EPL 2023/24 Matchweek 21 – Betting tips & Predictions

The Premier League’s short break for the FA Cup Third Round is over. We’re back to regularly scheduled programming this week with a Matchweek full of big games, including Manchester United vs. Tottenham and Newcastle vs. Manchester City. 
 
Keep reading to see our free EPL picks for these games and every other EPL Matchweek 21 fixture. We’ve picked our best bets, given some insights into our picks, and chosen a predicted starting eleven for every match.  

Odds by Playup

Turf Moor, 6:45 AM, Saturday, January 13

To an outsider, this match looks like a typical Premier League relegation six-pointer. It definitely is a six-pointer, but we think it will be very different from the traditional bottom-of-the-table showcases English soccer usually gives us.  
 
Burnley like to keep the ball and play possession football like a top-of-the-table side. Their buildup in attack is the slowest in the league. Even Man City and Arsenal buildup faster through the back than Burnley.  
 
Luton, on the other hand, are always looking to play quickly on the break, and it’s been very successful for them so far. The Hatters are just one point away from getting out of the relegation zone, and they’ve beaten big sides like Newcastle. If Luton can absorb high-powered attacks from the top sides, we think they’ll do well against Burnley and get a win here.  
 
With that being said, the Clarets beat Luton earlier in the year, so wouldn’t blame you for backing a draw here. 

Predicted Lineups

Burnley: Trafford; Vitinho, O’Shea, Delcroix, Taylor; Berge, Brownhill, Gudmundsson, Amdouni, Odobert; Foster 

Luton Town: Kaminski; Mengi, Osho, Bell; Doughty, Barkley, Lokonga, Giles; Ogbene, Adebayo, Townsend 

Stamford Bridge, 11:30 PM, Saturday, January 13

Fulham and Chelsea are two of the most unpredictable teams in the Premier League. The Cottagers scored 10 goals in two games, then were shut out in three straight. They followed that with a 2-1 victory against Arsenal. Chelsea, meanwhile, never look like they’re playing the same style from one match to the next.  
 
With that being said, we know what to expect from this match, and that is goals. Fulham’s back line is never the most solid. With Calvin Bassey gone at AFCON, it’s going to get a lot worse. Rotation player Issa Diop or veteran Tim Ream will be asked to take his place.  
 
Chelsea’s backline isn’t affected by AFCON, but it’s been constantly in flux anyway as Mauricio Pochettino tries to solve his backline problems.  
 
We think this will end in a draw, but if you’re looking for a sure bet Over 2.5 goals or Both Teams To Score are both good picks here.

Predicted Lineups

Chelsea: Petrovic; Gusto, Disasi, Silva, Colwill; Caicedo, Gallagher; Madueke, Palmer, Mudryk; Nkunku 

Fulham: Leno; Castagne; Tosin, Diop, Robinson; Palhinha, Cairney; Decordova-Reid, Pereira, Willian; Jimenez 

St. James' Park, 4:30 AM, Sunday, January 14 

Newcastle are the third best team in the Premier League at home this season, and they just demolished their biggest rivals, Sunderland, in the FA Cup. Despite this, the sports betting sites don’t give them much of a chance against Manchester City. As much as we would like to agree with them, we can’t.  
 
City look finally to be hitting the form we all expected them to hit at some point this season. Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne are back, Phil Foden is firing, and their defence has finally learned how to cope without John Stones.  
 
This match should be a victory for Man City, but we’ll give Newcastle some benefit of the doubt. We don’t think the Magpies will lose by more than one goal in this one.  

Predicted Lineups

Newcastle: Dubravka; Trippier, Schar, Botman, Burn; Longstaff, Guimaraes, Joelinton; Almiron, Isak, Gordon 

Man City: Ederson; Walker, Dias, Ake, Gvardiol; Rodri, Kovacic; Silva, Foden, Grealish; Haaland 

Goodison Park, 1:00 AM, Monday, January 15

Sean Dyche and Unai Emery should give us an exciting fixture on Monday morning AEDT, but we think a lot of the soccer betting industry is getting a little carried away with their predictions.  
 
Most of the best soccer betting sites have Aston Villa as just slight favourites in this match. Some even have Everton as the favourite. There’s no doubt that Everton have been impressive this year, but Villa have been on another level. They are second in the table with one of the most smothering defences in the Premier League. 
 
If you want to be convinced further, Everton will be without Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Idrissa Gueye, so the Toffees will have an even tougher time scoring than they normally do.  
 
We’re not going to overthink this one. This should be an easy victory for the Villains.

Predicted Lineups

Everton: Pickford; Coleman, Tarkowski, Branthwaite, Mykolenko; Harrison, Garner, Onana, McNeil; Beto 

Aston Villa: Martinez; Konsa, Carlos, Torres, Moreno; Bailey, Kamara, Luiz, Ramsey; McGinn, Watkins 

Old Trafford, 3:30 AM, Monday, January 15

Manchester United put a momentary pause to their fans’ suffering during the FA Cup by beating third-tier side Wigan Athletic. Erik ten Hag put out a strong side for that fixture, which guaranteed a 2-0 victory for the Red Devils. This weekend will be a much tougher test for the Dutchman’s side, but it’s one we can see them coming out on top of.  
 
Despite their poor form, Man United are one of the better teams in the league at home this season, so playing at Old Trafford gives them a major boost. The biggest boost to their chances comes from the Tottenham side.  
 
This match will be the first of two matches Spurs will play without Heung-min Son. Spurs have coped well without Kane this season, but losing Son could be too much.  
 
We’re backing this one to be a draw, but we’d give Man United a slight edge if we had to pick a winner. 

Predicted Lineups

Man Utd: Bayindir; Wan-Bissaka; Varane, Evans; Dalot; Mainoo, Eriksen; Garnacho, Fernandes, Rashford; Hojlund 

Tottenham: Vicario; Porro, Royal, Davies, Udogie; Skipp, Bentancur, Lo Celso; Kulusevski, Richarlison, Johnson 

Emirates Stadium, 11:30 PM, Saturday, January 20 

Arsenal are on the verge of blowing their title challenge, and unfortunately for them, they are playing Crystal Palace next. Don’t get us wrong, Palace are not world beaters, but they can cause any side problems.  
 
The Eagles have lost just one of their last five games. These five matches include draws against Man City, Brighton, Everton, and a win over Brentford. The Gunners’ home field advantage could make a difference here, but Palace are actually better on the road than at home, according to points per match.  
 
Despite all this, we think Arsenal will win pretty easily. We mean that they will have lots of possession and limit Palace’s chances. We don’t mean that Palace will get blown out. A 1-0 or 2-0 victory is the biggest margin we can see happening in this one.  

Predicted Lineups

Arsenal: Raya; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Zinchenko; Odegaard, Rice, Havertz; Saka, Jesus, Martinelli 

Crystal Palace: Henderson; Clyne, Andersen, Guehi, Mitchell; Lerma, Richards; Olise, Eze, Schlupp; Mateta 

Gtech Community Stadium, 4:30 AM, Sunday, January 21 

Brentford are quietly having a disappointing year this season. To be fair to the Bees, no one expected much considering their overachievement last season and the loss of Ivan Toney via a suspension. 16th place after 19 matches is pretty poor though. To make things worse, Brentdford have lost five straight Premier League matches.  
 
Nottingham Forest are on a completely different path than Brentford. They’ve won two straight following the appointment of new manager Nuno Espírito Santo and appear to be playing a more cohesive brand of soccer.  
 
Talent-wise and considering the home-field advantage, Brentford should be favourites in this one. We can’t ignore their form though. We think this is one Forest wins on the road.  

Predicted Lineups

Brentford: Flekken; Collins, Mee, Pinnock; Roerslev, Jensen, Norgaard, Damsgaard, Janelt; Maupay, Lewis-potter 

Nottm Forest: Turner; Montiel, Worrall, Murillo, Toffalo; Yates, Danilo; Elanga, Gibbs-White, Dominguez; Wood

Bramall Lane, 1:00 AM, Monday, January 22 

While other relegation candidates like Everton, Nottingham Forest, Luton Town, and even Burnley to some extent, have put together good runs of form recently, Sheffield United continue to be rough to watch. The Blades have earned just one point in their last four matches and are firmly at the bottom of the table.  
 
West Ham, meanwhile, are flying. A 1-1 draw to Brighton without Mohammed Kudus and Lucas Paqueta shows they can keep pace with even the most aggressive offensive teams without their star players. The Hammers’ problem in this match will be Sheffield United’s lack of offence.  
 
West Ham won’t have many chances to attack against the Blades, which could come to bite them. If the Hammers were on a run of poor form, we’d bet on Sheffield United to get something here. Since the form is so good right now, we have to back a Hammers’ win here.  

Predicted Lineups

Sheff Utd: Foderingham; Baldock, Ahmedhodzic, Robinson, Trusty; Hamer, Souza, Brooks; McAtee, McBurnie, Archer 

West Ham: Areola; Coufal, Mavropanos, Ogbonna, Emerson; Alvarez, Ward-Prowse, Fornals, Soucek, Benrahma; Bowen 

Vitality Stadium, 3:30 AM, Monday, January 22 

You’d be hard pressed to find a more praised manager in the Premier League right now than Bournemouth’s Andoni Iraola. The Basque boss has turned things around at the Vitality Stadium and has his team playing some of the most exciting soccer in the league thanks to goals from Dominic Solanke and a reimagined Ryan Christie.  
 
The key thing about Iraola’s team is how they can break up other team’s buildup. Unfortunately for them, this won’t be useful against Liverpool. The Reds have the fastest attack in the Premier League. After mimicking Pep and Man City for a while, ‘Heavy Metal’ football is back in full swing at Liverpool.  
 
The Cherries will have a tough time keeping up on Monday. We’d be surprised if this is anything less than a two-goal victory for Liverpool. 

Predicted Lineups

Bournemouth: Neto; Smith, Zabarnyi, Mephan, Aarons; Christie, Cook; Tavernier, Scott, Sinisterra; Solanke 

Liverpool: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold; Konate, Van Dijk, Gomez; Szoboszlai, Mac Allister, Jones; Diogo, Nunez, Diaz 

American Express Stadium, 6:45 AM, Tuesday, January 23  

Roberto De Zerbi’s Brighton side continue to put in good performances despite their ongoing injury crisis. They’ve lost just one of their last five matches and recently earned their first clean sheet of the season, which they did without their two best centre backs. In other years, this would be the exact kind of match the Seagulls would slip on, but we don’t see it happening this time.  
 
Only three teams have a higher xG at home than Brighton this season. This means that, even though Wolves have a solid away defence, Brighton should be able to score. If Brighton score one against Wolves, they’ll get another. We saw this earlier in the season when the Seagulls beat Wolves 4-1 at the Molineux. 
 
Brighton to win is our pick here. Both Teams To Score - Yes is also good value, since Wolves are good at keeping games close. 

Predicted Lineups

Brighton: Steele; Hinshelwood, Van Hecke, Dunk, Estupinan; Gilmour, Baleba, Gross, Buonanotte; Pedro, Ferguson 

Wolves: Sa; Dawson, Kilman, Toti; Semedo, Lemina, J. Gomes, Bueno; Sarabia, Cunha, Neto 

Those were our EPL predictions for this week, but you can get so much more soccer betting coverage here at BettingTop10. We have weekly multi bet picks, EPL news, and reviews of all the best soccer betting sites. We also have extensive betting coverage of other sports and leagues, like the NRL, AFL, NBA, Golf, Cricket, and Horse Racing. 
 
Our extensive sports betting coverage of those sports also includes reviews of the best betting sites and best betting apps in Australia, as well as a regularly-updated list of all betting sites in Australia and the best international betting sites too.