Premier League Predictions, Week 2

Welcome back to the weekly predictions, Premier League fans! It's always hard to believe yet another season is underway each time a new one kicks off, and this one felt particularly hard to believe, as it seems like Week 38 of last season bled seamlessly into a summer filled with international football, the Olympics, and more. But we are, indeed, back!

In fact, we've been back for a week now! For Week 1, as excited as I was to have the Premier League back, I decided to forgo match predictions in favor of my annual full-season projections. But now it's time to lock in, and see if I can do better than last season's 65% (97/150) clip, easily a personal record in this piece's 6-year history.

Now, the matches are less than 24 hours from kicking off, so let's not waste any more time puffing our chest out. Here are your 5 for Week 2!

Brighton & Hove Albion vs. Manchester United

We're 2 for 2 so far in the season with the league putting a very tasty matchup as the early kickoff (7:30 ET). Brighton and Manchester United have given us several tasty matchups in recent years, and in truth, have been at a similar level in the last three seasons at least. Both clubs started with wins, though it's not hard to argue all wins are not equal; Man United started their season with a relatively shoddy home win vs. Fulham, earning 3 points only off a late winner from new signing Joshua Zirkzee. Brighton, meanwhile, traveled across the country to wax Everton off their home ground to the tune of a 3-0 beating. I constantly am bullish on Brighton's ability in matchups against big teams, often to my detriment. But I am once again buying on the Gulls, at least early in the season. Enough to predict them beating United? NHot sure I'd go that far, but enough to expect at least a point over their dreary travelers from the north.

The Pick: Draw, 1-1

Tottenham Hotspur vs. Everton

Two of the more famous names in English football came into the year hoping, to varying extents, for rosier fortunes than last season gave them. Everton have flirted with the relegation zone each of the last three seasons, but escaped once again in May, even with a league-instituted 6-point deduction, and Tottenham's Top 4 push fell apart in the final weeks after starting the season with the longest unbeaten streak in the league. However, both clubs were left very unhappy on opening weekend; Tottenham conceded a late equalizer and settled for shared points against newly-promoted Leicester, and Everton's shellacking by Brighton at home has them in last place early on. I expect much more focus and perhaps even desperate energy from both clubs, but I fear the news isn't likely going to get better for Everton: Tottenham are the superior team by some margin, and won't be dropping points in their home opener.

The Pick: Tottenham, 3-0

Manchester City vs. Ipswich Town

Manchester City did get a good amount of pressure from Chelsea and their 115 players in the season opener, but the four-time reigning champions professionally closed out a 2-0 win, to pick up right where they left off from their 9-match winning streak to close last season. On the absolute opposite pole of the 'money and resources' spectrum are newcomers Ipswich Town. The Tractors, who have the lowest wage bill of any team this season, were still playing third league football just two years ago, when this weekend's opponents were on their way to winning their 2nd straight Premier League title. Ipswich's meteoric rise under manager Kieran McKenna has been one of the best storylines in English football, and the minnows punched above their weight in their lively opener against Liverpool (sheesh, what an intense welcome to the top division) before getting outclassed in the 2nd half. I expect they'll come into the Etihad with plenty of pluck, eager to prove they're not scared of big bad City, but I think they'll find it even harder to get out of their own half than they did for much of the Liverpool match.

The Pick: Man City, 3-0

Aston Villa vs. Arsenal

Arsenal, who led the majority of the 2022-23 season and then were in the title race up until the final day last season, return the core of their last two title challengers and are desperate to get over the hump at the third time of asking. This very matchup will give them an early chance to prove their mettle. Aston Villa were the surprise stars of the league last season, joining the title chase for a large portion of the year, finishing Top 4 for the first time in nearly 30 years, and yes, tripping up Arsenal twice in their title sprint. It's not a hyperbole to say Villa were the only thing standing in the way of the gunners and that elusive Premier League trophy last season, and in their opening weekend match, won comprehensively in London against fellow upstarts West Ham. I do think Villa is up for it again this season, but I believe even more so that this Arsenal squad will be lasered-in on winning these exact types of matches.

The Pick: Arsenal, 1-0

Liverpool vs. Brentford

One of the biggest, if not THE biggest, storyline from Week 1 was the beginning of the Arne Slot era at Liverpool. The Reds playing without larger-than-life manager Jürgen Klopp on the sidelines still feels surreal, but their new boss from Feyenoord is here, albeit with not much known about his coaching career to date. He passed his first test last week at Ipswich pretty easily; after a rough first half in the Southeast, he made some tactical changes that saw Liverpool dominate the 2nd half en route to a 2-0 win. Brentford, whose manager Thomas Frank was among the names considered for the Liverpool job, will represent a tougher test, but I think Slot's tots can make it 2 for 2 in front of an energized Anfield crowd.

The Pick: Liverpool, 2-1