Premier League Predictions, Week 24

© Micah Veldkamp, 2026

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Welcome back to the weekly predictions, Premier League fans! We had the final week of the league stage in the respective European tournaments this week, and if you're reading this piece with a vested interest, chances are your team made it. All 9 English teams in the Champions League, Europa League and Conference League qualified for the knockout stages, with 6 of them earning an automatic bye to the Round of 16. So I guess what I'm saying is... if you're reading this, congrats!

But it's back to domestic league action this weekend, and boy, it's hard to tell who's in more desperate need of a turnaround in form between myself and my favorite club. Against the odds, I predicted that my beloved Liverpool's winless 2026 would continue against Bournemouth, and I was even more right than I realized, as the Reds' unbeaten streak ended on a last-second goal. Given that I was right in my call of an upset and the fact that I was one kick of the game away from full credit, I'm giving myself a half-point on that one. Before you scream and protest, don't worry; I've well and truly gotten my comeuppance this week. The obvious call of Manchester City over Wolverhampton was my only fully correct prediction, as Chelsea defeated Crystal Palace, Arsenal were shocked at home by Manchester United, and my gutsy pick of a Newcastle romp over Aston Villa instead was a comprehensive loss by the Magpies to their guests.

Another dismal outing week drops my season total to 56.5/90, and my clip for the calendar year to 5/18. I'm fast approaching the .500 mark that I was soaring above at the start of holiday season. But, the matches are less than 12 hours from kicking off, so let's not waste any more time careening towards the median! Here are your 5 for Week 24!

Leeds United vs. Arsenal

It's funny, I've read two different ESPN FC pieces recently, confidently affirming that Arsenal is still the class of not only England, but all of Europe...and yet, you can forgive Gunner fans for feeling awfully anxious in the wake of recent form. They've become used to seeing their favorite team come up achingly short of glory in recent years, and a league it feels like they have been dominating is suddenly in play again, thanks to taking just 2 points from their last 9. Mikel Arteta and his team still hold all the cards, but they must start winning matches again soon, and in truth, an early road kickoff at Leeds is not the easiest fixture in which to launch a turnaround attempt. The Peacocks have been inconsistent but tricky for a lot of teams, especially at home. I continue to think there's no way Arsenal doesn't win it this year, and as such, I will continue to predict them winning even as they hit rough spots, but I do think this could be an almighty struggle to get the 3 points they desperately crave.

The Pick: Arsenal, 2-1

Liverpool vs. Newcastle United

Nothing has epitomized the paradoxical Liverpool season quite like the last two weeks. The Reds sealed a 3rd place finish in the table of the League Phase of the Champions League, with two wins by a combined 9-0 scoreline... and yet have still failed to win a Premier League match in the year 2026, sandwiching those European wins with a home draw and unbeaten-streak-ending loss to two bottom-half of the table teams. It's clear the team's-- and likely the manager's --priority has shifted to the Champions League competition at this point, and that makes sense. The only problem is it's very hard to win that tournament, and if they don't win it, there's a real chance they're not playing in it at all next season. 4 points from 15 in 2026 has seen the reigning champions slip to 6th place in the Premier League, and while there's no question any Liverpool fan (myself included) would happily take a Champions League run to glory as a substitute for repeating as league champs, but the team does still have to, you know, occasionally win in the league, and the schedule only gets harder now. Tomorrow's opponents Newcastle finally appear to be finding pretty consistent footing in their season-- at least up until the home loss to Villa last weekend --and even poorer/more unreliable Newcastle teams have given Liverpool a hellacious time in years past. I think Anfield will be rocking for this one, and both teams will come fired up to play, which gives me a little more optimism in Liverpool meeting the occasion. But I can't in good conscience predict a victory given their run of domestic results and their current injury report, and Newcastle's surefire intent to injure at least a couple key Reds tomorrow.

The Pick: Draw, 2-2

Aston Villa vs. Brentford

We can talk all we want about Arsenal missing opportunities to run away with the league, or City and Liverpool failing to close the gap. But perhaps nobody is slapping their foreheads more aggressively right now than Unai Emery and Aston Villa; had the Lions merely managed to beat Everton at home two weeks ago, they would be just 1 point behind the league leaders, whom they have already played twice. Still, that almost-inexplicable loss is the only blemish in the year 2026 for the 3rd place side, as they have otherwise won all their FA Cup and Europa League matches-- advancing to the Round of 16 in each competition --and notched 7 points in league play, keeping them within touching distance of Arenal . Not a great distance behind them in the table is Brentford, who despite two straight losses, has been much improved in the last two months, to the tune of climbing up to 7th place and 4 points outside the Top 5. It's the exact kind of matchup that would typically cause Villa trouble, and I have a sneaking feeling the Bees might be ready to sting at an inopportune time for Emery's side. But the Villains' impressive win at Newcastle last weekend shows me they have a renewed focus and energy, and I think playing this one at home will help them stay on winning path.

The Pick: Aston Villa, 3-1

Manchester United vs. Fulham

That's two weeks in a row now where I've spent a good bit of my preview for United's match discussing the fact that they're sneakily playing better, but chickening out of predicting a win and wishing afterward that I had pulled the trigger. I'm sad I don't get the credit for predicting their stunning back-to-back road wins at City and Arsenal, but I do feel vindicated in my assessment of their form. Six unexpected points suddenly have this team in the Top 4 under caretaker manager Michael Carrick, and controlling their own destiny for the 2026-27 Champions League, even if dreams of a league title chase are probably still a touch delusional. The "new manager bump" won't last forever, and I think the rest of this season will be far from smooth sailing, but I don't think at home against tricky but overmatched Fulham is when the loss will come.

The Pick: Man United, 2-0

Tottenham Hotspur vs. Manchester City

I talked about Liverpool's "two seasons" dynamic, but Tottenham have been living an even more extreme version of that reality. After a promising, undefeated start to the season, their league form has been absolutely abysmal: four wins in their last TWENTY, sitting in 14th place, and their most recent loss (at home to prime relegation candidates West Ham) resulting in fans booing and calling for Thomas Frank's head. Yet simultaneously, Spurs are not only still alive in the Champions League, they just completed a 4th place finish in the League Phase to guarantee a Round of 16 berth, their most recent win coming against 2024 runners-up Borussia Dortmund. Sunday's opponents Manchester City just got their first league win in 5 matches-- a sentence that still feels crazy to type, given their near unilateral domination of this league for close to a decade. That win came at a perfect time, though, as Arsenal's loss returned City's deficit atop the table to a very manageable 4 points. They have it all to play for still, and their ceiling is unmistakably higher than just about any team's, but their form is still unreliable lately (even in the slump-busting win against Wolves, they didn't play particularly well), and this weekend they play a team that for whatever reason, has completely had their number for the entirety of the Pep Guardiola era. I don't know how long Thomas Frank's tenure at Tottenham is for this world, but I do think it will be extended ever so slightly as his Spurs prove they have one more City surprise in them.

The Pick: Tottenham, 1-0