Soccer Betting Podcast

Arsenal are the Christmas number one but they have lost some of their rhythm in recent weeks to allow Manchester City to narrow the gap at the top of the Premier League. The lead is just two points going into this week’s fixtures and Arsenal’s lack of a cutting edge in attack is likely to be a cause for concern for Mikel Arteta.The game of the weekend sees Aston Villa travel to Chelsea. Aston Villa made it a perfect ten wins in a row in all competitions with Sunday’s 2-1 success at home to Manchester United and with that they have emerged as dark horses in the Premier League title race. Since losing 2-0 at Liverpool on the first day of November, Unai Emery’s side have won seven Premier League matches on the trot and that has included a 2-1 victory over leaders Arsenal as well as putting four goals past Bournemouth and Brighton.

As Boxing Day falls on a Friday this year, we have just one fixture to look forward to as Manchester United - without Bruno Fernandes - host Newcastle United but there is at least a good chance these sides can serve up some entertainment. United could draw level with Chelsea in fourth with a victory and Newcastle, who sit 11th, are also looking to push towards the European spots. Both teams are in mixed form, however, so Billi (@SGPSoccer) focuses the goals markets for his main bet, rather than the match result.

The groups are now set for the 2026 FIFA World Cup! With the conclusion of Friday's draw, we now know which teams will square off in the group stage of the tournament. Billi (@SGPSoccer) looks the updated futures odds for the outright winner and the odds for the group winners— with many tantalising matchups in store.The United States will face Paraguay in their first World Cup match on home soil in 32 years. Kylian Mbappé and Erling Haaland will go toe-to-toe for France and Norway, respectively. Meanwhile, England will take on Croatia eight years after the Three Lions fell to the same nation in the semifinals.

Manchester United face an uphill task this afternoon when they travel to Aston Villa. Villa are the form team in England’s top flight right now with 27 points from the last 30 available ahead of the visit of Manchester United in Sunday’s only Premier League fixture.The Villans’ form has seen them emerge as legitimate title challengers, and Emery’s side have been especially exceptional at Villa Park. Villa overcame pacesetters Arsenal in their last home game and a win over Manchester United on Sunday would make it 10 victories in a row at this venue across all competitions.

Billi (@SGPSoccer) breaks down the Premier League slate for Matchday 14. Tottenham and Liverpool face off in the 5.30pm kick off in the Premier League on Saturday, in a match-up where both managers find themselves under pressure. Spurs sit in 11th place in the Premier League table but they are only four points off the European spots. The North Londoners had put together a three-game unbeaten run before last week’s 3-0 loss at Nottingham Forest. The performance was so incredibly poor, it immediately put Thomas Frank’s future back in the spotlight.Arne Slot is probably a little more secure at Liverpool after winning the title last season but his position remains precarious. Mohamed Salah’s departure for AFCON could be a blessing in disguise in the weeks ahead but it does add to a selection headache Slot has for this weekend at least.

Manchester United have dropped five vital points in their previous two home games, losing 1-0 to 10-man Everton and drawing with third-bottom West Ham. Those setbacks have dented their push for a European place, as the Red Devils were only a point shy of the top four heading into the weekend. The Red Devils returned to winning ways last Monday night, thumping Wolves 4-1 away from home. The Red Devils have secured seven points from the last nine available, so there are plenty of positives for Ruben Amorim.

Billi (@SGPSoccer) breaks down selected matches for Serie A Matchday 15. The game of the weekend sees Roma hosting Como on Monday night. Back-to-back defeats have dented Roma’s Scudetto bid but they can get back to winning ways against inconsistent travellers Como on Monday.The Giallorossi did manage a 3-0 win over Celtic on Thursday in Europe to end their mini-slump and they look good value to overcome Como. The visitors have been the surprise package in Serie A this season and they are just three points adrift of their hosts.

Billi (@SGPSoccer) breaks the Matchday 16 Premier League slate. All of the headlines going into Matchday 16 and centred around Mo Salah, and his return to the Liverpool squad. Mo Salah said his relationship with manager Arne Slot had broken down after he felt he was being blamed for the slump, that has seen the champions fail to win eight of their last ten league games. Liverpool will host Brighton at Anfield tomorrow, with Salah expected to start.

Billi (@SGPSoccer) delivers his Champions 6-Pack, giving you his best bets from his six selected Champions League key games for Matchday 6, including Liverpool trip to Inter Milan and Manchester City’s trip to Real Madrid.Liverpool will try to put the controversy over Mohamed Salah’s future and their Premier League struggles to one side when they resume their Champions League campaign at Inter Milan on Tuesday. The defending champions are in a hole domestically with Saturday’s 3-3 draw at Leeds – when they threw away leads of 3-0 and 3-2 – then followed by the dropped Salah’s incendiary outburst as he aimed his ire at being relegated to the bench in recent games at boss Arne Slot and the club overall.

Billi (@SGPSoccer) delivers his Champions 6-Pack, giving you his best bets from his six selected Champions League key games for Matchday 5, including Barcelona’s trip to Chelsea and Bayern Munich’s trip to Arsenal on Wednesday. Despite Vincent Kompany’s side winning 17 and drawing one of their 18 games this season, the Gunners are priced up as favourites on Wednesday, but they have lost five and drawn two of their last seven meetings with Bayern, and have had a number of heavy defeats inflicted upon them by the Germans.