Happy New Year everybody!

The Premier League is back in full swing and there are a couple of huge derby games in both the North and South on Matchday 20.

On Saturday we have the Manchester derby at Old Trafford to look forward to. This will be the first time in years that United fans will genuinely believe they may get something from the game although it will also be the first time their team has to face the goal-scoring phenomenon that is Erling Haaland! 

United are definitely still a work in progress but I see clear signs of them closing the gap between themselves and their Manchester neighbours. That said, Manchester City will be right up for this one and with their experience, nous and of course Haaland up front, I just fancy them to come away from Old Trafford with all three points. 2-1 to City in this one for me.

The other big game of the weekend is the North London derby between Spurs and Arsenal at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday. 

Arsenal sit proudly at the top of the table and don’t look like they will lose too many matches this season. They are playing a brand of football we haven’t seen from an Arsenal side since Arsene Wenger’s team were in their pomp and it’s hard to see anything but a comfortable win for them against a Tottenham side that are clearly misfiring at the minute. I’m going for a 3-1 win to the Gunners in this one.

In other matches I fancy home wins for Aston Villa, Nottingham Forest, Everton, Brentford, Chelsea and Newcastle and I’m going for a 1-1 draw between Wolves and West Ham.

That just leaves Brighton versus Liverpool and despite Brighton being on a decent run of form and Liverpool being somewhat hit and miss at the moment, I do fancy Liverpool to come away from the Amex stadium with all three points. That said, this is definitely a match that’s too close to call and as always, sometimes your best bet is not to bet at all.