Premier League Predictions, Week 25

© Micah Veldkamp, 2026

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Welcome back to the weekly predictions, Premier League fans! For many teams, this was a first full week between matches in some time. For the unlucky few, damned to play semifinals for a worthless Mickey Mouse competition that nobody cares about....well, not so fortunate.

But yes, as it's been a full week since you heard from me last, I figure you may have forgotten the big news from my last outing: the big news that I was finally able to get a fat .500 on the week! Yes, it required a little bit of fudging the numbers, but considering how few people expected Tottenham to even draw Manchester City, I think I deserve half a point for daring to predict a Spurs victory, don't I? Apart from that "win," I also correctly forecasted Arsenal's victory over Leeds, and Manchester United's victory over Fulham. Misses in the Liverpool (a win, not a draw) and Aston Villa (a loss, not a win) still kept my outing at an unimpressive 2.5/5 on the week, though.

It's mild improvement, but only to get my season clip up to 59/95, and my mark for the calendar year up to 7.5/23. But, the matches are already kicking off, so let's not waste any more time fretting over how long baby steps take! Here are your 5 for Week 25!

Manchester United vs. Tottenham Hotspur

Resurgent Manchester United haven't lost in the league since Christmas, are on a 3-match winning streak under interim manager Michael Carrick, and suddenly sit in the Top 4, just 6 points out of 2nd place. I think it's safe to say things are looking a lot less bleak than they were even just at the turn of the new year for the Mancurians. But it's also safe to say there's a long way to go, and plenty of work to be done, and next up is a side that's become an unexpected bogey team for them. United haven't won in their last 8 matches in all competitions vs. Tottenham, most famously losing last May in the Europa League Final. Much like that Europa-winning team, Thomas Frank's Spurs have been as good in Europe (finishing 4th place in the Champions League league phase) as they have been dismal in England (sitting in 14th place, winless in the year 2026). Tottenham are coming off a strong performance and good result against Man City, and will likely be fired up for this one as well, but I think their focus is elsewhere now, whereas Carrick will have his guys laser-focused on keeping the league winning streak alive.

The Pick: Man United, 3-1

Wolverhampton Wanderers vs. Chelsea

Speaking of teams winning under their new managers: Chelsea suffered League Cup disappointment against Arsenal on Wednesday, but otherwise have been off to a flyer under new manager Liam Rosenior. Prior to the League Cup loss, the Blues had earned 6 wins out of in all competitions, and last week, showed the most fighting spirit they've displayed in some time with a late rally from 2 goals down to defeat West Ham. Wolverhampton had a brief window in December/January in which they finally showed signs of life, but that window may have been slammed back shut with consecutive losses. I don't expect this rejuvenated Chelsea side to trip up in this one.

The Pick: Chelsea, 2-0

Bournemouth vs. Aston Villa

So shortly after Aston Villa appeared to be right back in the title chase, a shocking home loss to 10-man Brentford dropped them 7 points back behind Arsenal. That sort of sums up Villa's hopes in this title race: they've proven they can beat and hang with anybody, and are legitimately a Top 4 team, but haven't proven they have the consistency to make a real run at it. That's 4 points from their last 16 now for Unai Emerey's men, and life won't get any easier now as they travel to the South Coast to face Bournemouth. The wheels on the Cherries' season had come off at the end of 2025, after such a promising start, but even after the loss of star player Antoine Semenyo, Andoni Iraola's side have started to rediscover their form with a 4-match winning streak. It's hard for me to see Aston Villa losing two in a row, but Bournemouth's too tough an out and in too good of form for me to predict a road win for the Villains.

The Pick: Draw, 2-2

Arsenal vs. Sunderland

What a last 10 days it's been for Arsenal. Things had juuuuust started to get a little dicey for them atop the league table, thanks to a stretch of 2 points from 9...but then they sealed a 1st place finish in the league phase with 8 wins out of 8 in the Champions League, booked a spot in the League Cup Final with the aforementioned win over Chelsea in Wednesday, and in between, extended their Premier League lead by finally getting back to winning ways while both Villa and Manchester City dropped points. Their coronation is starting to feel like an inevitability, but they know as well as anyone that they can't celebrate until the job is done, and a tough matchup awaits tomorrow morning. Sunderland have reverted to the mean somewhat in recent months, following a dream start to their long-awaited return to the Premier League, but apart from a shock loss a couple weeks back to West Ham, have rediscovered their footing in 2026. The Gunners are prone to these random, insanely dominant wins like the one last weekend at Leeds, and part of me thinks we could see one of those tomorrow. But I think the more likely outcome is a tough battle at the Emirates that sees Mikel Arteta's men hold off a Sunderland push and ice the victory with a late goal.

The Pick: Arsenal, 2-0

Liverpool vs. Manchester City

The last fixture of the weekend is the one that for the majority of the last 7 years, has been a match between the two best teams in the league, leading many to dub this newer rivalry the "Premier League Clasico." The stakes are different this time around; whereas in their 1st meeting last November, it still felt as if there was everything to play for, this meeting is the first in nearly a decade in which it's quite likely neither of these teams will be crowned champion a few months from now. Manchester City aren't out of it, of course, but they are going to need to start one of those patented undefeated season-ending stretches expeditiously, and hope for luck along the way. Liverpool very much ARE out of it, but are in the thick of a race to finish Top 4 or 5 in order to avoid missing out on Champions League football next year, and a win in probably their hardest match remaining would go a long way towards doing that. On the one hand, the Reds' form has been much improved in the last couple months, and the comprehensive win over Newcastle last weekend felt like the proof in the pudding. On the other hand, the Reds have had false dawns throughout this season, and we're not even 2 weeks removed from them losing to shorthanded Bournemouth. On the one hand, Manchester City need a win more desperately. On the other hand, that's been true of City for the last 5 weeks now, and they've only notched 1 win in that time. On the one hand, Liverpool have consistently been better in big games against big opponents in all competitions this year. On the other hand, the one exception to that rule-- the one time this season Liverpool felt comprehensively outmatched --was their first match against City, a 3-0 loss. I dunno. I'm going honors even at Anfield.

The Pick: Draw, 1-1