SOCCER FOOTBALL 24H

"Arsenal have found the net in both halves in five of their nine home games in the league, while Palace have leaked goals on both sides of the break in seven of their last ten outings." Back Arsenal to score in both halves at  1.90  (sportsbook product) Arsenal v Crystal Palace Sunday December 01, 16:00 Live on Sky Sports 1 It's a slightly disconcerting time for Arsenal fans who still harbour ambitions of winning the Premier League title this season. Back-to-back defeats at Everton and Manchester City have seen the Gunners slip nine points behind leaders Chelsea (it could be 12 by the time this game kicks off at the Emirates), and manager  Arsene Wenger  is already describing the men from Stamford Bridge as "super-favourites" to win the title, even though half the season remains. With a tough Champions League tie coming up against Bayern Munich, and a  fierce race  developing for a place in the top four, Arsenal fans can be forgiven for having a ...

"Tottenham’s last three have seen overs. In fact, eight of their last nine games have seen three goals or more." Back Over 2.5 Goals at   2.04 Watford v Tottenham Sunday, 13:30 Live On Sky Sports 1 Watford The Hornets made a bright start under new manager  Walter Mazzarri  this season, but are in the middle of a sticky patch of form. Watford have only won one of their last six games and had to fight back to draw with Crystal Palace in their home match on Boxing Day.  Troy Deeney's  penalty levelled the scores, but it was only his fourth of the season. Much of Watford's success last season was down to Deeney's prolific partnership with  Odion Ighalo , but both are now struggling to find the net. Mazzarri's job has not been made easier by the number of injuries he has had to contend with. Valon Behrami, Daryl Janmaat, Adrian Mariappa, Stefano Okaka, Roberto Pereya and Isacc Success are all out. In addition,  Miguel Britos  is banned, while Be...

"Getting over 2/1 for him finding the net against a very modest City defence looks good business and Firmino can help the Reds sign off 2016 in style." Back Roberto Firmino To Score @   3.10 Liverpool v Man City Saturday 31 December, 17:30 Live on BT Sport Liverpool It's a mark of how far Liverpool have come under Jurgen Klopp that they've accumulated  more points in this calendar year  than Arsenal, Manchester City and Manchester United. In other words, their improvement is deep-rooted and long-term. By sitting second in this season's Premier League table, Liverpool aren't overachieving. Notably, they've also  outscored everyone else in 2016  - and by some margin. The Merseysiders have plundered 86 goals - 12 more than second-best Chelsea and a massive 32 more than Man Utd. By contrast, they've conceded more goals (49) this year than Everton, West Brom, Southampton and Leicester as well as the other usual suspects. Put it altogether and the 4-1...

"One way of securing a better price on Man United is by backing the hosts to win with a clean sheet. Their defence has improved in recent weeks and keeping out toothless Boro should not be a problem. Aitor Karanka's side have failed to score in three of their last four games." Manchester United  1.27  v Middlesbrough  17.00 ; The Draw  6.20 Saturday, 15:00 Manchester United Jose Mourinho rightfully received his fair share of criticism in the first few months of the season after a series of disappointing results. But Manchester United have slowly but surely found their  form  and appear to be hitting top gear heading into the second half of the campaign. Five successive wins, in all competitions, have given them real momentum and suggest they will be strong challengers for a top-four spot. There were undoubtedly teething problems at Old Trafford with too many draws hindering their progress. But United are in full flow now having closed to within ...

"I know it’s a completely different Chelsea team – in terms of attitude anyway – but they failed to beat Stoke in three attempts last season and Stoke are the kind of side who will make it difficult for you." Lay Chelsea @  1.29   Chelsea v Stoke Saturday December 31, 15:00 Chelsea A 3-0 victory at home to Bournemouth took Chelsea to 12 straight wins and they did it without the services of  Diego Costa  and N'Golo Kante. The pair of them will be back for this game, but Pedro is suspended after collecting his fifth yellow of the season against the Cherries. The Blues are  six points clear  at the top of the table and with Liverpool taking on Man City in the evening kick off, they'll be thinking that they have a chance of that lead being even bigger come the end of the day. They are odds-on for the title,  1.75  if you want to  back it , but there's still a long way to go and I'd rather be a layer than a backer at that price. Anton...

"Over 2.5 Goals is backable at 1.84 and is without doubt the most eye-catching angle to take. It’s a selection that’s proven profitable in 16 of Norwich’s past 19 league outings." Brentford v Norwich Saturday 31st January, 17:30 Live on Sky Sports 1 Brentford  Sullay Kaikai  scored two equalisers in the last seven minutes as Brentford rescued a Boxing Day point in dramatic fashion against Cardiff at Griffin Park. The Bees had two reasonable penalty shouts waved away but for large parts of the game were pedestrian, lacking ideas and a goal threat. Much maligned manager  Dean Smith   made the right moves from the bench to give the Londoners a route back into that Cardiff clash but supporters are starting to lose patience with Brentford's ineffective displays. The Bees have now W2-D1-L5 since an impressive derby victory at QPR in late October. Smith has said full-back  Josh Clarke  is now fit to return to action and left-back  Tom Field  is ...

The Belgian has scored ten goals in 17 Premier League games this season, with three of those coming in his last two away games." Back Lukaku to score at   2.30 Hull v Everton Friday, 20:00 Live on Sky Sports 1 Hull Mike Phelan's team were defeated 3-0 at home to  Manchester City  on Boxing Day, stretching their run without a Premier League win to seven games. Now bottom of the table, the only good news for Hull was that the two sides also in the relegation zone -  Swansea  and Sunderland - also lost. With just four points separating the Tigers from safety, all hope is not lost, but they must start winning matches soon if they are to have any hope of survival. Hull looked like certainties to go down at the start of the season, due to their lack of investment in their squad. There is talent at the club, but it's been stretched very thin and some wise recruitment in  January  looks vital. Phelan is already missing several players of his ...