Premier League Predictions, Week 12
Welcome back to the weekly predictions, Premier League fans! Another week come and gone already. We had some more European football in the midweek, but it's back to English action tomorrow and Sunday.
Last week, much like Arsenal and Tottenham, my glorious start to the season finally hit a major snag. The pair of North London rivals both suffering their first losses of the season last week was not something I foresaw, although I will give myself partial credit for suspecting Newcastle would take points off Arsenal (especially because, had the Toons' controversial goal been chalked off, I would have gotten my 'draw' prediction right). The pair of Manchester wins, United over Fulham and City over Bournemouth, I did get correct, but could not have been more caught off guard by Luton Town's shock draw (and near victory) vs. Liverpool. All in all, it was a 2.5/5 week for me, which takes me to a 27.5/35 mark overall.
Now, the matches are less than 12 hours from kicking off, so let's not waste any more time fudging the numbers. Here are your 5 for Week 12!
Wolverhampton Wanderers vs. Tottenham Hotspur
This is now the second straight calendar week that Tottenham play on Monday night, then have the early kickoff the following Saturday. 4.5 days is a good amount of rest, but it's still bizarre scheduling. Anywho...you wouldn't blame Spurs fans for fearing the wheels might be coming off after the Chelsea loss on Monday. Two of their players (rightfully) sent off, two significant starters picking up injuries that will keep them out until the new year, an emphatic end to their unbeaten season; plus, an early afternoon road date in Wolverhmapton is not the easiest place to right the ship. But I don't know, this has been such a resilient bunch in the start to Big Ange's tenure, and something tells me they'll find a way to pull a tough one out here.
The Pick: Tottenham, 2-1
Manchester United vs. Luton Town
Manchester United finally got back to winning ways last weekend with a late Bruno Fernandes winner, but not without controversy, and not for long: their epic meltdown at Copenhagen on Wednesday sent them to 9 losses out of their first 17 matches, the highest mark since the last time they were relefated from the league. A home loss to minnows Luton Town would very possibly endanger Erik ten Hag's job status and send this season to new lows. But fear not, Red Devils: I am highly skeptical the Hatters will be able to replicate their impressively compact and opportunistic performance against yet another big side hungry for a win at home.
The Pick: Man United, 3-0
Arsenal vs. Burnley
Arsenal also suffering their first loss meant there are no unbeaten teams left in the Premier League. It also meant the Gunners slipping to 4th place, an all-too-familiar feeling of ceding the top spot to Manchester City. It's still very tight at the top, though, and Arsenal have it all to play for. I imagine the controversial nature of their first defeat means they will come out very fired up this weekend, which is bad news for relegation-threated Burnley.
The Pick: Arsenal, 4-0
Liverpool vs. Brentford
This time last week, I was singing the praises of Liverpool, who looked like title contenders reborn. 2 games and 7 days later, fans are wondering whether they might be in for an intense Top 4 battle than a title charge; the Reds looked uninspired against Luton Town and downright hapless in their Europa League showdown against Toulouse yesterday, though they were robbed of a (perhaps undeserving) point with some more VAR tomfoolery. Brentford has been a thorn in Jurgen Klopp's side since they joined the league, and his men will need to much, much better than they've been this past week to get all 3 points. I'm going to predict they will be, but if they drop this one at home, it might be a while before I predict a Liverpool win again.
The Pick: Liverpool, 3-2
Chelsea vs. Manchester City
Despite a somewhat uneven start to the Premier League campaign with multiple starters injured, Manchester City is now back in a spot they're exceedingly familiar with: atop the Premier League table. Chelsea has also been in a spot they became too familar with over the last season-plus, which is mired below the Top 10. That said, ending Tottenham's perfect season comprehensively in their home stadium? Maybe it was a lucky result of facing 9 men for the majority match....but maybe it was the wickedly talented crop of new faces finally starting to gel. I expect a focused and energetic Chelsea in this match, but I do think expecting them to now take points off Manchester City is a bit too steep of a step up.
The Pick: Man City, 2-1
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