Premier League Matchday 17 Odds & Picks: Man United vs Aston Villa, Chelsea vs Man City & Southampton vs Liverpool

• The busy festive schedule continues this weekend as the Premier League moves on with its 17th matchday of the new campaign
• Some fixtures are up in the air over surging COVID-19 numbers across the UK, as two games were postponed in matchday 16
• The game of the weekend is between Chelsea and Manchester City on Sunday with the Citizens the favorites with a moneyline of +123

With another weekend, comes another very busy slate of Premier League matches, despite a slight disruption from the worldwide pandemic. Both Manchester City vs Everton and Tottenham vs Fulham were canceled in the midweek as a result of spread within the camps. Nonetheless, the Premier League marches on some with high stakes matchups. As defending champions Liverpool continue to drop points to low ranking sides, this year looks like it will be more open than ever for a new champion to step forward.

Not only does Manchester City play a struggling Chelsea team who have Frank Lampard on the hot seat, but we also have Manchester United facing Jack Grealish and Aston Villa. If the Red Devils win that match, they could draw level with Liverpool, only separated by goal difference. Arsenal look to build a strong run of form, and can Liverpool snap out of it against Southampton? We will have to wait and find out.

Premier League Matchday 17 Odds

All odds taken Dec 30 at DraftKings

Premier League Pick 1: Manchester United vs Aston Villa

The first Premier League match to take a look at this weekend is in Northwest England between Man United and Aston Villa. Both of these sides have not lost a match in their last five games and look like serious contenders for the top four. Despite falling out of the Champions League in the group stage, Manchester United have found themselves in second place thanks to Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford who have been utterly brilliant.

This pass was a 𝗝𝗢𝗞𝗘. 😍@JackGrealish 🎯 pic.twitter.com/WvmNCOkKTm

— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) December 27, 2020

However, they are going up against a side that is more than capable of producing their own offense. We saw against Leicester City, Sheffield and Leeds, the United backline is still as slippery as Bambi on ice skates. The combination of Grealish, Ollie Watkins, and Anwar El Ghazi could overwhelm United’s defense and cause a Premier League barnburner. I expect this one to be one of the more exciting games of the weekend which is why I favor the ‘Over’ on 3.5 total goals.

My Pick: Over 3.5 Total Goals (+150)

Premier League Pick 2: Chelsea vs Manchester City

The most anticipated match of the Premier League weekend is between Chelsea and Man City. Lampard is on the hot seat and has pressure to get a result against Guardiola’s men with Thomas Tuchel lined up as a possible replacement. Chelsea has only won once in their last six matches, a 3-0 win against West Ham. That win is Chelsea’s only win against teams in the top half of the Premier League table, an abysmal statistic.

The late volley from @BenChilwell that so nearly gave us all 3 points against Villa. #CFC #Chelsea pic.twitter.com/9fJaLTPH8Y

— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) December 30, 2020

After a rough start, Manchester City have looked like they are figuring themselves back out. They have only conceded twice in five games, but still look a little sluggish on offense. However, City has beat Chelsea five out of their last seven chances which leads me to believe history will repeat itself.

My Pick: Manchester City moneyline (+123)

Premier League Pick 3: Southampton vs Liverpool

The last Premier League match to look forward to this weekend is on the south coast between Southampton and Liverpool. Liverpool have looked sluggish lately and despite not collecting losses, have managed to cut their lead on top of the table to just two points. They have dropped points in three matches against bottom four sides in the Premier League, but have seemed to pull it together when it matters. Historically they have not lost to the Saints since 2017 and won their two games last year by a combined score of 6-1.

396 – James Ward-Prowse covered the most distance of any player in the Premier League in 2020, with the Southampton midfielder averaging 11.6 kilometres per 90 minutes played during the year. Engine. #OptaReview2020 pic.twitter.com/RlYDkBFBaz

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) December 31, 2020

Southampton have had a positive start to their Premier League campaign, but have only mustered three points from their last four games. Their last two wins were against Sheffield and Brighton which will make some wonder if their start was a fluke. Nonetheless, Mo Salah has scored seven goals against the Saints and I believe he will add to his tally at St. Mary’s on Monday.

My Pick: Mo Salah to score (-103)