Premier League Predictions, Week 20

Welcome back to the weekly predictions, Premier League fans. I've lost the exclamation point because I'm no longer excited about football any more.

I'm mostly being dramatic, but in all seriousness, between the lack of fans and atrocious VARfficiating, this season has felt like a slog, a feeling that is only hurt by the fact that my favorite club suddenly can't win a match to save its life. How did you do this for so long, Arsenal fans? You are made of stronger stuff than I.

Anyways, the theme of my predictions last week ended up being "so close, and yet so far." I almost had my "Man United upsetting Liverpool with a win at Anfield" pick right, almost got my "Fulham taking points off of United" pick right, and came so close to nailing the scorelines in Leicester City's and Manchester City's wins over Chelsea and Crystal Palace, respectively. Yet, when all the dust settled, all I had to show for it was a 3.5/6 week. It's a small win, but that did technically bring my season average up yet again, clocking in at 37.5/80 on the season. Hey, I'll take a win wherever I can get it these days.

But, the matches are mere hours away, so let's not waste any more time with self-reassuring. Here are your 5 for Week 20!

West Bromwich Albion vs. Manchester City

Manchester City, who still have a game in hand over most of their peers near the top of the table, are starting to be deemed "champions-elect" by media and fans alike, despite technically not even being in first place. It's not hard to see why that is; they're the most proven quantity in a year full of unknowns-- and have seen relatively good injury luck as well --and are hitting their stride with 6 straight wins. I would caution against assuming anything in particular this season; City may well hit another random rut in form like they had to start the season. But it won't happen today, not against a relegation-bound side that somehow managed to get points off them once already.

The Pick: Manchester City, 4-0

Chelsea vs. Wolverhampton Wanderers

Just when it seemed as if the death of Liverpool's Anfield unbeaten streak was going to be the chief storyline to come out of last week, Chelsea sacked club icon and sitting manager Frank Lampard. The hire of respected German manager Thomas Tuchel, but no matter who Roman Abramovich and co. tapped to succeed Lampard, they would be coming into a pretty tall task, assigned to resuscitate Chelsea' seemingly dormant title hopes and win over a squad in flux that by all accounts had been pretty fond of their last manager. I think Chelsea will get their "new manager bounce" before the season is done, but it's hard for me to see it kicking in right away, against a club known for frustrating and confounding seemingly superior opponents.

The Pick: Draw, 1-1

Manchester United vs. Sheffield United

That Manchester United were disappointed to not come away with "only" 1 point from Anfield and then grind out a late win at Fulham (a place where more than one Big Six club has dropped points this season) speaks to an attitude shift in this team. However tight the race at the top may be, being in 1st place at the halfway mark of the season is no small deal. The key to remaining a title contender in the 2nd half of the season is to not drop points against lower-table teams, and their first test comes this week against last-place Sheffield United. The Blades have actually been able to put up tough fights against some of the biggest clubs this season, including a competitive 2-3 loss against ManU just over a month ago. But that's about the only bright spot from an otherwise dismal season, and even those haven't translated to anything but losses. Don't expect anything different this time.

The Pick: Manchester United, 2-0

Everton vs. Leicester City

It won't grab the most headlines (that goes for the next match in this preview), but this might be the best match of the week. Everton and Leicester have both been in or around the Top 4 virtually the entirety of this season; in fact, both have spent time as league leaders. Everton has had two matches postponed thanks to COVID, which puts them at a points disadvantage coming into this matchup, but also gives them two games in hand over fellow competitors. So there's a lot to like about the context of this match, and what's more, they're well-coached teams who play an attacking brand of football. It would be tough to know how this one is going to go down anyway, but that is only made more true by the fact that both clubs have made a habit of dropping a loss just when you're starting to trust in them. Taking that into consideration, it feels as if Leicester City (6 matches unbeaten) are more "due" for a loss. Yet, their last loss was a 2-0 home defeat to....you guessed it, Everton. I just don't see the Toffees being good enough yet to complete a season sweep over a club as good as Leicester.

The Pick: Leicester, 2-1

Tottenham Hotspur vs. Liverpool

Here's something wild: the last time this clash between the 2019 Champions League finalists was played was just over a month ago. Here's something more wild: at the time, that matchup was against the 1st and 2nd placed teams in the league. Boy, do those feel like completely different times. Back then, Liverpool's thrilling 2-1 victory felt like a major step towards a 2nd straight title, a feeling only punctuated by a 7-0 rout in the Reds' next matchup. However, seemingly out of nowhere, Liverpool has absolutely capsized, winless in their last 5 Premier League matches, and perhaps even more shockingly, goalless in their last 9 halves of league play. The month from hell was epitomized by last week's defeat to Burnley, Liverpool's first loss at home in nearly 4 calendar years coming at the hands of a lower-tier club off the back of a questionable penalty and another night of horrendously futile attacking play. It's about the worst time in years to be a Liverpool fan, to be sure, but I can't imagine Spurs fans are feeling a whole lot better. Since their lead-losing loss at Anfield in December, Tottenham sputtered to just two league wins from five since then. That said, their win over Sheffield last week was enough to put them back in the Top 5, with a game in hand, no less. And though Liverpool under Klopp has consistently been a bogey side, I have to imagine Tottenham is feeling pretty good about their chances in this one. For a club that's inexplicably forgotten to score, I'm not sure I can think of a worse situation than a high-stakes road match against a club managed by Jose Mourinho.

The Pick: Tottenham, 2-0