Free football betting tips and analysis: Premier League Talking Points | Man Utd, Leicester, Aston Villa

A good day for Liverpool

Liverpool didn't even play, and yet it was an excellent Boxing Day for the reigning champions.

The 12.30 kick-off between so-called title contenders looked a classic case of neither Leicester City or Manchester United wanting to lose.

The midfield was packed and both sides wanted to counter-punch. Leicester were forced to dominate possession but couldn't fashion many clearcut chances as United dropped deep, while the visitors only looked dangerous on the break and should have won the game after Marcus Rashford missed great opportunities in each half and Anthony Martial had a goal chalked off for a very close, but correct, VAR offside call.

Then it got even better for Jurgen Klopp, as Chelsea were ripped apart by relegation threatened Arsenal in the 17.30 game.

It now means Liverpool will move six points ahead of Brendan Rodgers's side, seven away from United and nine beyond Chelsea should they, as expected, beat second-bottom West Brom on Sunday.

Just one note here, once that game is done, Ole Gunnar Solskjær's outfit will have a game in hand.

Are Leicester better this season?

Leicester seem to be finally cracking the top six. I don't mean in terms of final league standings, after all the Foxes finished fifth last season and famously won the title in 2016, but in terms of being more competitive against their closest rivals.

The Boxing Day draw with Manchester United meant they've only been beaten once in their five matches against the 'Big Six' and that came against champions Liverpool.

They have thrashed Manchester City, and seen off both Arsenal (I'm still just counting them as 'Big Six') and Tottenham.

That's 10 points from five contests, with Chelsea next month the last of the six still to come. Last season, Brendan Rodgers's side managed just nine points from their 12 matches against those same opponents.

All those negative performances and results against their nearest, if not dearest, ultimately cost them as a 2020 collapsed culminated in Manchester United pipping them to a top-four finish on the final day.

This time around, should their upward trend against these opponents continue, those extra points might just be the difference between Europa League and Champions League in 2021/22.

It is a view shared by the Foxes boss, with Rodgers saying after the United draw: "We had some real authority in the game. It shows we are developing and able to compete at the highest level.

“When you play against huge clubs, Liverpool, Manchester United, Manchester City, they have that personality but we played with personality and authority in the game. We’re nowhere near in terms of budget but from a football perspective we were competitive."

Sunday previews and tips

• Sunday's Premier League tips
• Super Sunday tips: Liverpool v West Brom

Villa finally enjoy home comforts

Just 1-0 up and down to 10 men for an entire second-half, against a side that had won five out of six away. You'd forgive even the most positive Aston Villa fan for expecting a 45 minutes to forget.

After all, Dean Smith's side had only managed two league victories at Villa Park this season, failing to win any of their last four and losing three of those. Ironically, they'd not won at home since hammering Liverpool 7-2.

So to not to just hold on, but win 3-0 feels like a potential watershed moment; it's back-to-back 3-0 wins, and four consecutive clean sheets to boot.