Premier League Predictions, Week 25

Welcome back to the weekly predictions, Premier League fans! For myself and the like-minded, Champions League action didn't actually capture my interest the last couple days, so it's been a whole week since soccer, which I think we can all agree is a travesty. But Premier League action returns in earnest tomorrow!

In case you can't remember my picks from last week, I rediscovered my early-season sterling form. Picking Manchester City and Liverpool to beat relegation-threatened sides wasn't actually sticking my neck out, but going with Arsenal and Tottenham outright winning their seemingly competitive matchups was bolder. And not only were both right, in the case of the latter, thanks to Brennan Johnson's last-minute winner, I nailed the scoreline, too. In fact, I'm tempted to even give myself a little credit for my sole miss of the week for predicting that 6th-placed Manchester United would take points off 4th-place Aston Villa, but given that United won outright, I'll abstain. Still, my 4.5/5 weekend brought my season total back up to a pleasing 59.5/90.

Now, the matches are less than 12 hours from kicking back off, so let's not waste any more time tooting every horn. Here are your 5 for Week 25!

Brentford vs. Liverpool

Liverpool have spent much of this season figuring out ways to win on the road-- they are still top of the league for a reason, after all --and seem to have broken the curse of the early kickoff this season. But this early kickoff, their 23rd of the season (probably an exaggeration, but tbh, it feels close), feels like trouble written all over. Brentford have been all over the place this season, but still have the capability to be a real nuisance, and Liverpool have literally never won at this ground since the Bees' promotion. Throw in unwelcome injuries to Alisson. Trent Alexander-Arnold, and Domink Szoboszlai, and it's hard to see the Reds emerging with all 3 crucial points.

The Pick: Draw, 1-1

Burnley vs. Arsenal

Nobody has been more back than the Arsenal of the last few weeks. Immediately after their mini-slump over the holiday season threatened to derail their title charge, the Gunners began looking like the best team in the league again, not only passing a tough stretch of Crystal Palace-Liverpool-West Ham with three wins, but doing so with an aggregate scoreline of 14-1. I'm sure disillusioned Arsenal fans are waiting for the other shoe to drop, but if there even is another shoe, it's not going to drop in this matchup against a spirited but relatively hapless Burney team.

The Pick: Arsenal, 3-1

Tottenham Hotspur vs. Wolverhampton Wanderers

Lost in all the excitement of the three-horse title race is the fact that early league leaders Tottenham have begun playing very well again. Unbeaten in the league in the calendar year, Spurs' only loss in all competitions in the last 6 weeks is a close FA Cup loss to champions Manchester City. Wolves have also been playing much better of late, lifting themselves up to near the top half of the table. But I'm riding with the hotter hand and the home team here.

The Pick: Tottenham, 3-2

Manchester City vs. Chelsea

If you feel your spidey senses tingling that Manchester City has begun their annual "win 20 games in a row and run away with the title" death march, you're not alone. The three-time defending champions have won their last 13 matches, and bring both De Bruyne and Haaland back from injury, which is a cheat code. Everything about their play of late suggests they are discovering the late-season form that led them to win a treble last year. That said, while I think it would be foolish to expect anything other than Man City victory, I will say it would not shock me if Chelsea, who have shown signs of life in recent weeks give them more of a game than many are expecting.

The Pick: Man City, 3-1

Luton Town vs. Manchester United

Two teams on other ends of the table will fight for wins that would go a long way as we approach the season's home stretch. If Luton Town can pull off the stunner at home, it would be a massive 3 points to keep them out of the relegation zone. If Manchester United win as expected, though, it would up their winning streak to 6 matches and etch them ever-closer to the Top 4 cutoff line. Luton have only ever been in or around the relegation zone all season, and yet it feels as if they're overperforming, largely because of how they have shown up in the matches vs .the biggest opponents. You can bet that Kenilworth Road crowd will be bouncing with United coming to town, and while Erik ten Hag's men are playing too well at the moment for me to predict a loss, I do expect the home team magic to be enough to quell their opponents' winning streak.