Premier League Predictions, Week 26

© Micah Veldkamp, 2026

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Welcome back to the weekly predictions, Premier League fans! It was a long cold week and a half apart from you all, did you miss me?

Yes, it's been a whole 10 days since our last update, thanks to the FA Cup action taking precedence over the last weekend. If you can't remember that far back, well...probably good news for me. I did not have my best follow-up to the previous week's 5-burger: Aston Villa won all 3 points vs. the mere 1 I predicted, and West Ham's shock draw with Manchester United and Arsenal's even bigger shock draw with Wolves both caught me off guard. It was a different Arsenal draw that was the crown jewel of my week, though; just 5 days prior to the Wolves collapse, they settled for a 1-1 split with underdogs Brentford, just as I predicted-- gutsily, I might add! That, plus the predictable Manchester City romp over Fulham were enough to salvage a 2.5/5 week, taking my season total to a little under the 2/3 clip, 66.5/105.

But, the matches are just 12 hours away from kicking back off, so let's not waste any more time being a #mediocre #white #male! Here are your 5 for Week 26!

Aston Villa vs. Leeds United

Everyone's focused on how Arsenal's consecutive draws have opened the door for Manchester City, and understandably so, but there's another team out there that's not out of the title race either, and could theoretically move to within 5 points of the league leaders this weekend. In fact, Aston Villa have two games in hand over the Gunners, and the combination of those Arsenal draws and Villa's own gritty win over Brighton last time out has to have reignited some hope in Unai Emery's men. Leeds have settled into a bit of a stride, losing just 1 of their last 6, and will be a tough out, but I think a renewed focus and home crowd will lift Villa in this one.

The Pick: Aston Villa, 2-1

Chelsea vs. Burnley

Liam Rosenior's dream start to his Chelsea tenure finally hit a bit of a snag, as the Blues threw away a 2-goal lead at home to settle for a draw with visiting Leeds. They still sit in 5th place, which looks like will be good enough to secure a Champions League spot next year again, but Liverpool are breathing down their necks behind them, and a brutal stretch-- Arsenal away, Newcastle, Aston Villa away --awaits them after this weekend. The good news is they couldn't have asked for a much easier matchup to right the ship than a visit from one of the weakest sides in the league.

The Pick: Chelsea, 3-0

Manchester City vs. Newcastle United

With Arsenal's unexpected 4 dropped points since the last time everyone else has played, all eyes now turn to Manchester City to see if the 8-time champions can win to narrow the gap and put further pressure on the current leaders. Pep Guardiola's side will be favored at home, of course, but it won't be a gimme. Newcastle, nearly 10 points out from European Football places, and not in any danger of relegation, don't have a ton to play for in the league, and their results sort of have looked the part (recent win against Tottenham notwithstanding). But their results in other competitions have shown there is still a very good team in there: a run to the League Cup semifinals, an upset of Aston Villa in the FA Cup last weekend, and of course, the 6-1 leg 1 win in the Champions League on Wednesday. I just think I need to see a little bit more from this City side before I'm ready to accept they're actually back to their consistent, "don't lose down the stretch of the season" best, and if they're not there yet, this Newcastle team is more than capable of causing all sorts of frustration at the Etihad.

The Pick: Draw, 2-2

Everton vs. Manchester United

Technically the last match of the weekend, this clash between neighbors features two teams who have taken the back seat to their crosstown rivals in this era of the Premier League, but are enjoying their best stretches in quite some time. It's been a minute since we've even seen Everton in the top half of the table, but the Toffees sit in 8th place, just 7 points out of a Champions League spot. Their Monday night opponents Manchester United seemed doomed to yet another disappointing season, but have experienced a bit of a renaissance under interim manager (and former star player) Michael Carrick, riding a 9-match unbeaten streak to 4th place in the league, currently. They'll be favored in this one, but, while Benjamin Šeško's 96th-minute equalizer helped keep United unbeaten under Carrick, the draw with lowly West Ham last time out resurfaced the Red Devils' various vulnerabilities. I don't think their new manager bounce is officially over by any means, but I do think it will get harder to sustain that winning form, especially on the road against Everton who have lost in their new home just once this season.

The Pick: Draw, 1-1

Tottenham Hotspur vs. Arsenal

The North London Derby is often the biggest fixture of the weekend when it occurs, and there's no question it is once again, though probably not in the manner it usually is. Indeed, it's not often that a match between the 1st-placed and 16th-placed team in the league has the eyeballs of all of England on it; yet, especially if Man City do in fact beat Newcastle, that's exactly what the case will be on Sunday's edition of the rivalry. Arsenal has unwittingly breathed new life into a title race that seemed done and dusted a mere couple weeks ago, and Tottenham would love nothing more than to add to their archrivals' misery by extending their winless slump to 3 matches. If you merely looked at league form, such a result would seem extremely unlikely, but Spurs have been a more extreme example of the dynamic I discussed with Newcastle above: completely hapless in the league, at least since September, but wholly dangerous in other competitions, especially the Champions League where they finished 4th in the league phase and await an opponent in the Round of 16. Oh, and there's the small matter of Tottenham breaking in a new manager: journeyman Igor Tudor will coach his first match in the derby against Arsenal after taking over for the dismissed Thomas Frank. There are far more unknowns than there tend to be in a matchup between # 1 and # 16, no question, but I still think the safest bet is the smartest one: Arsenal is just no doubt the better team, top to bottom. What's more, as a Liverpool fan, the reaction to the Gunners' mini-slide has struck me as reminiscent as the tone from the media and rival fans around this time last year when Liverpool experienced a similar bobble. My Reds ended up closing that February with massive wins over Manchester City and Newcastle and extending their league lead while their 'title rivals' simply dropped points again, and I suspect we may be headed for a similar outcome in this race.

The Pick: Arsenal, 2-0