Premier League (Restart) Predictions, Week 33 (Kinda)

Welcome back to your Premier League predictions! Did you have time to catch your breath from our last piece? Because the league hasn’t!! THE GAME NEVER STOP.

No, but I’ll admit, this nonstop schedule finally caught me sleepin’. I fully intended to have this preview include two matches that have already been played. At the time of this writing, Leicester City and Manchester United have bashed Crystal Palace and Bournemouth, respectively. I’ll be honest: I would have predicted a Man U victory (although not by that scoreline), and I thought Palace was going to be the latest side to nab a point off of Leicester since the restart. So I’ve started my week 1/2.

Speaking of my personal scorecard….woof. Last week I did not cover myself in glory. Probably because I was too busy basking in the glory, of Liverpool’s title win. The champions had a hard crash back to earth the other day with a 4-0 rout by title rivals Manchester City. I did sort of see a City win coming, but I could not have foreseen that performance or scoreline. And what’s worse, it was one of just two correct predictions on the week— the other being Arsenal’s easy win over last-placed Norwich —as Leicester and Chelsea were stunned by their opponents, and Sheffield United finally broke their duck with a key win over Tottenham. That means, like every team in the league except for Liverpool, I still am yet to break the 70-point margin. More specifically, I’m 69.5/113 on the season.

But, matches have already been played, and will continue to be played, so no time for licking wounds! Here are your remaining 4 for pseudo-Week 33:

Wolverhampton Wanderers vs. Arsenal

With Liverpool's loss last week, and yet another win for Wolves, the latter officially are in the best Premier League form of any club in 2020. In fact, the champions provided their only loss of the year, and even that required late heroics. It can't be too surprising, then, that the small club are in an epic battle for Champions League qualification. With United throwing down the gauntlet yet again, and Leicester finally getting back to their winning ways earlier, this is a massive one, and won't be easy. Arsenal had a calamitous restart, but three successive wins in all competitions now has the Gunners looking a bit more like they did prior to the COVID-19 suspension. Wolves have plenty of pace and talent that will trouble the unreliable Arsenal back line, but with the way the latter are playing right now, you could say the exact same thing in the other direction. As such, I'm going with a high-octane draw.

The Pick: Draw, 2-2

Chelsea vs. Watford

West Ham's midweek upset of Chelsea wasn't just a massive result for the former's relegation battle, it had major ramifications at the top of the table. Coming into this weekend, Chelsea, Leicester, Manchester United and Wolves were all 3 points within each other, and given today's earlier results, Chelsea now will be desperate for a win. Unfortunately for them, so too will Watford. The Hornets have just 1 point out of 9 since the restart, and are clinging to a spot outside the relegation zone. With West Ham getting three huge points against Chelsea, Watford will be hoping to replicate that result for their own Premier League survival. However, given the Blues' torrid form up to their shock loss, I'm inclined to believe that was a one-off, rather than a new trend. It won't be easy, but Chelsea get the win here.

The Pick: Chelsea, 1-0

Liverpool vs. Aston Villa

Liverpool's first performance as sitting champions did not go the way they would have hoped, to say the least. I mentioned in my preview of the match last week that it was difficult to foretell how both they and Manchester City would approach this match, with the trophy already clinched, but I don't think anybody could have seen such a sluggish, half-hearted effort and ensuing beatdown coming. Now, two days after the fact, it's still difficult to get a sense of where Liverpool are at emotionally, because of how good we know City can be. Were the Reds up for it, but just outperformed on the day by a terrific team, or were they still exhausted and hungover by the emotional release of winning the title? If the latter, was that a one-time down day, or is it going to be the norm for emotional investment moving forward? There are reasons to believe Aston Villa could continue the raining on their title parade tomorrow. It's a short turnaround from their last outing, Villa are in the relegation zone and will be desperate to get out, and oh by the way, the first fixture wasn't exactly a cruise for Liverpool. Still, fans or no fans, Liverpool are a different side at Anfield, and it's been exceedingly rare to see two consecutive poor appearances by this side in the Klopp era.

The Pick: Liverpool, 2-0

Tottenham Hotspur vs. Everton

Tottenham and Everton have had strangely similar seasons. Though more was expected of the former, both side entered the season with optimism, only to undergo brutal form in the first half, resulting in a midseason dismissal of their manager. Both clubs then were able to hire two of the most respected managers in the world, Jose Mourinho for Tottenham, and Carlo Ancelotti for Everton. And, both clubs then managed to see an uptick in results under the tutelage of their new managers. However, since the restart, it's been a bit more uneven for one than for the other. Spurs got a big win against West Ham, but otherwise have failed to impress, settling for a draw at home vs. Manchester United, and last week, getting smacked around by an out-of-form Sheffield United. Everton, meanwhile have earned 7 points out of 9, and their draw was a tough-fought match against champions Liverpool. I would expect a Mourinho-Ancelotti clash to be a slugfest anyway, but especially given the sides' current forms, I can't see anything other than a tough draw here.

The Pick: Draw, 1-1

Premier League (Restart) Predictions, Week 33 (Kinda)

RECENT POSTS