Good Morning ☀️,

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

Depending on where you are in the world today, and what your particular faith may or may not be, some well-wishes might be in order…

And with that out of the way, let’s get down to business. Here’s what’s ahead in this week’s edition of What Are the Odds?

• This weekend’s best EPL odds and predictions. 🦵⚽

• A little Christmas trivia to test your knowledge. 🎄🎅

• And, since it’s his birthday, a Jesus quote to inspire you, even if you’re not a believer. 🔥✞

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⚽ Man United vs Newcastle
🏟️ English Premier League
Friday 26 December; 21:00 (Europe/Paris)

• Why we’re watching: A nice, safe double play with decent odds to kick off the weekend.

• CXSports says: United’s numbers tell the story of a team capable of scoring but fundamentally unstable at the back. While they’re pulling roughly 1.8 goals per match this season, they’re still conceding at nearly the same rate. Newcastle’s story is similar, too — they’re grinding in the mid-table with a fairly even balance of goals scored and conceded. Where things do diverge a little is in the head-to-head history. Newcastle have performed above expectations recently, including a 4-1 demolition and a 2-0 away victory in the last two games. That could very well mean this will be a tight fixture with goals on both ends and no clear favorite.

• Score prediction: 1-2 or 2-1 for either side

Option #1

• Bet: Double Chance (Man United / Newcastle)

• Odds Range: 1.15-1.32

Option #2

• Bet: Both Teams to Score (Yes)

• Odds Range: 1.39-1.57

⚽ Nottingham Forest vs Manchester City
🏟️ English Premier League
Saturday 27 December; 13:30 (Europe/Paris)

• Why we’re watching: An undeniable edge for City in this fixture makes this one a must-watch.

• CXSports says: Manchester City are flying high right now. They’re sitting second in the table with 37 points from 17 games, have the momentum of a string of victories, and are generally dominating possession and scoring efficiently (largely thanks to Haaland). Forest, on the other hand, is barely keeping its head above water this season as it finds itself just outside the relegation zone with a solidly negative goal difference (-8) and some of the worst offensive stats in the League (only Wolves have scored fewer goals). Now throw in recent head-to-head data for good measure (City has come out on top in the last three EPL head-to-heads), and one thing becomes clear — this is City’s game for the taking.

• Score prediction: 0-2 for Manchester City

Option #1

• Bet: Manchester City Victory

• Odds Range: 1.40-1.66

Option #2

• Bet: Over/Under (Over 2.5)

• Odds Range: 1.13-1.22

⚽ Arsenal vs Brighton
🏟️ English Premier League
Saturday 27 December; 16:00 (Europe/Paris)

• Why we’re watching: Looking at each side’s goal averages, we like the look of the Over/Under here as a reasonably sure thing.

• CXSports says: Arsenal’s season so far isn’t too far off being a textbook example of perfect play. They’ve conceded just 10 goals in 17 league games (0.6 per match) while hammering 31 of their own in (1.8 scored per match) and have been seated on top of the table for as long as our memory goes back. Brighton, on the other hand, isn’t exactly working wonders on either end of the field — they’re averaging 1.35 goals conceded per game while only scoring 1.47 in response. Still, that doesn’t mean this will be a walk in the park for Arsenal — Brighton’s history shows they can be a tricky opponent that even managed to force a stalemate the last campaign. However, those results are exceptions rather than the rule, and Arsenal’s home advantage and otherwise impeccable form should see them take this one.

• Score prediction: 2-1 for Arsenal

Option #1

• Bet: Arsenal Victory

• Odds Range: 1.23-1.47

Option #2

• Bet: Over/Under (Over 1.5)

• Odds Range: 1.14-1.22

⚽ Brentford vs Bournemouth
🏟️ English Premier League
Saturday 27 December; 16:00 (Europe/Paris)

• Why we’re watching: We like the risk-reward balance here. While Brentford’s far from guaranteed here, their chances are better than the odds suggest.

• CXSports says: Forget favorites here. This one’s going to be a gritty fight between two mid-table sides with little separating them on points or form. With that said, Brentford do retain a slight edge here, mainly owing to two key points. First, their home performance is generally better than their overall record (they’ve scored 16 and conceded 9 in 8 home games), which edges them ahead of Bournemouth here. And second, Brentford has dominated recent head-to-heads against Bournemouth — in their past 5, they’ve won 4 and drawn once. Now, that’s not enough to guarantee anything here, but it does tilt the scales slightly in their favor.

• Score prediction: 2-1 for Brentford

Option #1

• Bet: Brentford Victory

• Odds Range: 2.01-2.36

Option #2

• Bet: Both Teams to Score (Yes)

• Odds Range: 1.45-1.62

Want to get the best odds on these predictions?

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We all know the story behind Santa Claus. Or, at least, we all think we know — he’s the impossibly fat man who somehow squeezes down your impossibly tight chimney (even if you don’t have one) to deliver you presents each year.

But how many of you know the true origins of Santa Claus?

Let’s find out with a quick quiz from our friends at Masters of Trivia.

Question: The tradition of Santa Claus is believed to originate from which historical figure?

• A: King Wenceslas

• B: Saint Nicholas

• C: Father Christmas

• D: The Grinch

Think you know the answer?

Read to the end to see if you were right.

⚽ Burnley vs Everton
🏟️ English Premier League
Saturday 27 December; 16:00 (Europe/Paris)

• Why we’re watching: With Burnley’s chances against just about everyone looking slim, this one’s tempting no matter how you play it.

• CXSports says: If Burnley can claim to have achieved anything this season, it’s that they’ve delivered a half-decent lesson in how not to get results in the Premier League — they’re leaking goals (about 2 conceded per game) and barely scraping through any sort of response on the pointy end (just over 1 goal per game). And their home performances haven’t exactly stood out as being noticeably better. Everton, on the other hand, has done a good job of just blending into the mid-table with a decent mix of results and an almost balanced goal difference (18 scored vs 20 conceded). That might not sound like much in most games. But, in this fixture, that’s enough to buy them a very clear edge. With that said, Burnley can still surprise, so we can’t entirely write off the possibility of a draw, even if it’s highly unlikely.

• Score prediction: 1-2 for Everton

Option #1

• Bet: Everton Victory

• Odds Range: 1.63-2.03

Option #2

• Bet: Double Chance (Draw / Everton)

• Odds Range: 1.13-1.27

⚽ Liverpool vs Wolves
🏟️ English Premier League
Saturday 27 December; 16:00 (Europe/Paris)

• Why we’re watching: Betting against the Wolves has become one of our favorite plays this season.

• CXSports says: It’s the Wolves… what more needs to be said? Oh yeah… Scores. Alright, here goes. Wolves are conceding over 2 goals per game and have basically scored nothing (they’re averaging 0.53) this season. Meanwhile, Liverpool’s netting about 1.65 per game while letting 1.47 slide through on average (which is basically meaningless here since the Wolves have demonstrated that they can’t score). As such, expect this to end with a big margin in Liverpool’s favor.

• Score prediction: 3-0 for Liverpool

Option #1

• Bet: Liverpool Victory

• Odds Range: 1.09-1.26

Option #2

• Bet: Both Teams to Score (No)

• Odds Range: 1.53-1.82

⚽ West Ham vs Fulham
🏟️ English Premier League
Saturday 27 December; 16:00 (Europe/Paris)

• Why we’re watching: This isn’t our first pick as a must-watch, although, at the upper end of the market, the odds on Fulham are worth it given their chances.

• CXSports says: While there’s only a handful of places separating these two on the table, the gap between each side here is bigger than their relative positioning might suggest. West Ham’s defensive form has been atrocious all season (about 2 goals per game conceded), and they’ve done nothing to make up for that on the offensive end (barely a single goal per game). Fulham, by contrast, is managing to keep its stats somewhat more balanced (1.44 scored, 1.63 conceded), even if it is slightly negative. That should be enough to tilt the balance in their favor here, even if they are playing this one on the road.

• Score prediction: 1-2 for Fulham

Option #1

• Bet: Fulham Victory

• Odds Range: 2.15-2.68

Option #2

• Bet: Both Teams to Score (Yes)

• Odds Range: 1.47-1.77

⚽ Chelsea vs Aston Villa
🏟️ English Premier League
Saturday 27 December; 18:30 (Europe/Paris)

• Why we’re watching: Calling a draw is usually a long shot, but there’s a pretty good case for it here (and some decent odds to make it worthwhile).

• CXSports says: At first glance, Aston Villa looks superior to Chelsea here — particularly if you look at their form in their last five games (Villa has 5-straight victories, Chelsea has mostly draws). However, Chelsea’s numbers at home can’t be ignored — roughly 1.71 goals per game scored against ~1 conceded in this campaign. Of course, Villa’s away scoring rate isn’t too far behind this (about 1.5 goals per game), and their defense is equally tight with about 1 goal conceded per game. That, combined with Chelsea’s draw-heavy recent form, is only going to make this a tight one with a higher chance of a draw than we see in most matches.

• Score prediction: 1-1 Draw

Option #1

• Bet: Draw

• Odds Range: 3.20-4.00

Option #2

• Bet: Both Teams to Score (Yes)

• Odds Range: 1.51-1.70

Make your sportsbook work for you!

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Whether you believe the “Son of God” thing or not, you gotta admit, Jesus dropped some absolute bangers over his lifetime.

And by bangers, I mean quotes. Check this one out, for example:

Now, naturally, Jesus was talking about the Christian faith specifically when he dropped this line.

But there’s no reason you can’t apply it to faith in general. After all, it’s amazing what you can achieve in life when you have a little faith… even if the only thing you have faith in is yourself.

Want to learn more about Jesus?

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 Jesus Christ Trivia Quiz today.

PS: The answer to this week’s question was [B] — The real-life Saint Nicholas is thought to be the inspiration for the modern-day Santa Claus. Discover more trivia like this with the Christmas Trivia Quiz.