Welcome to English Premier League Best Bets, a Bettor in Green Article Series where we break down the latest action in the English Premier League (EPL) and my favorite bets for the upcoming matchweek.

For an overview of what to expect in this Series, check out my 2025/26 EPL Season Preview and Futures article here.

Recap:

The weekend started off with a commanding win from Aston Villa, who moved into 2nd-place for the day, until Man City reclaimed 2nd after their 1-1 draw with Chelsea on Sunday.

One of the biggest storylines from Saturday’s matches was Wolves finally getting their first win of the season, a 3-0 win over a struggling West Ham.

Arsenal got a shaky win away to Bournemouth to stay in pole position for the title, especially after Manchester City dropped points in a draw thanks to a late Chelsea equalizer.

On Sunday, there were quite a few draws in addition to City/Chelsea, as Leeds v Manchester United, Spurs v Sunderland, and Fulham v Liverpool all ended in a draw.

In managerial news, Manchester United sacked their manager (head coach) Ruben Amorim on Monday, with Darren Fletcher stepping in as interim coach until they bring in a permanent replacement.

For Best Bets, we went 2-1, winning Aston Villa moneyline and Brighton moneyline and over 1.5 goals. We almost won all 3 as Liverpool looked like they surely had a winner in the 4th minute of stoppage time, only for Fulham to equalize at 90+7 with a stunning strike.

Across the Globe, we went 2-3, winning on Como and our La Liga parlay.

Upcoming Matches:

The games are still coming thick and fast, as we again have only 1 day off between matchweek 20 and matchweek 21. Matchweek 21 brings us more midweek games, taking place Tuesday-Thursday this week.

We have 1 match on Tuesday, with West Ham hosting Nottingham Forest, a match where both sides will be hoping to turn around their poor form.

We have 8 matches on Wednesday, with a few notable matches such as Fulham v Chelsea, Crystal Palace v Aston Villa, and Manchester City v Brighton.

We have a big match on Thursday, as Champion-hopefuls, Arsenal, face reigning Champions, Liverpool.

Let’s get to the bets:

Best Bets:

Pick #1: Nottingham Forest Moneyline +130 (Jan. 8, 2026; 3:00 p.m. EST):

For our first Bet, I’m taking the opening match of the weekend, West Ham v Nottingham Forest.

Both clubs are in a poor stretch of form, with West Ham winless in their last 9 and Forest losing their last 4.

What draws me to Forest, however, is just how poorly West Ham have been, particularly at home. They’ve lost 7 of their 10 matches at home and haven’t seemed to have much of a spark at all in their recent matches, outside of a couple draws against Brighton.

Also concerning for West Ham is that they’ve conceded 41 goals, the worst in the EPL this season. 

While Nottingham Forest have struggled at times, they’ve scored less than their expected goals (xG) figure, meaning they are getting into decent positions, just not actually scoring.

While both clubs have an upcoming FA Cup match, I expect them to be able to rotate for that match and prioritize this EPL fixture.

Pick #2: Crystal Palace v Aston Villa Both Teams to Score -130 (Jan. 7, 2026; 2:30 p.m. EST):

Next, I’m backing both Crystal Palace and Aston Villa to score in what I expect to be one of the more exciting matches of the weekend.

While Palace are 5th for goals conceded and had one of the strongest defenses to start the season, they’re currently on a 7-match winless streak, conceding a goal in each of those 7 matches.

They’re likely to be without Chris Richards, their American center back, hurting their defensive capabilities.

Despite their winless run, I like their attack. JP Mateta is a great striker and they just brought in Brennan Johnson from Spurs, who was Spurs’ top scorer from last season.

The away team, Aston Villa, are in a great spell of form. Though they lost to Arsenal 2 matches ago, they’ve won 12 of their last 13 matches.

Further, both teams have scored in 9 of their last 10 matches.

Villa will play Spurs in the FA Cup this weekend, so rotation could be a risk, though that may ultimately help with the BTTS bet.

With Villa’s form and Palace playing at home, each with potent attackers, I love BTTS for this match.

Pick #3: Tottenham Hotspur to Win Either Half +110 (Jan. 7, 2026; 2:30 p.m. EST):

For our final Best Bet, I’m backing Spurs to win either half on the road against Bournemouth.

Neither side is in particularly strong form, with Spurs having 1 win, 2 draws, and 2 losses in their last 5.

However, their away form is still pretty impressive, at 5-3-2, the second best in the League.

The biggest issue for Spurs right now is injuries, with Mohammed Kudus the latest to suffer the injury bug. However, Xavi Simmons should be ready to go again after his suspension and will need to help this team find some creativity, fast.

Bournemouth are in even worse form than Spurs, winless in their last 11. While they started the season hot, things have slipped quite a bit, as they currently sit in 15th.

Just as concerning, they look set to lose their best player, Antoine Semenyo, to Manchester City. While I haven’t heard he’s officially out yet, many thought his last match against Arsenal may be his last for the club.

While Spurs have a tough FA Cup match against Aston Villa at the weekend, I still like them to win either half in this important EPL match.

Across the Globe:

• Como Moneyline -130 (Italy; Serie A)
• AS Roma Moneyline -130 (Italy; Serie A)
• Ivory Coast Moneyline -120 (International; Africa Cup of Nations)
• Juventus Moneyline -140 (Italy; Serie A)
• 2-Leg Parlay: Napoli and Inter Milan Moneylines -128 (Italy; Serie A)

Season Record:

Best Bets: 31-29

Across the Globe: 48-53