Crystal Palace host London neighbours Fulham on Boxing Day, with both sides sat in mid table on 19 points. Palace have the joint best home record this season outside of the current ‘Top 6’, which puts them in a good position coming up against Fulham’s Aleksander Mitrovic. The Serbian striker is 5th in the goalscoring charts with 9 goals – meaning he has scored 37.5% of Fulham’s goals so far this campaign.

As for Fulham, it has a been a tricky 7 games on the road, picking up the same number of points so far. Winning only 2 games on their travels – both 3-2 victories over Nottingham Forest and Leeds.

With only 2 Crystal Palace players making an appearance at the World Cup, The Eagles should be fresh and raring to go in this one. It was a poor run up to the winter break for Fulham having failed to win in their last 3 (1D, 2L). However, Crystal Palace’s last game ended in a surprising 1-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest having lost once in their previous 7 before their Forest clash.

Both teams seem to be having the same issue defensively, leaking goals that are costing them points. Palace and Fulham both come into this game with a negative goal difference with Crystal Palace only managing 3 clean sheets all season. One thing that will give Patrick Viera’s side confidence is their current record against Monday’s opponent’s is their 4-game unbeaten run (W3, D1) scoring twice in all 3 of those victories.

The home side will look to continue adopting their attacking 4-3-3 formation with star man Wilfred Zaha looking to be the main threat once again. Fulham usually field a structured 4-2-3-1 giving a lot of protection to their back four. I expect Palace to have their fair share of possession, but Fulham will certainly be dangerous on the counterattack.

Both teams struggling a little defensively but offering an abundance of talent in the final third, I expect to see goals.

Aston Villa host Liverpool in a fixture that in recent years has mustered up plenty of goals! 20 goals in the last 5 meetings between these two (4.0 goals per game) with Liverpool winning the last 4. It’s an interesting encounter this one, with both sides picking up a bit of form before the World Cup winter break. Liverpool picked up back-to-back wins before the break and will look to make it three wins on the bounce for the first time this season.

With the recent appointment of manager Unai Emery, Aston Villa have also won back-to-back Premier League games. Aston Villa will also be confident playing on home soil after picking up 13 points from 7 games, scoring 11 and conceding 6 during those games. Compare this to Liverpool’s disastrous start to the season on the road, picking up only 5 points in 6 games, scoring 7 and conceding 9!

With both sides coming into this game in similar form, it could go either way. Accumulating 9 points in their last 5 games, its vital both sides pick up the three points and continue their surge up the table. Jurgen Klopp will be demanding a win from his players, after seeing his side dumped out of the Carabao Cup midweek at the hands of Premier League champions Manchester City, losing 3-2 on the night.

Having a fresh Mohammed Salah will put a smile on Liverpool fan’s faces after the Egyptian rested during the Qatar World Cup and looked sharp in midweek finding the net to level the game. Salah has enjoyed playing against Aston Villa contributing to 6 Liverpool goals (G5, 1A) in his last 6 starts against the West Midlands side. World Cup winner and Aston Villa goalkeeper Emi Martinez may be given extended leave due to his country’s success, which would be a huge blow to Villa.

I can see both sides scoring in this one, but I fancy Liverpool just to edge it.