Premier League Predictions, Week 25(ish)

Welcome back to your weekly predictions, Premier League fans! We're back to action in ye olde England this weekend after the sweet, sweet return of European competition in the midweek.

My own return to the predictions last week, after the two weeks away, was less than sweet, sweet. I started strong, accurately predicting both of Manchester City's wins as well as Liverpool's victory over Leicester. But I did not put faith in Liverpool also getting a win at Burnley, nor in Arsenal, Wolves or Manchester United to get the wins they did. I also thought Leicester would recover from the loss at Anfield to get a crucial victory over West Ham, when in fact they settled for a draw. That rounded me out at 3/8 on the week, which "boosts" me to 48.5/95 on the season.

But, the matches are less than 12 hours from resuming, so let's not waste time downplaying modest successes. Here are your 5 for Week 24/25/26/21, depending on which team you cheer for!

Crystal Palace vs. Chelsea

Crazy as it may sound, this weekend will see Chelsea's first Premier League match in nearly a month, thanks to interruptions from in the international break, the FA Cup, and the Club World Cup, the latter of which they won for the first time in club history. In case you can't remember this far back, last time out, the Blues got a massive win over rivals Tottenham to snap a horrible slump. On the other side of the pitch, Patrick Vieira had Crystal Palace looking and playing better in the not-so-distant past, but now the Eagles are staring at zero wins from their last five matches. Based on current form alone-- let alone talent and depth, etc. --it's hard not to like Chelsea in this one, even on the road.

The Pick: Chelsea, 3-1

Liverpool vs. Norwich City

Liverpool might be coming on too late to win the Premier League title, but they sure are doing their best to make it a real race, on a run of 8 straight wins in all competitions, including their last 4 in the league. They'll be looking to continue the good form against a familiar foe: tomorrow will mark the 3rd time Liverpool and Norwich have played this season already, and they have another matchup (in the FA Cup) coming in a matter of weeks! Poor Norwich has once again had a rough go of it in the Premier League, but in particular have been Liverpool's whipping boy, losing their last four showdowns with the club by a total scoreline of 1-11. That said, last week's shellacking by Manchester City notwithstanding, they've looked an improved side under Dean Smith. I can't imagine any result other than Liverpool winning again, especially at Anfield, but I'm going to guess it won't be as easy as the last few matchups.

The Pick: Liverpool, 2-0

Manchester City vs. Tottenham Hotspur

Manchester City is still the overwhelming favorite to see out this title race, but in the wake of their surprise draw with Southampton a couple weeks, they're no longer quite as 'home free' as they seemed to be coming into 2022. This particular showdown would have seemed a daunting match not too long ago, as not too far back, Tottenham were seriously pushing for the Top 4 race. Suddenly, though, Spurs are in a tailspin. They've now suffered three straight league losses, and with manager Antonio Conte griping publicly about the ownership, morale doesn't seem to be high at the club. That's not exactly a recipe for success for a team hoping to take points off of City. I think this match will play out one of two ways: Spurs will come out inspired, desperate to regain form, or that 'morale' ship has officially sailed, and the Citizens will absolutely bash them. Given that City is also looking to avenge their season-opening loss to these opponents, I'm guessing the latter is the more likely outcome this weekend.

The Pick: Man City, 4-0

Leeds United vs. Manchester United

Sandwiched around ManU's three poor 1-1 results (Middlesbrough in the FA Cup, and Burnley and Southampton in the Premier League) were two crucial shutout wins, against West Ham a month ago and against Brighton this past Tuesday. Those wins not only buoyed United's own Top 4 hopes, each took out a fellow Top 4 competitor in the process. Now, if they're going to climb back to the top and stay there, they need to get seemingly easy wins like this one, an opponent who they demolished on opening day. Leeds, meanwhile, would love to derail their old rival's Champions League push to salvage some joy from what has been a wholly disappointing season. But as frustrating as ManU have been this season, I haven't seen anything from Bielsa's men this year that makes me think they'll win this fixture.

The Pick: Man United, 3-1

Arsenal vs. Wolverhampton Wanderers

The middle of next week will be one of several "COVID Makeup" weeks we're going to see this year, I imagine, with a number of opportunities for postponed matches to be played. Arguably none next week are bigger than this one, though; this is not only a clash in the battle for the Top 4, but a near-immediate rematch! These two just played in the league last week! This sort of 'two-legged tie' is almost unheard of in the Premier League, and that instant turnaround could play a real part in the result. By that I mean, I think Arsenal is the better side at this point, but are they so much better that they can beat this Wolves team twice in 10 days? Especially a Wolves team that is flying high coming off a huge win at Tottenham? I'm skeptical.

The Pick: Draw, 1-1