Premier League Predictions, Week 28
© Micah Veldkamp, 2019
Welcome back to another Premier League midweek prediction! We now have just 6 or 7 matches remaining, depending on your team's level of domestic cup involvement, and several clubs are squeezing a couple of those matches into a 4 or 5-day timeframe.
You might have noticed I missed the last weekend in predictions. I have no excuse, other than that I was #bachin' it up at a bachelor party with my #bros #arizonalyfe #poolside #tequila #springbreak
Anyways, you have literally no reason to believe me, but I promise I would have gone 4 for 5 on predictions last week, accurately predicting the Manchester teams' outcomes, as well as Arsenal's and Chelsea's. The only one I was misguided on was Liverpool-Tottenham, in which I anticipated a draw, which we very nearly got.
That brings my season total to a mark of 70 for 110. With a week off, and some healthy sunburn on my face (and neck and back and shoulders and arms and...), I am reinvigorated and ready to get back in the swing of these predictions. It's a good thing I'm writing this Tuesday night, as I almost certainly would have inaccurately picked Manchester United over Wolverhampton. Now, the other games are less than 24 hours away from kicking off, so let's not waste any more time. Here are your 5 for Week 28!
Tottenham Hotspur vs. Crystal Palace
Tottenham are in the middle of a horrendous stretch, losing 4 of their last 5, and winless in nearly 2 months. Their last time out was Sunday, where they were mere minutes from a draw against Liverpool, which undoubtedly would have been seen as a positive result, before Hugo Lloris and Toby Alderweireld conspired to boot the ball in their own net. Crystal Palace are sneaky good, and are not going to be the easiest side to regain form against, but they're just erratic enough that methinks Spurs finally get the evasive win here.
The Pick: Tottenham, 2-1
Manchester City vs. Cardiff City
Manchester City, who has a match in hand, had to sit idly by this past weekend and watch Liverpool reclaim 1st place temporarily. Tomorrow is the Citizens' chance to take back what they will feel they deserve. They won't have the sternest of tests, going against the 3rd-to-last placed team in the league. There's an argument to be made that Cardiff will be fighting to poke their head out of the relegation zone, but it's likely they exerted all that effort in their near-miss against Chelsea last weekend. Certainly Neil Warnock exerted all his energy barking at the refs afterwards.
The Pick: Manchester City, 3-0
Southampton vs. Liverpool
Liverpool seems to be relying on luck a little too much for title contenders these days, but who can blame them? It keeps working! The theme of 2019 for the Reds has been very few losses, but far too often making a meal out of a match they should win comfortably. On the road, in a short week, against a club that's traditionally troubled them? Don't expect much different. Liverpool will get all 3 points in this one, but Southampton will stick around a little too long for Merseyside fans.
The Pick: Liverpool, 2-0
Everton vs. Arsenal
For the teams not involved in the two-horse title race, this might be the biggest matchup of the weekend. Arsenal has capitalized on good form and others' poor form to quietly climb into 3rd place in the league. It's a remarkable feat for a side that very rarely looked like competing for the Top 4 this season, but they're not done competing yet, as mere points separate them from 6th-placed Chelsea. Of the 4 sides vying in the 'Top 4 logjam,' the Gunners certainly face the stiffest test this week, playing Saturday against an Everton team that has recently gotten a combined 4 points off matches against Liverpool and Chelsea. Arsenal is in great form, but it's hard to see them coming out of Goodison Park with 3 points, especially against a side that is not daunted by the big game.
The Pick: Draw, 2-2
Chelsea vs. West Ham
The aforementioned Chelsea plays 2 matches this week, tomorrow against Brighton and then this number on the following Monday. On paper, both should be easy wins for the Blues, but in reality, nothing has been easy for a team that is perhaps in its worst form of the year at the absolute worst possible time. Brighton and West Ham are no pushovers, either, the former being the ones that famously took points off of Manchester United, Arsenal and Tottenham, and the latter playing some of the best football (relative to quality) in the league since September. In the end, regardless of what happens tomorrow, I do think Chelsea gets 3 points at home in the London derby on Monday; not because I think West Ham is incapable of pulling the upset, but because I am confident of how desperately Chelsea will need said points.
The Pick: Chelsea, 1-0