Friday 29th December 2023

In Across the Leagues EXTRA today:

• Premier League Predictions – first game Saturday lunchtime…
• Stat Attack: Old Firm derby…
• Weekend Acca @ 54/1… 

Enter your predictions today…

Congratulations to Andy t, who won last week’s Predictor prize via the Golden Goal tiebreaker…

Nickg is back in 1st place on the overall season Leaderboard, but it’s close at the top…

Our 2023/24 Premier League Predictor game returns with Round 20 this weekend…

It’s quick, free and easy to play…

Pit your wits against your fellow ATL Extra readers & PL Predictor players. Enter your predictions before every round of games for your chance to win our weekly cash prize. And get yourself in the running for the end-of-season grand prize, too.

Get playing today…

Go to: www.premierleaguepredictor.co.uk

• Full details, rules and prize info are on the site

• If you’re playing for the first time, sign up for free here

Don’t miss the Saturday 12.30pm deadline for this weekend’s entries. With Luton v Chelsea live on TNT Sports at lunchtime…

Enter your predictions now >>

Premier League Predictions…

Here are our predictions for this weekend, along with Chris Sutton at the BBC:

STAT ATTACK: Old Firm derby…

Celtic v Rangers

Scottish Premiership – Sat 12.30pm, Sky Sports

A huge game in Scotland on Saturday lunchtime, with the latest instalment of the Old Firm derby…

Throw in all the clichés you like here – formbook goes out the window, no love lost, etc…

But…

The stats from recent meetings between these two Glasgow giants say that the Total Cards tally might not go as high as the layers are expecting…

Bet365 are betting Over 6.5 Cards in the match, at odds of 11/10 (2.1). With a yellow counting as 1 Card, a straight Red as 2, and the most one player can get being 3. Any cards shown to players not on the pitch (eg. subs on the touchline) don’t count.

• Bets on Over 6.5 Cards have paid out in just 3 of the last 10 Old Firm clashes in all competitions

And if we can read anything into the form of the man in black going into this high-pressure environment…

• The Referee for Saturday’s big match at Celtic Park is Nick Walsh. He’s taken charge of 20 games in all comps this season, with just 3 going Over 6.5 Cards. Walsh had the whistle for 2 of those last 10 Celtic-Rangers clashes – with one going Over 6.5 Cards, and the other going Under

The Total Cards line might be one to swerve this time, then. But in the Scorer markets, a player to very much look out for is Rangers’ goals-scoring wing-back and captain, James Tavernier…

• James Tavernier scored twice on his last visit to Celtic, in the league back in April of this year. Overall, he’s found the net in 2 of his last 6 starts against the Bhoys

• Tavernier is joint-2nd top scorer in the Scottish Premiership this season, with 9 goals from 18 starts

The 32-year-old Englishman also has a knack of scoring the Last Goal of the game…

Tavernier is ranked no.1 in the Scottish Premiership stats on our website for Last Scorer payouts this season (6). And overall, the Rangers captain has rewarded Last Scorer bettors in 9 of his 13 scoring appearances in 2023/24. Including 4 penalties converted in the 85th minute or later…

• Tavernier has slotted away 7 out of 9 penalties in the Scottish Premiership this season – after successfully bagging 8 out of 10 from the spot in 2022/23

Anytime Scorer: James Tavernier is 4/1 with Skybet, Bet365, Unibet, BetUK & BetMGM.

Last Goalscorer: James Tavernier is 11/1 Skybet, Boylesports.

Scottish Premiership 2023/24 – Top Scorers:

• Get exclusive access to bet-specific stats for 17 leagues across the UK & Europe by becoming a member of Across the Leagues >>

The Weekend Acca…

Every week we build an accumulator from the matching selections in our Predictor grid, across the Match Result and Goals markets. Rolling up for some big odds…

These picks all match-up across the predictions from myself, my Across the Leagues colleague Shaun, and Chris Sutton on the BBC:

Luton v Chelsea – Both Teams to Score
Aston Villa v Burnley – Aston Villa to win
Crystal Palace v Brentford – Both Teams to Score
Man City v Sheff Utd – Man City to win
Nottingham Forest v Man Utd – Man Utd to win
Fulham v Arsenal – Arsenal to win
Tottenham v Bournemouth – Over 2.5 Goals
Liverpool v Newcastle – Liverpool to win
West Ham v Brighton – Both Teams to Score

• The 9-fold acca pays 54/1 with BetUK

P.S

To get ALL our stats, analysis & betting picks – book your place on our members-only Across the Leagues service….

If you’re not a member yet, then join now for instant access…

This weekend’s bet advice is waiting for you now on the password-protected website…

Including a couple of 20/1+ picks for this weekend’s televised Premier League games…

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Enjoy the football…

Best wishes,

Oliver Upstone

Across the Leagues Extra