Premier League Predictions, Week 21

© Micah Veldkamp, 2026

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Welcome back to the twice-a-weekly predictions, Premier League fans! Yep, it's me again. We're getting nice and familiar in this festive holiday fixture season, aren't we? But I promise this is the last you'll hear from me for a little while, as we get a weekend off from league action this Saturday/Sunday.

If you can't remember my picks from a whopping 4 days ago, my short-lived red-hot streak came to an end in the first weekend of January. It wasn't a disastrous outing by any means: I was correct in my belief that Aston Villa and Arsenal would win their matches to stay in 3rd and 1st place, respectively, and my hunch that Fulham would take points off Liverpool was correct, even if I thought they might win the damn thing as opposed to draw it. But Leeds, too, settled for a draw against old rivals Manchester United when I thought they would win, and United's rivals Man City did not in fact sweep Chelsea away easily, but rather settled for a 1-1 draw. It was a 2.5/5 week for me, which sees me starting 2026 off at 52/76 mark.

But, the matches are less than 24 hours from kicking back off, so let's not waste any more time forecasting doom and gloom for the new year. Here are your 4 for Week 21!

Crystal Palace vs. Aston Villa

The first match of the midweek "match weekend" is an exciting showdown between the Premier League's 'spoiler team' for the third year running, and the side I expected to be the spoiler team this year. For a while there, it seemed like Crystal Palace were going to make me look like a savant; it wasn't all that long ago that they were sitting Top 4 in the league, Top 8 in the Europa Conference League, and in the quarterfinals in the League Cup. But a brutal December and January stretch has seen them win just 2 matches in all competitions since Thanksgiving weekend, and amidst a crowded table, tumble all the way down to 14th in the league. Aston Villa, meanwhile, responded brilliantly from their first loss in months with a resounding 3-1 win over Nottingham Forest. There's no question they're in superior form at the moment, and were this match played at Villa Park, I think I'd pick them to get all 3 points. But I still think the talent and coaching gap between these two sides is small enough that I can see Palace coming away with at least something tomorrow night.

The Pick: Draw, 2-2

Fulham vs. Chelsea

This edition of the West London Derby finds both sides coming in off of exciting draws. Fulham's Harrison Reed blasted in one of the goals of the season in the 97th minute to nullify Liverpool's would-be winner from just a few minutes prior, while against all odds, Chelsea found a last-minute equalizer at the Etihad in their first match since dismissing Enzo Maresca. It was a bright spot in what has been a frustrating season for the Blues, one which started with title dreams but sees them instead simply fighting for a Top 4 spot once again. Meanwhile, Marcos Silva's Fulham have sputtered more this season than last year, when they were pushing for European places for much of the season, but a 5-match unbeaten run sees them creeping up the table. In fact, with a win in this one, the cottagers could draw level on points with Chelsea! I don't think it will happen-- though it wouldn't shock me -- but I do think they will play Chelsea to a competitive draw in a much tighter contest than when their rivals beat them 3-0 at Stamford Bridge back in August.

The Pick: Draw, 1-1

Manchester City vs. Brighton & Hove Albion

Heading into Christmas, Arsenal's league lead had shrunk to two, Manchester City were on a tear, and the general consensus seemed to be that Pep Guardiola's City might just be the team to beat again. But everything since the holiday has been tough sledding for the 6-time champions...a narrow escape at lowly Nottingham Forest followed by two successive draws against sub-Top 4 teams, and now news of star defenders Josko Gvardiol and Ruben Dias both to be out for months with injuries. There's a long way to go in this season yet, and they still sit just 4 points behind Arsenal, but you get the feeling they're gonna need a win soon, and this next matchup is against a club that has proven to be a thorn in their side time and time again. The good news is, this is not the tricky Brighton team of the last several years past: the Gulls still sit in the Top 10, but have not really looked the 'European competition spoiler' part that so many thought they may play preseason. They did get back to winning ways for the first time since November last Saturday, but that was at home against lowly Burnley. I would not be surprised to see this be tough sledding once more for City, but I would be surprised by anything but a City victory.

The Pick: Man City, 2-1

Arsenal vs. Liverpool

Each of these clubs' last 5 league meetings had the feel of being one leg of a "Premier League Final," given how tightly they have contested the last two Premier League races. Coming into this season, the widespread sentiment was that the league title race would essentially be contested between these two, and when Liverpool won the Week 3 matchup at Anfield on Dominik Szoboszlai's thunderstrike, it felt like one huge step forward for the reigning champs to repeat. But my, how their two fates have diverged since that August clash: Arsenal have gone on to have a nearly flawless season since then, apart from a brief mini-slump in early December, and sit 4 points in front of the Premier League, alone at the top of the Champions League table, and in the League Cup semifinals. Liverpool, meanwhile, have fallen into a pit of despair, eliminated in the latter tournament already, and barely clinging on to Top 4 in the league and Top 8 in the Champions League. Now, the Reds are in the midst of a 9-match unbeaten run, their longest of the season, and after some of the shocking lows they have already faced, that's not nothing. But opening 2026 with back-to-back frustrating draws against bottom-half teams Leeds and Fulham have fully re-established the dour mood on Merseyside. I am far less gloomy about the prospects of Liverpool's future (or about Arne Slot as manager) than many Liverpool fans are, but I am struggling to see an angle to be confident about the Reds in this matchup. I would say big game motivation might play a role, but if you don't think Arsenal-- playing a consistent bogey team in front of a home crowd with the opportunity to widen their league lead --will be the more fired-up of the two, I don't know what to tell you. I would say that all the individual parts on Liverpool's roster are still better than those on Arsenal and thus you never know what could happen, but with the injury absences the champions have, I'm not even sure that's true at this point. Maybe this will be the exciting, competitive match it was in each of the last couple seasons, but I unfortunately think the much likelier result is that it's a route 1 win for Arsenal, whose strengths perfectly coincide with Liverpool's weaknesses. 

The Pick: Arsenal, 3-0