Premier League Predictions, Week Whatever

Welcome back to your Premier League predictions! Yes, you can pinch yourself, rub your eyes, scratch your knee-length beard and check your watch all you want, but it’s true, the Premier League is really back this week!

In case you don’t remember, this next paragraph is typically where I would recap the other soccer that happened this past week, but, as you might be aware, English soccer hasn’t been happening for the last several months. It’s weird to look back at my last prediction piece, like a moment frozen in time. Poor young Daniel had no idea what in the world was about to happen; he thought the Premier League would proceed as normal. Even now, after months of quarantine and protests in the streets, the League still isn’t really proceeding as normal, as it will be played in empty stadiums with socially distant benches and managers, in a compressed schedule. This prediction piece in fact technically spans multiple gameweeks. But at least we have soccer back.

Speaking of my last piece, if you recall allllll the way back that long, I got just a couple predictions right. The last Premier League action did in fact see Liverpool defeat Bournemouth, and Chelsea defeat Everton. However, I didn’t get either scoreline correct, and I also underestimated both Manchester United and Leicester City, who scored key wins over Manchester City and Aston Villa. My 5th predicted match ended up being the first Premier League match postponed due to COVID-19, so I had a score of 2/4 on the week. That brings me to a fittingly bizarre 62/99 on the year. Now, the matches are less than 24 hours away from kicking back off, so let's not waste any more time dwelling on the state of football. Here are your 5 for Week 26.5-27!

Manchester City vs. Arsenal

The first match suspended for COVID concerns is the first one back. As I mentioned way back in March, this could be a fascinating one. There's no reason to pick against the Citizens in this one. They have the talent advantage, they're on their home stadium, they have everything to play for since the League Cup is over and won, and Champions League qualification may be in jeopardy due to their ban... and yet? I am a believer in the Arteta turnaround: Arsenal haven't lost a Premier League match in 2020, and they are playing noticeably better. Furthermore, their manager was hired away from City's staff; I have to imagine that familiarity helps them against tomorrow’s opponents. I'm going with a surprise draw here.

The Pick: Draw, 2-2

Tottenham Hotspur vs. Manchester United

The last time we saw these teams, Tottenham was faffing about in a draw with Burnley, and Manchester United completed a season sweep of defending champions Manchester City. It’s been a weird season for both, and Jose Mourinho is more than capable of pulling together a win over his old team, but under normal circumstances at least, the Red Devils have shown a propensity for showing up in the biggest matches this season.

The Pick: Manchester United, 2-0

Watford vs. Leicester City

When the season broke off, Nigel Pearson was in the midst of rehabbing Watford’s season. The Hornets were a distant last place when Pearson took over, and have since more than doubled their point total, including a famous win over champions-elect Liverpool. Their upcoming opponents are ones that Pearson is familiar with: Leicester, whose Premier League season he rehabbed back in 2014-15. The Foxes have had a tremendous season this year, and will be looking for a positive result to maintain their Champions League trajectory. As with all matches, it’s going to be difficult to determine how the lack of fans will affect that result. I’m going to take the cowardly route and predict a draw.

The Pick: Draw, 1-1

Aston Villa vs. Chelsea

Yet another matchup between a Champions League-bound club vs. a relegation-bound club, but unlike Watford, Villa don’t have much of a positive trajectory. Last time we saw the Birmingham club, they were having their doors blown off by Leicester City. Their hope will be that the long layoff disrupted the form of the better clubs, but I’m rolling with a young (and likely rejuvenated) Chelsea team.

The Pick: Chelsea, 4-1

Everton vs. Liverpool

Depending on how the Manchester City-Arsenal match plays out, the Merseyside Derby could be the match in which Liverpool clinches their long-awaited Premier League title. It’s not the same as clinching it at Anfield in front of raucous fans, but I’m sure winning a trophy on their rival’s home ground would be a nice consolation prize. It will probably be moot, as it’s unlikely that Arsenal beats City, but I expect this will still be Liverpool’s day. The Reds never seem to lose this match, and without the rival fans present to jeer them, I can’t expect they’ll be anything but hyped to be back.

The Pick: Liverpool, 3-1

Premier League Predictions, Week Whatever

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