It’s a bit of a funny weekend in the Premier League as Newcastle and Manchester United prepare to do battle at Wembley in the Carabao Cup Final on Sunday. But fear not, we’ve still for eight great games to get stuck in to starting on Friday night with Fulham v Wolves.
There’s no early game on Saturday but we’re treated to two games on the telly in the evening with struggling Bournemouth hosting Manchester City at 5.30pm and Liverpool heading to Crystal Palace’s Selhurst Park in the lesser-spotted 7.45pm slot.
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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…
Friday 8pm: Fulham v Wolves
TV: Sky Sports
Wolves lost to Bournemouth while Fulham had that smash-and-grab win over Brighton last time. After losing last weekend Julen Lopetegui will make Wolves doubly hard to play against so I think this might be a draw. I don’t think this will be a thriller! Fulham 1-1 Wolves.
RESULT: Fulham 1-1 Wolves
Saturday 3pm: Everton v Aston Villa
Aston Villa were unlucky in all honesty against Arsenal, I thought they looked really good. Everton had a big, big win over Leeds and Sean Dyche has clearly got them at it straight away. I have this little feeling that Everton might be thinking they’ll roll Villa over but Unai Emery will be desperate to get back on track so I’m going to go for an away win. Everton 1-2 Aston Villa.
RESULT: Everton 0-2 Aston Villa
Saturday 3pm: Leeds v Southampton
Southampton had a great result at Chelsea last week and Leeds did the usual thing of running loads but they didn’t look like scoring as they lost to Everton. But Leeds are at home and it’s Javi Gracia’s first game in charge so I’m leaning towards them. Gracia was a little unlucky at Watford and it was a bit of a merry-go-round at the time. It’ll be interesting to see how Southampton approach this because last week was a free hit. Leeds 2-1 Southampton.
RESULT: Leeds 1-0 Southampton
Saturday 3pm: Leicester v Arsenal
Leicester were great in the first half against Manchester United and they forced David De Gea into a few good saves but they ultimately lost handsomely. I like the way Arsenal kept going against Villa last week. They got the breaks in the end but they earned them. I’m still not convinced by Leicester, they are getting better but once they concede a goal they collapse. It’s got to be an Arsenal Win for me. Leicester 0-2 Arsenal.
RESULT: Leicester 0-1 Arsenal
Saturday 3pm: West Ham v Nottingham Forest
David Moyes is under pressure. I spoke to him the other day and he’s still got the confidence of the board. They’ve sacked him before and if they sack him again who are they going to go for? They’ll be looking for another David Moyes! Nottingham Forest obviously got a tremendous points against Manchester City when they could have been beaten about eight. They don’t know when they’re beaten but I’ll go for a narrow, nervy win for West Ham because they really, really need it. West Ham 1-0 Nottingham Forest.
RESULT: West Ham 4-0 Forest
Saturday 5.30pm: Bournemouth v Manchester City
TV: Sky Sports
Manchester City are still not looking that convincing and they drew 1-1 again against RB Leipzig in the Champions League during the week. I can see them creating as many chances as they did against Forest here, I just can’t see them missing as many. Bournemouth 0-3 Manchester City.
RESULT: Bournemouth 1-4 Man City
Saturday 7.45pm: Crystal Palace v Liverpool
TV: Sky Sports
It’s very difficult to know what to say about Liverpool at the moment. Defensively they’re just all over the place and there’s no great protection from the midfield while the forwards are playing really well. It’s a mad combination. They’re very capable of scoring but equally of conceding, too. The defenders have to start defending, the clue’s in the title! Crystal Palace 1-2 Liverpool.
RESULT: Palace 0-0 Liverpool
Sunday 1.30pm: Tottenham v Chelsea
TV: Sky Sports
There’s rumours doing the rounds that if Chelsea lose this then they’ll get rid of Graham Potter. I don’t get that. No, the results have not been good, and maybe they’ve signed too many players, but they still don’t have a striker. You can have all the most creative midfielders in the world but if there’s no one there to put it in then what’s the point?
Todd Boehly says they’re going to stick with him and I actually believe him. Funnily enough Tottenham have been doing better without Antonio Conte in the dugout but they still don’t convince me and something’s telling me to go for a Chelsea win. I hope they stick with Potter. Tottenham 0-1 Chelsea.
RESULT: Tottenham 2-0 Chelsea
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 beaten 5-2 by Anthony the Arsenal fan from Mayo in a thrilling and topsy-turvy edition of the Premier League last weekend. This time around it’s Jerry, a Kerry FC fan based in Edinburgh having a crack. Here’s their picks.
Fulham 2-1 Wolves
Everton 1-1 Aston Villa
Leeds 2-1 Southampton
Leicester 1-3 Arsenal
West Ham 2-1 Nottingham Forest
Bournemouth 1-3 Manchester City
Crystal Palace 0-2 Liverpool
Tottenham 2-1 Chelsea
*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.
RESULTS:
It’s a win for Lawro this week after a stonking Friday and Saturday for our top tipster. The Liverpool legend got things off to a blinding start by correctly calling Friday night’s 1-1 draw between Fulham and Wolves before getting correct results in the wins for Everton, Leeds, Arsenal, West Ham and Man City the following day for a total of eight points.
For our challenger, Jerry, there was a five-point haul after correctly guessing five results, but no correct scores. That all means there’s £/€100 on the line next time around…
The latest football odds are on PaddyPower.com right now
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