The jam packed English Premier League schedule continues, with Matchday 20 kicking off on Saturday night. Arsenal were the big winners of Matchday 19, extending their lead at the top of the table to four points. There’s plenty of big games on Matchday 20 and we’ve got you covered with our best bets!
EPL 2025-26: Matchday 20 Preview & Betting Tips
Leeds United vs Manchester United
Elland Road, Sunday 4th January, 11:30pm AEDT
One of English football’s great rivalries adds another chapter to its grand history when Manchester United travel to Elland Road to face Leeds. Leeds will be looking to move further away from the relegation zone, while Manchester United will be looking to move into the top five. The Red Devils missed a big opportunity to move into the top five during the week, having been held to a draw against winless Wolverhampton. Leeds recorded another handy point in the fight for survival, in a 0-0 draw away from home against Liverpool.
Manchester United will be looking for their midfield to give them the ascendancy in this clash. The Red Devils rank fifth in the Premier League for possession (53.3%) while Leeds rank 13th averaging just 46.9% possession. Both of these sides have struggled defensively this season, ranking fourteenth and sixteenth respectively in defence, so if Manchester United can control the possession battle and get sustained periods in their front half, it’s difficult to see Leeds’ defence holding up for 90 minutes.
Manchester United are the third highest scoring team in the league with 33 goals this season, and that is where they will ultimately win this game. The gap in attacking quality between the two teams is simply too much of a gap for Leeds to overcome. Leeds have been resilient over the last month, finding ways to grind out draws against good teams, but the damn wall has to burst at some point, and it looks likely Sunday will be that point. Expect the Red Devils to come out firing after a poor performance during the week.
Manchester United to Win
$2.45 (1 Unit)
Newcastle vs Crystal Palace
St James’ Park, Monday 5th January, 2:00am AEDT
St James’ Park plays host to Newcastle and Crystal Palace, with both clubs looking to remain in the hunt for European positions. After being in the top four early in the season, Crystal Palace have had a tough few weeks, going winless in their last four games with three losses and a draw. Palace are now in tenth place on the table, but are only three points away from fifth placed Chelsea. Newcastle ended their three game winless run with a 3-1 win over Burnley on Wednesday, which saw them move into thirteenth place. Despite it being a disappointing season, they are only four points away from fifth place, so there is still plenty to salvage from this season.
Crystal Palace will be looking for their defence to spark a revival in form, with Palace having the equal fifth best defence in the league, conceding just 21 goals in 19 games. The scary thing for Palace though is that their defence has struggled over their last four games, conceding nine goals in those four games. Newcastle are coming off a great tracking performance after scoring three goals against Burnley and will be looking to expose an out of form Crystal Palace.
The last time these two sides met, Newcastle ran riot in a 5-0 victory at St James’ Park. While Newcastle aren’t playing as well as what they were at the back end of last season, they’ve got a golden opportunity against a struggling Crystal Palace side. If Eddie Howe’s side can keep speed on the ball and control the possession battle in the middle of the pitch, they are going to give themselves plenty of good looks at goal. Newcastle will make it back to back wins and further add to Crystal Palace’s struggles.
Newcastle -1
$2.70 (1 Unit)
Manchester City vs Chelsea
Etihad Stadium, Monday 5th January, 4:30am AEDT
Chelsea have somehow done it again, sacking a manager mid season despite being in fifth place on the table. Enzo Maresca was let go on Friday after picking up just one win from their last seven league games, now Chelsea have the huge task of travelling away to the Etihad trying to hold on to fifth place. Manchester City gave up valuable points in the title race on Friday, being held to a 0-0 draw against Sunderland, which now has City four points behind league leaders Arsenal.
It’s been a downward spiral since the end of November for Chelsea, who have a 1-4-2 record across their last seven games in the Premier League. With two of those draws coming against fifteenth placed Bournemouth and the two losses coming against sixteenth placed Leeds and thirteenth placed Newcastle. Chelsea will have their work cut out for them against the best attacking team in the league, with Manchester City having scored a league high 43 goals this season. Pep Guardiola’s side are unbeaten in their last seven games and have only recorded one loss since the beginning of November.
City are in excellent form and Chelsea are struggling, pair that with the instability of sacking a manager during the season and this has all the makings of an ugly result for Chelsea. Their defence is vulnerable at the moment having conceded six goals across their last three games, and their recent record against Manchester City doesn’t make for much optimism. Since September 2021 Manchester City and Chelsea have met in eight Premier League fixtures, with City recording six wins, two draws and zero losses. Chelsea haven’t beaten Manchester City since 2021 and that won’t be changing on Monday morning.
Manchester City -1
$2.50 (1.5 Units)
