Crucial Premier League Matches after New Year's

The English Premier League sees a full round of crucial matches on the New Year's Day weekend, continuing a packed fixture that has seen all teams play at least three matches within an eight-day period.

Sports Lines

In the pick of the matches, third-place Arsenal travels to lowly Birmingham, who would be brimming with confidence after holding league leader Manchester United to a draw on Tuesday.

In the title odds, William Hill now has Manchester United as a solid favorite, although the form of cross-town rival Manchester City means the premiership is now genuinely a four-horse race.

And finally, in manager odds, Roy Hodgson is under the gun at struggling Liverpool, with Hills now offering 8/11 on him being out of a job by the first day of next season.

Here are the picks of the William Hill sports betting odds for this coming week and the rest of the season:

- January 1 fixtures: Birmingham 9/2, draw 13/5, Arsenal 4/6; Stoke 13/8, draw 21/10, Everton 9/5, Liverpool 13/20, draw 11/4, Bolton 9/2; West Brom 5/1, draw 3/1, Man Utd 11/20.

- Title odds: Man Utd 11/10, Chelsea 3/1, Arsenal 4/1, Man City 7/1, Tottenham 25/1.

- Next manager out: Avram Grant 9/4, Roy Hodgson 11/4, Gerard Houllier 4/1, Mark Hughes 9/2, Mick McCarthy, Carlo Ancelotti 6/1.