The Premier League rumbles on this weekend with another bumper edition that features Arsenal looking to bounce back from their table-topping defeat to Manchester City during the week.
Chelsea and City are in action in a heaving list of 3pm fixtures on Saturday before Newcastle host Liverpool at 5.30pm.
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There’s also two tasty games on Sunday with a London derby and Leicester travelling to Old Trafford to take on Manchester United.
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…
Saturday 12.30pm: Aston Villa v Arsenal
BT Sport
Arsenal need to bounce back and they’ve got no win in four games but I think they’ll do it. Aston Villa have had a really good run but have hit the buffers a little bit of late, though losing at Manchester City last time is no disgrace at all. Arsenal have to hit back because City have a very winnable game at Nottingham Forest. Aston Villa 1-2 Arsenal.
Result: Aston Villa 2 – 4 Arsenal
Saturday 3pm: Brentford v Crystal Palace
Brentford and Crystal Palace both got lucky with utterly bizarre VAR decisions last weekend. How can you look at a screen for that long and have two different sets of officials make two huge mistakes in two different games? Brentford should have lost at Arsenal and I just feel like they’re due a defeat so I’ll go with a Palace win. Brentford 0-2 Crystal Palace.
Result: Brentford 1-1 Crystal Palace
Saturday 3pm: Brighton v Fulham
There’s loads of 3pm games this weekend which is great and Brighton v Fulham is another interesting one. Brighton were one of the teams let down by VAR last time out but Fulham got a really solid 2-0 win against Nottingham Forest. Fulham already look like a proper Premier League team and they’ve taken to this league really well this time around. They’re competitive wherever they go and they never get thrashed. Brighton are also going well so I think this could be a Draw. Brighton 1-1 Fulham.
Result: Brighton 0-1 Fulham
Saturday 3pm: Chelsea v Southampton
The Southampton situation is just weird. They obviously gambled on Nathan Jones and if you’re going to do that you’ve got to give him a proper run of games otherwise what’s the point? Chelsea, I thought they were very impressive in the first half against West Ham and it looks like they’re slowly, slowly, getting a semblance of a regular team and they should have enough to win here. Chelsea 2-0 Southampton.
Result: Chelsea 0-1 Southampton
Saturday 3pm: Everton v Leeds
This is a huge game for Everton and Leeds, the atmosphere at Goodison will be absolutely electric. I was at the Merseyside derby on Monday night and Everton didn’t really pose a threat but they could have taken the lead when they hit the post then Liverpool went right down the other end and scored and that changed the whole game. They’ve got fight but they need Dominic Calvert-Lewin back and fit really badly. We know what Leeds are like, they’ll give everything so I think this might be another draw. Everton 1-1 Leeds.
Result: Everton 1-0 Leeds
Saturday 3pm: Nottingham Forest v Manchester City
I bumped into Nottingham Forest manager Steve Cooper at the Merseyside derby on Monday. I asked him who they had at the weekend. When he said Manchester City I just said, ‘Good luck’ and all he could do was smile. The problem for Forest is having enough of the ball to create anything, let alone keeping Manchester City out at the other end. The way Kevin De Bruyne’s playing at the moment you have to fancy City in every game. Nottingham Forest 0-2 Manchester City.
Result: Nottingham Forest 1-1 Manchester City
Saturday 3pm: Wolves v Bournemouth
Wolves have been doing really well recently and you just know with Julen Lopetegui that everything’s so calculated and well planned out. Generally they give very few chances away and you can close your eyes, imagine where everyone should be, and when you open them they’re in exactly the right place. He’s made them very difficult to play against and that’s something you can’t say about Bournemouth. I’d be very surprised if this isn’t a home win. Wolves 2-1 Bournemouth.
Result: Wolves 0-1 Bournemouth
Saturday 5.30pm: Newcastle v Liverpool
Sky Sports
Newcastle have loads of draws of late and they just can’t win at the moment so I think we’ll get another here. The interesting thing for Liverpool is that they’ve got Real Madrid in the Champions League on Tuesday and those games, home and away, basically have their whole season hinging on them. Thiago’s out but Diogo Jota and Jordan Henderson are back, they might get more minutes with a view on the Champions League matches. Given how hard Newcastle are to beat I think this will be another Draw for them. Newcastle 1-1 Liverpool.
Result: Newcastle 0-2 Liverpool
Sunday 2pm: Manchester United v Leicester
Sky Sports
Manchester United are going well in general. Leicester hammered Tottenham 4-1 last time and they’ve scored four in each of their last two which is some going. I think United will edge this, though. They’re not under the radar but they’re just going along nicely, there’s no problems. They’ve been able to rotate a lot and still win and when you’ve got a player in Marcus Rashford guaranteeing a goal a game that’s almost like a head start. Manchester United 2-1 Leicester.
Result: Manchester United 3-0 Leicester
Sunday 4.30pm: Tottenham v West Ham
Sky Sports
Who knows which Tottenham team are going to turn up? The one in the Champions League had lots of changes and they could have lost more than 1-0 to AC Milan. Obviously they were thrashed by Leicester at the weekend so they’re in a bit of a mess at the moment. Antonio Conte’s been making eyes at Serie A again so it feels like he’s off at the end of the season. West Ham were outplayed by Chelsea in the first half on Saturday but managed to hang on in there. I just have a feeling West Ham will win here. Tottenham 1-2 West Ham.
Result: Tottenham 2-0 West Ham
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 £/€50 up for grabs this week as Lawro was finally felled in the hunt for a four-timer by Josh the West Ham fan from Bridgewater in Somerset in a narrow contest that saw 5 identical scores submitted. So, who’s next taking a shot at the king? It’s our very good friend Anthony the Arsenal fan from Mayo and here’s his picks this weekend.
Aston Villa 1-2 Arsenal
Brentford 2-0 Crystal Palace
Brighton 1-0 Fulham
Chelsea 3-1 Southampton
Everton 1-0 Leeds
Nottingham Forest 0-4 Manchester City
Newcastle 2-1 Liverpool
Man United 2-2 Leicester
Tottenham 2-1 West Ham
RESULTS
It’s a 5-2 victory for our challenger, Anthony, who correctly called Everton’s 1-0 win over Leeds on Saturday in scoring five points to Lawro’s two next weekend. Enjoy the winnings!
*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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