Premier League Predictions, Week 28
© Micah Veldkamp, 2025
Welcome back to Premier League action, friends! It's been a long week and a half since last we spoke, a weekend spent in the FA Cup wilderness in the meantime, and some midweek European action for good measure. But we return to the throes of domestic league action bright and early tomorrow morning, so let's get right into it.
Speaking of getting right into it, I only had a small batch of predictions last time out, but came close to a perfect outing amongst that batch! I toyed with the idea of Nottingham Forest taking points off of Arsenal, but ultimately went with a Gunners win; turns out I should have stuck with my initial inclination, as Forest were able to hold on for a 0-0 draw. Thankfully, I did correctly predict Manchester City's bounceback win over Tottenham, and Liverpool's crucial win over Newcastle to salvage a 2/3 mini-week. That's good enough to get me back up to 56.5/110 on the year, staying on the right side of .500.
But, the matches for this week are 12 hours away from kicking back off, so let's not waste any more time obsessing over arbitrary lines in the sand. Here are your 5 for Week 28!
Nottingham Forest vs. Manchester City
Nottingham Forest's draw against Arsenal was a solid result for them as a statement of their intention to hang around in the Top 4 race and their ability to compete against the big boys. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to totally stem the tide of their poor form-- just 4 points from their last 15! --nor keep alive any hopes of a title challenge. Their brutal stretch of matchups is coming to an end soon, and the schedule for their run-in to clinch a spot in next year's Champions League should soon become much easier, but before they get to that point, they first need to play host to the four-time defending champions. Manchester City's listless display vs. Liverpool two weekends ago sandwiched between Champions League humiliation by Real Madrid proved they're not going to be title material for a record fifth time running. But last week's resurgent win on the road at Tottenham and progression to the FA Cup quarterfinals showed a decent bit of fight in this team, who still has even 2nd place within their reasonable sights. At most other points in this season, I'd like Forest to steal some points at home, but I think City knows it's crunch time and talent will win out here.
The Pick: Man City, 3-1
Brighton & Hove Albion vs. Fulham
I sort of hinted at this in the discussion of the Nottingham Forest-Man City tilt, but didn't touch on it outright: while the media has declared the title race all but over, and the relegation battle seems to be calcifying, we've got one hell of a Top 4 race on our hands. A meager 6 points separate Forest in 3rd place and 10th-placed Aston Villa. Every match those teams in the 3-10 range play in these next several weeks will be crucial, let alone matches between two teams in that range, such as this one. Fulham was last promoted to the Premier League two seasons ago, and in that same time frame, while they have had just one manager and Brighton is on their 3rd, these two sides have both overacheived and constantly flirted with reaching European competitions, so it feels right that the two of them are in the mix for a Top 4 race. This has the potential to go any which way; two very talented attacking teams who are prone to the random "wtf are you doing?" match could produce a surprise blowout in either direction, or a thrilling back-and-forth affair. I'll play it safe and predict an evenly-matched draw.
The Pick: Draw, 2-2
Liverpool vs. Southampton
If the statement win at the Etihad was the first clue that Liverpool might have this title race salted away, their comprehensive dismissal of Newcastle, which happened concurrently with Arsenal's scoreless draw in Nottingham, served as confirmation. There's a way to go in this season yet, though, and Liverpool can't begin the coronation proceedings before winning several more matches first. A letdown after the incredible emotional highs of their last three matches-- City, Newcastle, and the highway robbery against Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League on Wednesday --is understandable, but Southampton is so bad, that even a sleepwalking Liverpool losing at home seems nearly unfathomable. They do so, and all of a sudden, those trophy engravers may need to pause their work.
The Pick: Liverpool, 3-1
Chelsea vs. Leicester City
Both these teams had much higher hopes for this season than what they're left with. Leicester City, after dogwalking the Championship last season, had visions of returning to at least top-half-of-the-table status. But after losing manager Enzo Maresca to Chelsea, they have struggled to find any footing in the top flight this time, and seem destined to go right back down to the second division. Chelsea, meanwhile, fresh off three straight summers of outrageous spending, had high hopes for a title challenge, hopes that seem justified after a fast start under Maresca. However, the holiday season was very bad for them, and they slipped all the way out of the Top 4, now finding themselves in the throes of a battle just to return to the Champions League next season. The difference is, while the Foxes' fate seems sealed, the Blues still have plenty to play for, and at least last week, actually looked interested in playing for it.
The Pick: Chelsea, 4-1
Manchester United vs. Arsenal
As a Liverpool fan, I'm in a tough spot with this one. I would never cheer for a Manchester United victory, and I'll confess I am feeling a good amount of glee at their dismal season. But another Arsenal loss probably does put the final nail in the coffin for any possible challenge to Liverpool's grip on the Premier League trophy. That said, there's no point in me even entertaining that thought. While Arsenal have proven to be frustratingly unreliable at the worst times this season-- a trait that very likely is their title race undoing --their 7-1 annihilation of PSV Eindhoven in the Netherlands on Tuesday showed they very much still have the juice. And while yes, this is the exact kind of match that Man United has crept up and surprised an opponent in in their recent tumultuous years, they are truly too hapless right now to hope for even that. The Devils' sole Premier League wins in the year 2025 have come over the three relegation-bound teams. Don't expect that trend to reverse course this weekend.
The Pick: Arsenal, 2-0
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