All eyes in football are currently on Qatar, where the World Cup knockout games are in the middle of unfolding. England has made a good run deep in the tournament, as have several other European sides. As a result, the prospect of the Premier League resuming on the 26th of December 2022 is mouth-watering. We look at three of the most exciting matchups coming in the second half of the Premier League season.
Manchester United vs. Manchester City
A few weeks after the Premier League resumes from its FIFA World Cup 2022 break, Manchester’s biggest derby will take place.
On the 14th of January, Manchester United will host Manchester City at Old Trafford in a tantalizing encounter. The last time the two sides met—in early October—it was a 6-3 rout in favour of Manchester City, with Erling Haaland and Phil Foden both striking hattricks to sink United. However, now that Cristiano Ronaldo is gone from Manchester United, and with Erik ten Hag playing his first Old Trafford derby, the result should be much tighter.
Currently, Manchester City sits second in the standings on ten wins, while Manchester United is behind in fifth on eight wins for the season. Both will be eager to win this local derby and improve their records.
Manchester City vs. Tottenham Hotspur
The very next week after Manchester United and Manchester City meet, the visitors will host Tottenham Hotspur at home.
With Manchester City sitting in second, and Tottenham Hotspur in fourth, this could be one of the games of the season. Tottenham is on nine wins from their 15 games, just one win behind Manchester City. Prior to the break Tottenham Hotspur had defeated Leeds in a high-scoring 4-3 affair and will come into their January 19th match against Manchester City off the back of a tough encounter against current table-toppers Arsenal on January 15th.
Odds for this match will become available on https://betting.com/ once Tottenham Hotspur has completed their January 15th fixture. Right now it looks as though Manchester City will have the slight edge, but the first four matches after the break will have a significant impact on the odds.
Arsenal vs. Newcastle
Another exciting Premier League clash that is just around the corner in the new year is Arsenal vs. Newcastle on January 3rd 2023.
Both sides will be playing their third Premier League clash post-World Cup, with Arsenal opening against West Ham and Brighton, while Newcastle will play Leicester City and Leeds. Those two matches for each team will have a reasonable influence on how this match plays out, as they may widen the gap between Arsenal and Newcastle, or tighten it significantly. As of today’s standings, Arsenal leads the league on 37 points, while Newcastle is second on 30.
By January 3rd, the gap between the two could be as little as one point with this match determining who heads into January the Premier League leader.
