Premier League Predictions, Week 1

Welcome back, everyone! Welcome back to Premier League football, and more importantly, welcome back to yet another season of your weekly Premier League predictions!

If it feels like we just got done breaking down last season's games, that's because, we basically did just get done. When COVID-19 created a three-month break in the latter stages of the season, the Premier League had to frantically finish the season in a compressed month-and-a-half span, meaning a shorter summer break. Hence, here we are, back in league play, just 6 weeks after last season's finale. There will be some new faces, not just on the three teams promoted into the Premier League for 2020-21, but in the form of some blockbuster signings for various clubs. One thing there will NOT be, however, is fans in stadiums, at least in the first month or so in play.

In case you needed a refresher on my performance last season, I wish I could say I was as consistently lethal as my favorite club Liverpool were in clinching their Premier League title. I wish I could say that. But what I regret to inform you is that I finished with a season tally of 90/145, which comes out to almost exactly 92%. Not horrible, but far from ideal. I believe I can top that measure this year, and it's what I'll be gunning for!

Now, the matches are less than 12 hours away from starting, so let's not waste any time with baseless optimism. Here are your 5 for Week 1!

Fulham vs. Arsenal

Newly-promoted Fulham unfortunately won't have fans in Craven Cottage to celebrate their return to the Premier League, but they won't lack for excitement as they host London rivals Arsenal. Several major clubs (read: every major club not named Liverpool and Manchester City) spent much of last year inconsistent and underachieving, only to finish the season on a positive upward trend, but perhaps none were as extreme an example of this as Arsenal were. The Gunners sacked manager Unai Emery in December, recorded multiple embarrassing results, and finished outside the Top 4 for the fourth consecutive season. However, they also recorded only 4 league losses (out of 18 matches) in the calendar year 2020, and finished that season by knocking off Manchester City en route to claim the FA Cup, and have since "kicked off" this season by beating title holders Liverpool in the Community Shield. There's a lot of reason for optimism around the Gunner camp these days, not least of which can be tied to noticeable improvement in the back line. That back line might be tested somewhat by Aleksandar Mitrović in company, but I'm going to guess any goal Fulham puts in will be a late consolation one, after Arsenal control most proceedings.

The Pick: Arsenal, 2-1

Liverpool vs. Leeds United

The champions kick off their title defense with an exciting opponent: old rivals Leeds, making their 16-year return to the Premier League after barnstorming the Championship season in '19-20'. If most pundits and managers are to be believed, this Leeds side is not to be trifled with; Marcelo Bielsa is a known genie of attacking football, and Leeds would be far from the first newly-promoted side to punch above their weight in their first yer up in the League. Their press could cause Liverpool some issues if the latter isn't focused, specifically since they won't have the raucous Anfield crowd to lift them. That said, Liverpool has been here before; just last season, they opened at Anfield against the defending Championship winners (also known for energetic, attacking football), and throttled Norwich City. The year before that, curious eyes tuned into their season opener to see if the overwhelming preseason hype would be too much for them, only to watch them humiliate West Ham 4-0. I expect this one might go the way many of Liverpool's preseason matched have: a slow, sloppy start for the Reds, but thorough domination from about the 40-minute mark onwards.

The Pick: Liverpool, 3-1

Tottenham Hotspur vs. Everton

It may not win the storyline battle-- Arsenal-Fulham are the Premier League's first match, and Liverpool-Leeds pit England's two top league winners from 2019-20 against each other --but this actually may be the juiciest fixture of the weekend. In Tottenham Hotspur and Everton, you have two sides who finished a disappointing season with an encouraging slew of results post-COVID Restart, who genuinely believe they can crash the Top 4 party and have the signings from the last couple years to prove it, and who have two world-class managers in Jose Mourinho and Carlo Ancelotti. Fittingly, I'm predicting a draw. Often times, I default to a draw because I'm so unconfident in what will happen. This time, I genuinely think it's what will happen. These clubs on paper are both talented, but will need a little time to gel if they're going to reach their potential and I think that will be reflected in this opener.

The Pick: Draw, 1-1

Sheffield United vs. Wolverhampton Wanderers

One low-key fun matchup is this showdown of 2019-20's two biggest overachievers. Once upon a time, there was a very legitimate chance that both Wolverhampton (in their second year back in the Premier League) and Sheffield United (in their first year back) could finish in the Top 4 and clinch a Champions League spot. Alas, COVID-19 ruined those dreams, as both sides, Sheffield in particular, sputtered after the restart and crawled to the finish line in 7th and 9th place. But that likely means both clubs are all the more rejuvenated to swing for the fences again this season, and in Chris Wilder and Nuno Espírito Santo, both have managers more than capable of taking them to new heights. That said, if there isn't room for both to punch above their weight again, it seems the obvious answer to who has more staying power is Wolves, who boast a compact back line and two of the most attacking players in the league. Accordingly, I think they'll come out top in this one.

The Pick: Wolves, 2-0

Brighton & Hove Albion vs. Chelsea

Chelsea play in the final match of the weekend (if you can call Monday night the weekend, and thanks to Manchester United and Manchester City's long layoffs, the Blues don't have to share the spotlight with any other big clubs. Interestingly enough, they'll be facing a side they just met two weeks ago, in the very same stadium. Why Brighton and Chelsea played a friendly two weeks before kicking off the season against each other in the same venue, I don't know. Why fans were allowed to said friendly but NOT to the Premier League season opener, I also don't know. But what I do know is that Brighton almost surely won't replicate their 1-1 draw. Sure, Chelsea's gazillion dollars' worth of signings will need some time to form a cohesive team, and they may not look all that sharp in this match. But if you're Brighton, you're only going to hang with a side boasting Timo Werner, Kai Havertz, N'Golo Kante, Hakim Ziyech, and American Hero Christian Pulisic for so long.

The Pick: Chelsea, 2-0