The Premier League rumbles on this weekend with another bumper edition that features a bundle of derbies, starting with West Ham v Chelsea on Saturday lunchtime. The 3pms bring Arsenal v Brentford and Crystal Palace v Brighton while it’s Leeds v Manchester United again on Sunday and The Merseyside derby on Monday night football where Everton travel to Liverpool.
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With plenty of huge games on the horizon we thought it was only right to bring in our resident tipster and Premier League predicting guru, Mark Lawrenson.
Take it away, Lawro…
West Ham v Chelsea
Saturday 12.30pm – BT Sport
West Ham got a good point against Newcastle last time out but Chelsea’s draw with Fulham would have frustrated them. I think we’re in for another draw here. Both teams are in a little bit of a state of flux at the moment. West Ham look like they’re improving but Chelsea don’t really look like scoring too many. West Ham 1-1 Chelsea.
Result: West Ham 1-1 Chelsea.
Arsenal v Brentford
Saturday 3pm
I know Arsenal got beaten by Everton but I always thought they’d struggle in that particular game in those particular circumstances. It didn’t even matter for them really because Manchester City went and lost anyway. Arsenal will have too much quality for Brentford as long as they match them in terms of physicality and aren’t bullied out of it like they have been in the past. Arsenal will have loads of the ball and they’re normally really potent going forward. Arsenal 2-0 Brentford.
Result: Arsenal 1-1 Brentford.
Crystal Palace v Brighton
Saturday 3pm
I played in a few of these and let me tell you it is a proper derby and it certainly feels like it on the pitch. Crystal Palace lost last week while Brighton beat Bournemouth but I’ll go for a reversal of that here. Brighton have had such an outstanding run but you know what the Premier League’s like, all of a sudden when you don’t expect it you get a bad result and this is exactly the kind of game where that could happen. Crystal Palace 2-1 Brighton.
Result: Crystal Palace 1-1 Brighton.
Fulham v Nottingham Forest
Saturday 3pm
Nottingham Forest beat Leeds last time but I thought they were really fortunate, Leeds could have been 4-0 up at half time and Forest were all over the shop defensively. Fulham are very competitive with lots of pace and guile and then there’s Aleksandar Mitrovic up front as well. They’re really impressive, Fulham, and the midfield is outstanding which is the key for them. Fulham 2-1 Nottingham Forest.
Result: Fulham 2-0 Nottingham Forest.
Leicester v Tottenham
Saturday 3pm
Tottenham won against Manchester City without Antonio Conte on the touchline. How often does that happen? Leicester also won and I was impressed with their new signing Tete on the left, he looked good on debut. You know what Tottenham are like, they’ll go on a little but of a run now because they’re high in confidence again and Harry Kane’s broken the record so he doesn’t have to worry about that. I’ll go for an away win. Leicester 0-2 Tottenham.
Result: Leicester 4-1 Tottenham.
Southampton v Wolves
Saturday 3pm
I was at Molineux for Wolves’ 3-0 win over Liverpool and, to be honest, the score could have been even higher. Liverpool’s defence was absolutely all over the place and Wolves looked seriously good. God knows that Nathan Jones has been going on about in the press but it’s never a good sign. Once you go down that route people remember. I think this will be an away win, Wolves just looked really, really good in all areas of the pitch against Liverpool. Southampton 0-1 Wolves.
Result: Southampton 1-2 Wolves.
Bournemouth v Newcastle
Saturday 5.30pm – Sky Sports
Newcastle will still be on a high after reaching the Carabao Cup and I correctly predicted that they’d draw 1-1 with West Ham last weekend. Bournemouth are in a right mess and they just can’t win a game, I think they played well at Brighton but still lost. Newcastle should have too much. Bournemouth 0-2 Newcastle.
Result: Bournemouth 1-1 Newcastle.
Leeds v Manchester United
Sunday 2pm – Sky Sports
To be 2-0 up at Old Trafford and only draw 2-2 with Manchester United on Wednesday would have hurt Leeds but if you’d have said to their fans before the game that they’d get a point they would have been happy. I was never Jesse Marsch’s biggest fan but I liked watching his team, which is a bit mad to say. If they had beaten Nottingham Forest last week, which they should have done, he’d probably still be in a job which is just how football goes. I think this will be another draw. Leeds 1-1 Manchester United.
Result: Leeds 0-2 Manchester United.
Manchester City v Aston Villa
Sunday 4.30pm – Sky Sports
I would think there will be a Manchester City backlash coming. Their performance in that 1-0 loss to Tottenham was odd. It came on the back of Joao Cancelo going, who was City’s best full back on either side, and I’ll never understand that even if there was a falling out. It’s all a bit strange but I think they’ll get a big win here. Manchester City 3-0 Aston Villa.
Result: Manchester City 3-1 Aston Villa.
Liverpool v Everton
Monday 8pm – Sky Sports
It will be interesting to see what Jurgen Klopp does in terms of his lineup. The defence was all over the place and I think Nat Phillips should come in to combat Dominic Calvert-Lewin as he’s no-nonsense, head it, clear it, no frills but he’ll put himself in areas that other central defenders won’t. I think Liverpool will win but it’s going to be a horrible game, it almost-always is, but I remain to be convinced by Liverpool at the moment. Liverpool 2-1 Everton.
LAWRO V PUNTER CHALLENGE
So, you’ve heard what Mark Lawrenson has to say, but can this week’s Paddy Power punter take down our game-guessing guru with their Premier League predictions?
If you don’t know what we’re talking about, where have you been? Every Premier League gameweek we’re putting up at least £/€50 – more if there’s a rollover – to anyone who can outsmart Lawro in guessing the outcome of that week’s games. All the rules are here, but in a nutshell it’s three points for a correct score, and one point for a correct result. Simples.
There’s £/€150 up for grabs this week as Lawro swept aside his third consecutive challenger, Dominic from Banbury, 6-3 to set our man up for a potential four timer this weekend. Who’s brave enough to take on the soccer soothsayer himself? Well, it’s Josh the West Ham fan from Bridgewater in Somerset of course, and here are his selections. This one’s going to be really tight with five identical predictions submitted!
West Ham 2-1 Chelsea
Arsenal 2-2 Brentford
Crystal Palace 1-2 Brighton
Fulham 2-0 Nottingham Forest
Leicester 0-2 Tottenham
Southampton 0-1 Wolves
Bournemouth 0-2 Newcastle
Leeds 1-3 Manchester United
Manchester City 3-0 Aston Villa
Liverpool 2-1 Everton
RESULTS
After three wins on the spin the mighty Lawro is felled… with one game still to go! Our challenger Josh correctly predicted Fulham’s 2-0 win over Forest on Saturday, along with a draw at the Emirates and wins for Man City, Wolves and Man Utd for 7 points overall.
Lawro got one correct score (West Ham’s 1-1 draw with Chelsea) and three correct results (Man City, Wolves and Fulham wins).
But with both predicting a 2-1 win for Liverpool in tonight’s Merseyside derby, it’s the challenger who will be taking home the prize. Well played!
*All prices are bang up to date with our snazzy widgets, while odds in copy are accurate at time of publishing but subject to change.
The latest football odds are on PaddyPower.com right now
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