From The Horse's Mouth - Mark Van Deventer

There has been plenty of movement on the EPL rankings during an intense run of fixtures which tests the fitness, skills and mentality of all the players.

City and Villa are on a roll with Arsenal resolutely holding on to pole position but lacking the fluency and swagger they displayed a month ago.

Leeds is doing well to extricate themselves from a relegation situation. However, Wolves and Burnley seem doomed – even West Ham, unless they start picking up points soon, are under terrible pressure in 18th spot.

MANCHESTER UNITED 45 vs NEWCASTLE 43: The Goal Guru makes this too close to call. United are going to miss Fernandez big time. And Newcastle are unconvincing when playing away. There is only one win’s difference between these sides and both sports rather patchy recent form, so it seems best to start the Interbet EPL 10 with all three results covered. [1][2][3]

NOTTINGHAM FOREST 38 vs MANCHESTER CITY 50: City are surging and have reduced the gap behind Arsenal to a mere two points. To sustain that momentum they need to travel to, and see off, Forest, who have some quality players and are respected. But bankers are needed to trim costs and City fit the bill as legit 6/10 faves with a better than 60% chance of winning. [3]

LIVERPOOL 51 vs WOLVES 13: Wolves seem certain to drop as they bring the worst ever Premier League record going into Xmas. Liverpool has rectified their situation after a case of the wobbles and should prove way too strong. It’s a shame that Isak is out with a lower limb fracture, and Hugo Ekitike (8 goals so far) now assumes the role of Liverpool’s key player. [3]

BURNLEY 9 vs EVERTON 32: Burnley are close to 90% probability to get the chop and will struggle mightily to hold off Everton. The G.G.I. scores it heavily in the visitors favor so they get the nod for another away victory. But Everton are missing some key players (e.g. Iliman Ndiaye) so a draw is not out of the question [3]

BRENTFORD 26 vs BOURNEMOUTH 36: Bournemouth are without a win in their last seven matches and are currently underperforming. Maybe they lack backbone or there is some mental issue holding them back. They can’t be entirely trusted to live up to their ten-point edge on the G.G.I. over decent, direct yet dreary, Brentford. Whilst favouring Bournemouth to come right sooner rather than later with Antoine Semenyo striking, covering [1][2][3] is a cautious play.

ARSENAL 58 vs BRIGHTON 40: Arsenal are 4/10 odds on to gun down the Gulls. They have not been so convincing lately as the pressures of being log leaders accumulate but are still eking out winning results. Could this be a banana peel slip up for the NO 1 ranked side as they come up against an attacking team who, if seizing chances, could cause Arsenal some distress. [1]

WEST HAM 24 vs FULHAM 36: Unfortunately for proud W.H.U. supporters they are faced with an Opta Stats reality reel pointing out a 60% chance of being relegated. They need to take advantage of a winnable run of fixtures where they can pick themselves up off the canvass – starting now. Maybe determination can help them offset their underlying metrics which are inferior to Fulham, a unit in good nick who find themselves 13th on the Log. [1][2][3]

CHELSEA 48 vs ASTON VILLA 42: 4th on the table, Chelsea are quite short at 8/10 odds on to defeat 3rd placed, Villa who are the EPL’s in-form team with plenty of W’s in their recent results thanks largely to Morgan Roger’s individual brilliance. The slim six- point margin confirms it is going to be tight – whilst Chelsea edge it, covering all three possibilities is the play. [1][2][3]

SUNDERLAND 31 vs LEEDS UNITED 26: Not much in this game either. Leeds is assessed by Opta Stats as having a one in five chance of going down – beating Sunderland away would be a tremendous result for their fervent fans and the G.G.I. suggests it is by no means implausible. But Sunderland’s exceptional home record stands out, whilst Leeds are clearly tougher at their Elland Road fortress. [1][2]

CRYSTAL PALACE 40 vs TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR 28: Under normal circumstances, Palace would be tipped to rule over blunt, Spurs. But CP’s squad is stretched to breaking point and their fitness vulnerabilities were exposed when getting hammered by Leeds - 4/1. This presents Spurs with an opportunity to secure an away win. All told, it seems best to lock in all three results. [1][2][3]

The suggested Interbet EPL perm for Match Week 18:

1 2 3 x 3 x 1 x 3 x 1 2 3 x 1 x 1 2 3 x 1 2 3 x 1 2 3 x 1 2 3 = R729.00 which can be taken for R72.90 at the minimum ten cents unit.

Here is a smaller ticket which juggles the combos around a bit and covers fewer possibilities:

1 2 3 x 3 x 1 x 2 3 x 3 x 1 2 x 2 3 x 1 2 x 1 x 1 2 3 = R144.00 where just R14.40 can be spent at 10% of the cost.

Good luck, enjoy the soccer – and happy holidays!