Arsenal gunning for fourth spot with New Year win over Southampton

Arsenal, 6/4 for victory, will be, once again, without suspended Oliver Giroud, as he continues his ban from head-butting Nedum Onuoha.

Theo Walcott could be set for a return to the bench against his former club, after eight weeks out injured, and the former Saint is 2/1 to score at anytime.

Liverpool v Leicester City
Liverpool, odds-on 4/9 favourites, have not been beaten by Leicester since March 2001, when goals from Ade Akinbiyi and Muzzy Izzet earned them victory.

Brendan Rodgers’ side are currently occupying eighth place in the table after an unexpected poor start to the Premier League campaign, the Reds are eight points worse off than they were at this stage last season, and already a massive 18 behind leaders Chelsea.

However, Liverpool looked to have possibly turned a corner heading into the New Year, after sealing an impressive 4-1 victory over Swansea City in the last outing.

Adam Lallana, who scored in the Swans smashing, also netted in the reverse fixture against the Foxes in December, when the England international helped secure a 3-1 win at the King Power Stadium. The in-form England attacker is 2/1 to fire against the Foxes yet again, at Anfield.

Daniel Sturridge is still injured, but Rodgers may recall skipper Steven Gerrard for the clash, while Martin Skrtel is missing through suspension.

Nigel Pearson has striker Jamie Vardy back after serving his ban, but will be without Kasper Schmeichel, Andy King and Matthew Upson, who are all injured.

The Foxes, 15/2 outsiders, still enter 2015 bottom of the table, but they ended a 13-match winless run, including 11 defeats, with a 1-0 victory at Hull on Sunday.

That result will relieve the pressure on under-fire manager, Pearson, amid the series of managerial sackings, with two top-flight bosses having lost their jobs in the past week.

Hull City v Everton
Everton, 13/10 to win, have lost only one of their last 12 matches with Hull City in all competitions, with the reverse fixture, at the beginning of January, ending in a 1-1 draw.

After ending a 10-match run without a win, with a 3-1 victory at Sunderland, it was a case of one step forward and two steps back for Steve Bruce’s men, following up the Black Cats triumph with a loss to Premier League’s basement side Leicester.

The Tigers, 23/10 for the win, now stay adrift of the relegation zone only on goal difference heading into another key clash at the KC Stadium, where Bruce will be without suspended Stephen Quinn and Tom Huddlestone, while Mohamed Diame is sidelined through injury.

Roberto Martinez’s Toffees were eight places and 16 points better off at this stage last term, and need to start rediscovering their first-season form if they are to challenge for the highly-competitive European spots again this campaign.

However, the Everton boss has a few absences of his own, with goalkeeper Tim Howard ruled out for six weeks with a calf problem, joining Phil Jagielka and John Stones on the casualties table.

Arouna kone scored on his first domestic league start for 18 months in the 3-2 defeat to Newcastle United last time out, and the striker is 7/4 to net at anytime on New Year’s Day.

Belgian bruiser Romelu Lukaku has a habit of scoring against the Tigers, bagging a goal in each of the last two league meetings between the sides. The terrific Toffees target-man is 5/1 to get the opening goal of the game, in the latest encounter.