Premier League Predictions, Week 2

© Micah Veldkamp, 2019

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Welcome back to your Premier League predictions! I know we only just returned to the season, so I should be thankful for what we have, but it already feels like it's been too long since we watched some quality soccer. With only the minnows playing in domestic tournaments and the Champions League this week, most of us didn't have the midweek interruption we've gotten accustomed to in the era of compressed schedules.

But fortunately, we return to action mañana, and this time all teams will be playing, as Aston Villa, Burnley, Manchester City and Manchester United all make their season debut. For those of you keeping track of my season debut, I got off to a sizzling start on my predictions for 2020-21. Arsenal, Chelsea, and Liverpool beating their underdog opponents? Check. Wolves beating Sheffield United 2-0? Nailed it. Tottenham underachieving in the season opener? Yessir. My only blemish was predicting Everton would split the points with Tottenham, when I should have forecasted them grabbing a W, but with my dead-on scoreline for the Wolves win, I'll give myself a 4.5/5 for Week 1, which I can live with.

Now, the matches are less than 12 hours away from starting, so let's not waste any time singing our praises. Here are your 5 for Week 2!

Leeds United vs. Fulham

Well. Leeds and Marcelo Bielsa promised high-energy, high-pressing, high-octane attacking football when they joined the Premier League. They certainly delivered in Game 1. There was a lot of breathless excitement from media outlets about how the Championship champions might challenge the Premier League champions, but most likely dismissed those as pregame fluff hype. Yet, there Leeds was, equalizing Liverpool on three different occasions, before ultimately falling 4-3 only because of a last-minute penalty. Now, in the season's first matchup of two newly promoted teams, they'll face a Fulham side who got waxed by Arsenal on opening day. It's unlikely they play that poorly again, and unlikely Leeds play that well again, but still, you've got to imagine they'll stay the better side.

The Pick: Leeds, 4-2

Manchester United vs. Crystal Palace

Liverpool's title, Leeds' return to the Premier League and Chelsea's megawatt signings hogged the spotlight this offseason. but quietly, this is likely the most excited Manchester United fans have been for a season in several years. Their 2019-20 fortunes turned almost immediately after the arrival of midseason signing Bruno Fernandes, closing the season with a 14-match unbeaten streak, going from 7th place to 3rd place in the process, and adding a Europa League semifinal run on top of it. Throw in the signing of Donny Van de Beek to an already-firing front line of Fernandes, Marcus Rashford, Mason Greenwood, and Anthony Martial, and expectations are high for this young attack. Barring any additional signings, there may be matches this year where the back line gets the Red Devils in the trouble, but that likely won't be the case against Crystal Palace. Expect goals, but expect a United victory.

The Pick: Manchester United, 3-1

Arsenal vs. West Ham

Speaking of teams with cause for optimism: Arsenal! We talked last week about the positive trend of the Gunners' play to finish last season, and their wonderful 2020 continued with a resounding 3-0 victory on the road at Fulham last week. The suddenly defensively-strong Arsenal side will return to the friendly (albeit fan-less) confines of Emirates Stadium to face yet another London opponent in West Ham, who lost their opening match to a lowly Newcastle side. I'm sure Arsenal fans, burnt so much over the last several year, might still be bracing themselves for an inexplicable letdown; but in truth, West Ham really may not be much better than Fulham

The Pick: Arsenal, 2-0

Chelsea vs. Liverpool

I don't know what's the bigger disappointment, that this fixture won't have fans present, or that NBC isn't even showing it on TV. This is undoubtedly the most-anticipated matchup of this season's early days, the reigning champions visiting the new-look Chelsea, fresh off a summer spending spree for the ages. Both sides got off to a winning start, as expected, though neither's victory went quite as smoothly as they would have hoped. Chelsea, without many of their big-name signings available for injury reasons, spent the better part of their 3-1 win being outplayed by Brighton, and as mentioned above, Liverpool needed a late penalty by Mo Salah to stave off of a relentless Leeds side. It will be interesting to see whether that 4-3 win by the Reds was a perfect storm of opening-day sloppiness against a high-pressing opponent, or a genuine harbinger of defensive problems to come. With just a one-match sample size, I'm certainly inclined to think it's more the former, but still, you can't feel good about your back line conceding 3 goals to Leeds, only to then face a Chelsea attack fronted by Timo Werner. I actually think this may be a draw, but if Chelsea end up winning this one, I'll kick myself for not picking it, so I'm going to pick it.

The Pick: Chelsea, 2-1

Wolverhampton Wanderers vs. Manchester City

By the time most teams will have played 2 matches, Manchester City finally open their season on Monday night, against a side that beat them twice last season. Wolverhampton was a surprise success their first season in the Premier League (2018-19), but struggled at the start of last season. The match that sparked their turnaround in form? A stunning 2-0 victory over reigning champions City, thanks to two late goals from Adama Traore. The indicator of Wolves' staying power in the Premier League and in the Europa League was wen they followed that up with a second win over City in December, and now here we are, talking about them as a legitimate European contender again after an impressive 2-0 opening day victory. Yet, surely lightning can't strike a 3rd time, right? Surely not. I expect this will be one that takes City some time to adjust back to the rate of gameplay, getting me excited as Wolves take an early lead, only for the Blues to find their footing in the 2nd half and win.

The Pick: Manchester City, 2-1