Liam Flin: Football predictions & free betting accumulator tips

Free football tips, bets and analysis for this weekend's Premier League, EFL and European action.

Best bets

Tottenham to win & over 2.5 goals
1pt 6-4 bet365, Betfair
Crawley
2pts 6-5 Coral
Real Betis
2pts 3-4 general

Best Premier League bet

Watford v Tottenham 3pm Saturday

Since Antonio Conte's arrival in November, Tottenham have picked up 15 points from a possible 21 in the Premier League and once again look top-four contenders.

The north London club slipped up in a 1-1 draw with Southampton last time out but dominated that affair, managing 11 shots on target, and they are unbeaten in their last eight domestic fixtures.

Watford, meanwhile, have lost five games on the spin and were toothless in their 4-1 drubbing by West Ham last time out.

They had a rest period lasting more than two weeks during December but are still likely to be missing key personnel for this fixture with Ismaila Sarr, Christian Kabasele, Ben Foster, Peter Etebo, Nicolas N'Koulou and Danny Rose among those expected to be out of action this weekend, tilting the game even more in favour of Spurs.

Watford have not only been losing matches but they have also been leaking goals, conceding at least twice in each of their last five assignments, so this could be another high-scoring defeat.

Best EFL bet

Crawley v Colchester 3pm Saturday

Among the EFL teams most affected by postponements at the end of 2021 were Colchester, who have not played since their 3-0 thrashing by Walsall on December 11.

And although the time off will have given them time to reflect on a difficult run of results, they are unlikely to get back to winning ways against Crawley on New Year's Day.

The U's have been without key players Frank Nouble and Noah Chilvers since the start of December and the pair could again be sidelined for this game.

That does not bode well for the Essex side, who are hovering above the relegation zone with only five wins from 20 League Two matches this season.

Crawley are not much better off and last played a fixture the same day as Colchester but they at least won that match 2-1 away to Leyton Orient and have lost only one of their last five league games.

They can make the most of home advantage and start the year with a victory which would create some breathing space between them and the bottom two.

Best European bet

Real Betis v Celta Vigo 5.30pm Sunday

A number of La Liga's big guns have not been firing this season and Real Betis are ready to capitalise in the race for the top four.

Prior to the winter break, the Andalusians moved up to third in the standings, having won ten of their 18 league fixtures this season.

They were unlucky to lose 3-2 to Athletic Bilbao last time out but had recorded wins over Barcelona and Real Sociedad earlier in December, showing they have what it takes to mix it with the league's bigger sides.

Forward Juanmi has been a revelation this season, bagging 11 goals in 16 La Liga appearances, and offers a serious attacking threat in front of top creative outlet Nabil Fekir.

The team's front-foot approach has paid dividends and Celta Vigo could be the latest side to leave the Benito Villamarin empty-handed.

Vigo have won only two of their last eight league games, against Espanyol and Alaves who are both in the bottom half, and they could be out of their depth in this one.

Weekend accumulators

Banker
Rotherham
League One pacesetters Rotherham were largely unaffected by absences during December, winning four of their five matches in the month, and they have their sights set on automatic promotion. Opponents Bolton, meanwhile, have been out of action since December 11 and have recorded only one win in five league fixtures.

Blowout
Atletico Madrid
In their final match of 2021, Rayo Vallecano beat Alaves to leapfrog Atletico Madrid into the top four in La Liga and they can show they deserve to be in Champions League contention when the sides clash in the capital. Atleti have lost each of their last four league contests and are worth opposing.

Accumulator
Tottenham 8-13, MK Dons 8-13, Oxford 6-10, Rotherham 1-2. £1 accumulator returns £5.49 with Coral.

Both teams to score
Games at Leyton Orient 10-11, Rochdale 8-11, Walsall 10-11. £1 treble returns £5.31 with Hills.

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