Premier League Picks - New Years Day

Rather than delve into the whole Chelsea diving saga, I’ll just say this; It sucks when bad calls go against your team. If you’re a Chelsea fan the mistake on the Fabregas call means that your lead over Man City is 3 points when it could be 5, and that’s the primary consequence.

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But if you have any faith in justice, destiny or even the Soccer Gods then let me assure you that whoever wins the Premier League this year, and every year, will be the the team that deserved it the most, and all bad calls will even themselves out over the course of the season. Maybe this blown call was karma for a previous one that went in Chelsea’s favor.

Case in point, last week Man City was the beneficiary of a blown offside that denied Crystal Palace a goal. On Sunday they were the victims of a blown offside call that gave Burnley a goal and eventually resulted in them losing 2 vital points.

On a lighter note, it’s the end of 2014 so let’s have some fun with Premier League chants

Stoke vs. Manchester United

First up on New Years Day, Man United visit the Brittania. Weeks ago when Manchester United were starting to turn the corner, the betting public had not caught on yet and there was tons of value to be had. Now however is the classic knee jerk reaction and the Red Devils are overpriced. United are a public team, in the same way the New York Yankees are which means that their lines will be inflated when they are favored. The problem is that they are just not that good yet. Louis Van Gaal started the same 11 players less than 48 hours apart. It’s going to catch up with them here. The Potters have won two straight since losing to Chelsea a week ago.

Pick: Stoke City (+300)

Aston Villa vs. Crystal Palace

Palace has fired Warnock and rumors have it that Alan Pardew will be coming in. Villa seem to have a player sent off very game, highlighting the fact that both of these teams have talented players but perform to a level lower than the sum of their individual parts. Come January 1st Villa will be without their best midfielder in Fabian Delph and who knows what the Eagles will look like. Last matchday both of these sides played to nil-nil draws. We capitalized on the Villa match and we’re going back to the well once more.

Pick: Under 2.5 goals (-175)

Southampton vs. Arsenal

RANDOM FOOTY FACT: Fernando Torres has scored more Premier League goals than Christiano Ronaldo

Last time these sides met, Southampton resisted and resisted with a depleted lineup. Arsenal huffed and puffed and finally in the dying minutes Alexis Sanchez was able to blow the doors down. Arsenal escaped with a narrow 1-0 victory. This will be another squeaker, and the tough minded Saints will once again be without Morgan Schneiderlin, their key man in midfield. When Arsenal have the ball, they won’t find many openings. It’s more likely that both of sides will cancel each other out.

Premier League Picks – New Years Day

By Zahir Gilani | Dec 31, 2014

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