“Boxing Day football kicks off with Reading hosting Northampton in what looks to be a one-sided affair given the contrasting fortunes of both teams. at the Select Car Leasing Stadium.

Reading’s home form is one of the best in the league, with only Wrexham and Birmingham outperforming them in terms of points per game (2.33). At home, they have won 11 of their 13 games across all competitions, conceding just 0.78 goals per game and averaging 1.89 goals scored. While they have an overall net goal difference is, showing vulnerabilities on the road, their fortress-like performances on home turf highlight their attacking quality and defensive resilience. Prior to last weekend’s loss to Blackpool, Reading had won nine consecutive home games, showcasing their dominance at the Select Car Leasing Stadium. With their playoff ambitions firmly in sight, this is an ideal opportunity for Reading to bounce back from their recent setback.

Northampton, on the other hand, find themselves just two points above the relegation zone, and their away form has been abysmal. With just seven points from a possible 33 on the road, they’ve failed to win in their last eight away games, losing five and drawing three. Their defensive frailties have been exposed time and again, conceding 10 goals in their last four matches while scoring only once in that period. The Cobblers’ lack of attacking firepower and defensive vulnerability makes it difficult for them to pose a serious threat against a team like Reading, particularly at home.

With Reading’s formidable home record and Northampton’s woeful away form, this fixture looks like a clear win for the Royals. Their attacking potency and defensive stability put them in prime position to secure another three points, making this a solid Boxing Day banker for punters.”

“Newcastle have been purring as an attacking force this month and the Magpies put another 4 goals past Ipswich at the weekend, to take their tally up to a superb 16 goals in 5 competitive fixtures since the start of December.

With Alexander Isak (6 goals in 4 PL starts) the brightest spark, this Newcastle frontline looks capable of troubling any defence on current form and Eddie Howe’s troops can register for the 9th time in 10 Premier League fixtures when they host Villa.

The Villains, who became the latest outfit to conquer ailing champions Man City (2-1) on Saturday, have now plundered goals in 80% of their last 10 Premier League fixtures, so expect Unai Emery’s confident top-four chasers to give a good account of themselves at St. James’ Park.

75% of Aston Villa’s away matches in the top flight this season have featured goals at both ends, while 88% of the same games saw at least 3 goals. A bet on BTTS would have also paid out in both of Newcastle and Villa’s Premier League encounters last term, so there is plenty to go on here. Look for goals to be notched by both teams.”

“Chaos reigned in North London on Sunday evening when a patched-up Tottenham defence conceded half a dozen goals in a thrilling 6-3 loss against Liverpool, and their tussle with Forest at the City Ground has the makings of another goal bonanza.

Incredibly, Tottenham’s last 6 fixtures in all competitions averaged a searing 6.00 goals per game and while a front four of Son, Solanke, Kulusevski and Maddison continue to be potent, the Londoners remain a mess defensively.

Spurs conceded a gigantic 11 shots on target and an xGA of 4.40 in Sunday’s reverse to Liverpool, and with defenders Cristiano Romero and Micky Van de Ven still sidelined, they will head to the East Midlands with a soft centre again.

Nottingham Forest did a professional job at Brentford (2-0) in their last assignment, however, 7 of their 8 Premier League fixtures before that beat the over 2.5 goal line and we should expect a return to that trend here.

Only Wolves’ fixtures (3.94) have seen more action than Tottenham’s games (3.76) in the Premier League this season, so look to the goal markets again for this one.”

“The battle at the top of League One is tense with Wycombe, Birmingham and Wrexham locked in a battle for the title and automatic play-off positions. Wrexham have won 9 of their 11 games at home this season and are yet to lose a game at the Racecourse.

They face a Blackpool side who have struggled for consistency as they approach the midway mark of the season, they sit in 12th, although only 4 points off a play-off position, as is often the case at this point in the season with a lot of teams separated by just a few points.

They’ve lost 5 of their 11 away trips this season and should struggle for a result against a Wrexham side who boast the best home record in the division this campaign.”

“Frank Lampard has certainly delivered on entertainment value since taking the reigns at Coventry. Their 4-1 defeat at Portsmouth was a real disappointment, especially in the second half, but was the 4th match in 5 in which Coventry have hit the target and they still created 1.71 xG, which goes alongside the 3.18 xG at home to Hull, 2.21 xG at West Brom, 1.77 xG at Millwall, and 2.56 xG against Cardiff in Lampard’s reign so far.

This is a really impressive set of attacking stats across the 5 matches, but they have also conceded a high number of goals as well.

The 4 that they conceded against Portsmouth, all to Callum Lang, all highlighted different deficiencies in Coventry’s defensive work. From individual errors, of which there have been too many, to organisational issues, that Lampard needs to work on. However, that is likely to take more time than they have ahead of the festive fixture pile-up.

Plymouth, as has become obvious, have been woeful away from home. They have made a habit of being soundly beaten on their travels, but, they were actually much better at Sheffield United recently. That match marked a change of tactics from previous away matches, as they used their attackers to carry a lot of threat. Rami Al Hajj, in particular, was quite impressive as they generated much more in attack, and should’ve scored at least once.

The Pilgrims were also good going forwards against Middlesbrough in their home game at the weekend. That game had 6 goals in it, with Boro also able to take advantage of a loose Plymouth defence. Plymouth continue to have the biggest xGA in the Championship, and by quite a margin.

It is difficult to see these teams playing out a boring low-scoring affair with Coventry’s record of creating chances, Plymouth’s poor defence, and their new tactics of going for goals away from home, as long as that holds here.”

“Dundee are seeking a fourth home victory in succession when they play host to a Ross County side that is the league’s worst on the road. Tony Docherty’s men look good value to get it.

The Dark Blues have lost their last couple of matches but did manage to hang tough against Rangers last Saturday as they narrowly lost 1-0 at Ibrox. They deployed a young side in Glasgow – six of the starting XI were 22 or younger – and that should mean they can bounce back quickly for a midweek encounter.

Ross County might have won the previous meeting between these sides this season 2-0, but that was in Dingwall, where they are considerably stronger than on the road. The Highlanders have scored only 2 goals in their 8 away matches while confidence will be low after 4 successive defeats. This run includes a 3-1 loss away to Hibs, who were bottom at the time while they were beaten 2-1 at home by 10-man St Mirren at the weekend.

With injury problems mounting for the Staggies, this Boxing Day trip to the City of Discovery promises to be one fraught with difficulty.”

“Derby are still being slightly underrated as a Championship team this season. It took a short time for performances to match the standard of the results that they were getting, but the early points haul has always provided Derby with an element of breathing space away from the relegation battle.

That has been key for Paul Warne’s men because it has meant that they have had the space to develop more as a team and they have gelled well into a decent outfit in most departments. Their most impressive data point is probably their xGA for the season, which the 8th-best in the division, and only 0.5 xG away from West Brom’s, when Carlos Corberan is often held up as a defensive structure maestro.

Double chance bet has won in 7 of Derby’s 10 Championship home matches, they have been very strong at Pride Park. Recent losses to Swansea and Sheffield Wednesday were frustrating for the Rams as they won the xG battle comfortably in both.

West Brom have only won 1 Championship away game in their last 8, and that was against a beleaguered Hull City team. Overall this season they have drawn or lost 7 of their 11 Championship away matches, which is what is required again here.

Derby’s overall performance levels, and the results of the 2 teams, home and away respectively, should mean that prices are closer together than what they actually are and make Derby Double Chance a good bet.”

“Ruben Amorim has been in charge for just over a month at Man United and the analysis from the outside has largely stayed the same, United need more than just a new manager, they need an entire overhaul of the squad and mentality.

They’ve conceded at least once in each of their last 5 games across all competitions, which has included 3 against Bournemouth and Nottingham Forest at home, raising serious alarm bells for the new manager. There have been some positive signs such as the late turnaround at the Etihad, but you still wouldn’t fully back them for a result at the moment.

Wolves ended a run of 4 straight defeats with a comfortable 3-0 win over Leicester last time out, they’ve seen 67 goals across their 17 Premier League games this season (3.94 per game) and even with a change of manager, we should see this record continue.”

“Rangers meet St Mirren in an important game at the top of the SPFL. Rangers currently sit 9 points behind a rampant Celtic who could extend that lead to 12 before Rangers even kick off, with Brendan Rogers’ side facing Motherwell at home earlier in the day.

Rangers have a brilliant record against Motherwell, they’ve won each of the last 5 head-to-head matches between the sides and boast an overall record of 27 wins to just 2 St Mirren victories.

Rangers are unbeaten in their last 5 games across all competitions which has included high profile affairs against Celtic in the cup and Tottenham in the Europa League. They should have enough to overcome a St Mirren side they have a great record against.”