Good Morning ☀️,

It’s Lucas here, your Chief Predictions Officer at What Are the Odds?

Happy New Year, everyone. Hope you all had a safe and fun celebration.

Oh, and in case you were interested (or were questioning our commitment to football), here’s a little CCTV footage from around the What Are the Odds? offices last night:

And here’s what’s ahead in this week’s edition:

• The best EPL odds and score predictions for this weekend. 🦵⚽

• A little extra something to celebrate on this New Year’s Day. 🎉✨

• A New Year cat meme that’s deeper than you’d expect. 🐈🔥

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⚽ Aston Villa vs Nottingham Forest
🏟️ English Premier League
Saturday 03 January; 13:30 (Europe/Paris)

• Why we’re watching: These are some great odds considering the sizeable edge Villa’s carrying into this game.

• CXSports says: Aston Villa’s overall numbers are undeniably solid. They’re currently pulling about 1.6 goals per game and managed to sustain a clean, 8-game winning streak heading into the new year. And let’s not forget about their defense, which seems to have discovered the secret to victory (concede less than you score) on account of their average of just over 1 goal per game conceded. Unfortunately for Forest, we can’t say the same thing. They’ve only managed mixed (mostly negative) results and have a backline that’s leaking faster than the frontline is scoring (-10 score difference). In short, expect Villa to take this with relative ease.

• Score prediction: 2-0 for Aston Villa

Option #1

• Bet: Aston Villa Victory

• Odds Range: 1.66-1.88

Option #2

• Bet: Over/Under (Over 1.5)

• Odds Range: 1.14-1.29

⚽ Brighton vs Burnley
🏟️ English Premier League
Saturday 03 January; 16:00 (Europe/Paris)

• Why we’re watching: Burnley’s numbers are bad enough that Brighton looks like a superstar here.

• CXSports says: Brighton’s form has been somewhat uneven of late (winless in their last 5), but their underlying numbers are still respectable when compared with Bunley’s. With 1.44 goals scored per game and 1.39 conceded, Brighton is obviously better than their opponents here, with Burnley only laying claim to an average of 1.06 goals per game while conceding a whopping 1.89. Once we also take Burnley’s poor away form into account (one of the worst in the league — only the Wolves are worse), things start looking even more promising for Brighton here. In theory, this should be the game that sees Brighton break its current dry spell.

• Score prediction: 0-2 for Brighton

Option #1

• Bet: Brighton Victory

• Odds Range: 1.34-1.57

Option #2

• Bet: Over/Under (Over 1.5)

• Odds Range: 1.14-1.25

⚽ Wolves vs West Ham
🏟️ English Premier League
Saturday 03 January; 16:00 (Europe/Paris)

• Why we’re watching: This one’s nowhere near as sure as our usual “let’s bet against the Wolves” plays, but it’s still worth a look.

• CXSports says: In any normal season, it’d be easy to say “West Ham looks like a disaster.” And, objectively speaking, they still are kind of looking like a disaster. But, compared to the Wolves, the Hammers almost look half decent — they’ve got ∞% more wins (3 versus 0 for the Wolves), 2x more draws, and a goal difference that, while severely negative (-17), is almost twice as good as the Wolves’ disaster tally of -29. Now, none of that guarantees anything here (West Ham is still inconsistent), but it does tip the balance in West Ham’s favor. Maybe not enough to guarantee a victory. But it might be enough to almost guarantee they won’t suffer a defeat

• Score prediction: 1-1 Draw or 1-2 for West Ham

Option #1

• Bet: Double Chance (Draw / West Ham)

• Odds Range: 1.38-1.59

Option #2

• Bet: Over/Under (Over 1.5)

• Odds Range: 1.21-1.31

⚽ Bournemouth vs Arsenal
🏟️ English Premier League
Saturday 03 January; 18:30 (Europe/Paris)

• Why we’re watching: Who doesn’t love a game where the league’s top club takes on a much lower-ranked side?

• CXSports says: Arsenal has been pretty close to faultless this season, particularly in defense, where, with just 10 goals conceded to date, it remains the only team in the league conceding well under 1 goal a game on average. That’s made them an almost impossible nut to crack (only 2 have succeeded), particularly for lower-tier clubs with negative goal balances and a mixed bag of so-so results, as Bournemouth has. About the only thing Bournemouth can hope for here is a concession goal at some point along the way, but even with that, they won’t do anything to get in Arsenal’s way.

• Score prediction: 1-3 for Arsenal

Option #1

• Bet: Arsenal Victory

• Odds Range: 1.42-1.65

Option #2

• Bet: Over/Under (Over 2.5)

• Odds Range: 1.54-1.79

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For most of us, today’s nothing more than New Year’s Day. But for others, it’s also their birthday. Legendary French defender Lilian Thuram is one of them.

For those who don’t know him, Thuram is a former French player best known for his tactical intelligence as a defender. But, despite being a defender, he also managed to score two decisive goals in the 1998 World Cup semi-final. (They also happened to be the only 2 goals he would score in his career.)

Let’s see how much more you might know with a quick quiz from our friends at Masters of Trivia.

Question: Against which team did Thuram score his only two international goals?

• A: Brazil

• B: Croatia

• C: Portugal

• D: Germany

Think you know the answer?

Read to the end to see if you were right.

⚽ Fulham vs Liverpool
🏟️ English Premier League
Sunday 04 January; 16:00 (Europe/Paris)

• Why we’re watching: We like the look of the double chance play here.

• CXSports says: Fulham’s current trend is a near-perfect balance on all fronts. They’ve got an equal number of victories and losses (8 each with 2 draws) and an almost-balanced goal difference of -1. Liverpool, on the other hand, despite a mid-season wobble, has slightly more positive numbers across the board, along with some recent form that’s clearly trending up (undefeated in recent games). If Liverpool can carry that momentum through to this game, it should be enough to tilt the balance in their favor, even if they are playing this one on the road. It might not be enough to guarantee a victory, but it should be enough to ensure Fulham doesn’t stand much chance at edging ahead.

• Score prediction: 1-1 Draw or 1-2 for Liverpool

Option #1

• Bet: Double Chance (Draw / Liverpool)

• Odds Range: 1.15-1.33

Option #2

• Bet: Liverpool Victory

• Odds Range: 1.74-2.03

⚽ Newcastle vs Crystal Palace
🏟️ English Premier League
Sunday 04 January; 16:00 (Europe/Paris)

• Why we’re watching: Some “long shots” are more worth it than others. This one’s worth it given the history.

• CXSports says: The head-to-head history between these two is interesting to say the least. Most games end up with at least one side not scoring (whether that be a clean sheet for one side, or a 0-0 draw), half of them (5 out of the last 10) end up in draws, and, occasionally, one side manages to pull off a big “convincing” result. Most recently, that was Newcastle, who pulled off a massive 5-0 victory over Palace back in April last year. But that’s more the exception rather than the rule, and there isn’t much separating these two in the league right now, either. Particularly in terms of form (1.28 goals per game scored and conceded for Newcastle, vs 1.17 scored and 1.11 conceded for Palace). That puts this game firmly in the “too close to call” camp. However, given the frequency of this outcome and the fairly even performances of both sides, we feel like it’s worth taking a punt on this one ending in a draw.

• Score prediction: 1-1 Draw

Option #1

• Bet: Draw

• Odds Range: 3.30-3.90

Option #2

• Bet: Over/Under (Under 3.5)

• Odds Range: 1.25-1.40

⚽ Tottenham vs Sunderland
🏟️ English Premier League
Sunday 04 January; 16:00 (Europe/Paris)

• Why we’re watching: Not exactly a top pick for us this week, but still worth watching if you believe Tottenham has what it takes to get this one over the line.

• CXSports says: While Sunderland were looking solid for a moment there, their recent form seems to have taken a decent step backwards with just one victory in their last 5 games. Of course, that’s not to say things are falling apart. Rather, the reality of the situation is that Sunderland finds itself much closer to Tottenham in terms of overall form than it might have been had these two met earlier in the season. That means the Spurs’ slight home advantage and historical edge in this fixture (they’ve won the majority of games) will likely heavily influence the outcome here, even if Sunderland won’t go down without a solid fight.

• Score prediction: 2-1 for Tottenham

Option #1

• Bet: Tottenham Victory

• Odds Range: 1.50-1.85

Option #2

• Bet: Both Teams to Score (Yes)

• Odds Range: 1.58-1.91

⚽ Man City vs Chelsea
🏟️ English Premier League
Sunday 04 January; 18:30 (Europe/Paris)

• Why we’re watching: Killer odds on City given the considerable edge they seem to have here.

• CXSports says: Chelsea’s recent form has been far from stellar — 1W, 2D, and 2L in their last five. Now compare that with City, who’ve just found themselves on a hot streak after delivering victory after victory. And let’s not forget the head-to-head history here, either — in their last five head-to-heads, City has 4 victories with the other game ending in a draw. And these weren’t small victories either — all but one were taken with a 2-goal margin. Now, that doesn’t mean we can guarantee a 2-goal margin for City here (but we’re not ruling it out). What it does mean, however, is City holds a very clear edge.

• Score prediction: 3-1 for Man City

Option #1

• Bet: Man City Victory

• Odds Range: 1.45-1.82

Option #2

• Bet: Both Teams to Score (Yes)

• Odds Range: 1.34-1.56

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Sometimes, the best life advice comes in the form of New Year’s cat memes. Case in point:

So what’s the lesson here?

Often, we all fixate on the “correct” way to solve a problem. But sometimes, there’s a faster, more efficient solution that will solve the exact problem we’re trying to fix, only 100x quicker.

Want to learn more about the wisdom of cats?

Masters of Trivia is the only trivia app where every player is rewarded. Play all the trivia quizzes you can handle and earn real rewards simply for participating.

Take Masters of Trivia for a spin with the Big Cats Trivia Quiz today.

PS: The answer to this week’s question was [B] — Lilian Thuram scored his only two career goals against Croatia in the 1998 World Cup Semi-Final, which France won 2-1. Discover more trivia like this with the Lilian Thuram Trivia Quiz.