Premier League Predictions, Week 23

Welcome back to the weekly predictions, Premier League fans! I should probably just rename it biweekly predictions at this point, right? Yet again we enter into a Premier League weekend mere days after the last slate of games finished up. Fortunately for the well-being of the players, and unfortunately for the casual fan, this is the last week in a while with the incessant doubling-up.

My predictions have been poor, but they've at least been consistently poor. And this season, consistency is honestly the most impressive thing you can ask for. I once again started strong, correctly predicting victories for both Manchester teams-- though admittedly, my 2-1 ManU win was slightly off from their actual 9-0 victory. I then once again proceeded to collapse like a flan in a cupboard, with Leicester, Brighton and Chelsea all gaining wins I did not foresee happening. So, yet another 2/5 week takes me to 43.5/95 on the season, which means my hope of at least being on the better side of 50% 100 games in is a pipe dream.

But, the matches are less than 12 hours away from starting back up, so let's not waste any more time strolling down the boulevard of broken dreams. Here are your 5 for Week 23!

Aston Villa vs. Arsenal

Poor Arsenal had such a good thing going before the double whammy of David Luiz and questionable officiating helped the wheels come off. The Gunners entered into Tuesday's match riding a 7-game unbeaten streak, and looked set to continue heading into halftime with a 1-0 lead. Then one tackle by Luiz just before the end of the half simultaneously resulted in a penalty for Wolves and a red card for the defender, and a 2nd Wolves goal and 2nd Arsenal red card in the next half spelled the latter's doom. I'm still inclined to think this was an aberration; though Aston Villa are certainly more than capable of winning this match, as evidenced by their 3-0 win at the Emirates back in November, I'm going to still give the Gunners' form the benefit of the doubt until officially proven otherwise

The Pick: Arsenal, 2-1

Manchester United vs. Everton

Well, I think it's safe to say a lot of people imagined Manchester United would get back to their winning ways against Southampton. I think it's safer to say nobody expected it to be to the tune of a 9-0 scoreline. But Southampton's 2nd-minute red card doomed them from a start, and an early goal deficit continued to compound to the tune of yet another 0-9 defeat, their second in as many seasons. The scoreline itself may have been flukish, but the result itself wasn't: Manchester United deserved to win, and bounced back from a two-match winless mini-slump in the best way imaginable. Liverpool's shock loss to Brighton only buoyed the Red Devils' title hopes, too, and now they'll try to keep the good mojo going against Liverpool's crosstown rivals. Everton, for their part, also bounced back nicely from their mini-slump, notching a 2-1 win against a tricky Leeds side. Still, they'll need to be much better against United than they were in their last 3 matches to come away with any points, and though they're capable of it, I'm not sure I believe they're going to be.

The Pick: Manchester United, 3-1

Wolverhampton Wanderers vs. Leicester City

Wolves have never really been in real relegation trouble at any point this season, but they also have never really been able to capture the magic of their last two seasons at any point, either. Red cards and all, their win over Arsenal could have been a step in the right direction. The going doesn't get any easier for them, though, with Leicester City now on the docket. The Foxes avoided had dropped 5 points in 2 matches, but avoided a potential trap game with a solid win at Fulham, and thanks to Liverpool's loss, remain in 3rd place in the league. There's no question Leicester has more to gain from winning and more to lose from losing this match. But I just feel like for a team that's prone to mental lapses as much as they are, Wolves are the exact kind of side that can sneak a point off of them.

The Pick: Draw, 1-1

Sheffield United vs. Chelsea

This is just one of three matches this week that pit a team fighting for the Top 4 against a team in the relegation zone. While West Ham battle Fulham, and Tottenham try to right the ship against West Brom, Chelsea travel to Sheffield to try and preserve their unbeaten record under Thomas Tuchel against the league's last-placed team. So far my skepticism in how quickly Chelsea's fortunes would turn around under Tuchel has proven to be misplaced, as the Blues have followed up a tenure-opening draw with two victories, the most recent on the road against Tottenham. Smart money says that run continues this weekend, on account of the whole, you know, last-placed team thing. But I say not so fast- yes, Sheffield United has won just 3 Premier League matches all year. But all 3 of those wins have come in the last 5 games, and the only two losses in that stretch were competitive ones against Manchester City and Tottenham. There seems to be a switch flipped in the Blades' form and though it may be too little, too late for their survival hopes, it could be enough to get an upset point against a side still trying to confirm their identity.

The Pick: Draw, 1-1

Liverpool vs. Manchester City

It's become the Premier League's most-anticipated matchup over the last 3 seasons, and it's hard to see that changing any time soon, but Liverpool's midweek futility against Brighton took sure deflated some of the hype for the Spring 2021 edition of the New Northwest Derby (TM). Man City come into this one on a crazy nine-match winning streak and even crazier nine-match clean sheet streak, but just a few days ago, there was reason to believe both might be in jeopardy this weekend. After a brutal late December-mid January, Liverpool had seemed to turn a corner, not only notching important victories over Tottenham and West Ham, but brining back some of the style and class they'd been lacking in their winless slump. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, they reverted to their form of yesterweeks in a listless loss to underdogs Brighton, their second consecutive loss at home after nearly 4 calendar years of not losing at Anfield. That loss, in the eyes of many, has put City out of Liverpool's reach regardless of what happens in this match, and I'm inclined to agree.

Let's not kid ourselves: Liverpool is capable of winning this match. Injuries and all, this is still a fairly elite XI with one of the best managers in football. Besides, as inexplicably poor as the Reds have been against the bottom 6 teams in the league (5 points out of 21, -1 goal differential), they've been equally impressive against the top 6 in the league (14 points out of 18, +8 goal differential). But with key parts, especially in the back line, still missing in action, it's just hard to see how they can make the drastic leap in quality necessary to beat, or even draw, a Manchester City team that has been absolutely dominant and suffocating of late. Home field advantage would be a nice thing to fall back on, but as Burnley and now Brighton have showed, an empty Anfield is no longer anything for any team to fear, let alone perhaps the World's best team at the moment.

The Pick: Manchester City, 2-0