Premier League Predictions, Week 26

Welcome back to the weekly predictions, Premier League fans! For the second straight week, we were #blessed with fútbol every day of the week until today, with the last Premier League match on Monday bleeding into Champions League action on Tuesday and Wednesday, which led into Europa League matches yesterday. After the European action and today's hiatus, it's back to ye English shores tomorrow for Premier League action.

After one good week, I returned to my second-half-of-the-season trend of bad predictions outings, sadly. I did correctly project Manchester City's and Arsenal's victories-- though the latter was verrrrry close to being inaccurate. But Wolves' upset win over Tottenham was not on my radar, nor was Brentford's outright victory over Fulham. And as for the marquee match of last week, boy, I could not have been more off. Not only did Liverpool not lose again to Manchester United, they absolutely dismantled them, to the tune of a 7-0 (!!!!) scoreline. And as happy as that made the Liverpool fan in me, the self-appointed pundit in me had to reckon with a subpar 2/5 week, which put me right back on the .500 mark for the year: 40/80.

But hey, the games are less than 12 hours away from resuming, so no time for balancing my wins with losses. Here are your 5 for Week 26!

Bournemouth vs. Liverpool

For what has been an endlessly frustrating season for Liverpool, I cannot imagine a more cathartic release for the players, coach and fans than their 7-0 shellacking over favored rivals Manchester United. In a season that appears to be destined to end with no trophies for the Reds, glorious moments have been in short supply, and it was the most emphatic punctuation point on a 4-match unbeaten, clean-sheet streak. On the other end of the emotional spectrum sit tomorrow's opponents, Bournemouth, who gave league leaders Arsenal an almighty fight, before losing on the last kick of the match. The last-placed Cherries are not doomed yet (only six points separate 12th place and 20th place), but they need to start turning those opportunities into wins, soon. It's hard not too see the copious parallels between this match and the last time Liverpool scored a huge, potentially season-altering win against a team from Manchester: after they upset Man City back in October, it was a quick emotional comedown to go on the road for an early kickoff against a side sitting in the relegation zone, fresh off a crushing defeat and desperate for a win. I've just been fooled so many times by Liverpool this season, I can't look at that and not pick Bournemouth. Crazy as it might sound, a Liverpool win tomorrow would do more for my belief in the Reds' turnaround than 7-0 did (or, for that matter, their 9-0 win did).

The Pick: Bournemouth, 2-1

Tottenham Hotspur vs. Nottingham Forest

It's understandably gotten far less attention than Liverpool's and Chelsea's frustrating seasons, given that the latter two were pegged as title contenders coming into the year, but Tottenham's season has almost mirrored their rivals', in that they just can't seem to find any consistent footing. Great wins are often followed by head-scratching losses, good spells often brought to an end with an almighty thud. There's no question it's a rut currently. After a three-match winning streak took them up into 4th place, they have since embarked on a three-match slide, crashing out of the FA Cup to Sheffield United, the Champions League to A.C. Milan, and in between, dropping an ugly Premier League match to Wolves last weekend. In some ways, tomorrow feels like a must-win for their spirits, and it does feel as if it's time for the pendulum to swing back the other direction. But I just don't know... between Tottenham's listless midweek performance against Milan, and Antonio Conte's and Richarlison's public war of words, it feels as if the vibes could not be worse at the moment. And Nottingham, who hasn't won in over a month, is not exactly setting the world on fire, but you know the relegation zone peering over their shoulder again is going to have them sharper in tomorrow's match. If it were at City Ground, I'd be really tempted to go all the way and predict a Forest victory, but the home advantage for Spurs makes me hedge; I'll go with a draw.

The Pick: Draw, 1-1

Crystal Palace vs. Manchester City

Manchester City still hasn't become the dominant team they turned into in the second half of the last couple seasons-- and they may not turn into them at all this season. But it may not matter as long as they just keep winning matches, which they've been doing for the most part: they've earned 7 wins from their last 10 in all competitions, the lone loss in that stretch coming at Tottenham over a month ago. It's kept them breathing down Arsenal's neck for the league lead, which you know fuels Pep Guardiola more than anything. Crystal Palace in years past has been a team that is prone to trip up good teams, and has weirdly had City's number in particular. But even in the friendly confines of Selhurst Park, this is not the same Palace team. Winless in the year 2023, I can't imagine tomorrow's matchup will be when the tides start to turn.

The Pick: Man City, 3-1

Manchester United vs. Southampton

I said just last week that Manchester United were quite possibly in the midst of their best season since Sir Alex Ferguson's retirement. The Red Devils had one trophy in hand, were progressing in both the FA Cup and Europa League, and sat in a not-so-distant 3rd place in the league. Well, in one 45-minute span, so many of those good vibes came crashing down, as their most hated rival pumped six past them in the 2nd half of their rivalry showdown at Anfield. The 7-0 humiliation had ramifications beyond mere embarrassment and being the butt of jokes, though; it all but ended whatever Premier League title hopes their fans may had been clinging on to, as United now sit 14 points behind Arsenal, and now own a goal difference that's a whopping 10th-best in the league. The good news for Manchester United? Their Top 4 destiny is still very much in their hands. More good news? They responded remarkably well in the Europa League yesterday, dominating Real Betis 4-1 in the first leg of their tie. Even more good news? 19th-placed Southampton (at home, no less) is probably the best possible opponent against whom to rediscover your Premier League mojo.

The Pick: Man United, 5-1

Fulham vs. Arsenal

Ask any Arsenal fan what the most noticeable difference about their suddenly title-contending team this season, and they'll tell you it's the mentality. Let last week be a prime example: yes, you wouldn't expect a title contender to be in trouble against Bournemouth at home, but that's not the point. The point is this was the exact kind of match so many Arsenal teams of years past would lose: conceding an opening goal within seconds, going down 2-0 early in the 2nd half, midfield and attack all out of sorts. Instead, they turned it around with two quick goals, and pulled a W out of the fire with a thrilling match-winner. Now comes an extremely tough test for the Gunners; turning around from that level of emotional victory is a tough task anyhow, let alone doing so on the road, let alone doing it against a very dangerous team who is coming off a loss and is in need of 3 points to keep their European hopes alive. I'm picking an Arsenal victory as a sign of respect for the league's resident mentality monsters this season, but I will not be surprised in the least if this goes awry for them.

The Pick: Arsenal, 2-1