an outstanding effort.

💬 We've been getting the thoughts of Thomas Frank ahead of our Boxing Day trip to Brighton#BrentfordFC #BHABRE pic.twitter.com/WFYWzNlDk0

— Brentford FC (@BrentfordFC) December 23, 2021

With Brighton odds-on, there is no value or indeed logic in betting on the home win and so, for me, the Brentford win at +325 offers bettors a realistic chance of a decent return.

Pick: Brentford to win (+325)