Premier League Predictions, Week 28

© Micah Veldkamp, 2026

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Welcome back to the weekly predictions, Premier League fans! Did you think you were getting rid of me so soon? It's been three whole days since you heard from me last, that's far too long, right? The league matches aren't stopping, so neither are we! Week 27 is now Week 28, Week 29 won't occur until the end of the month!! Nothing makes sense!!! Keep up!!!!!

In case you can't remember from less than 72 hours ago, I gave myself a strong performance to build on! It's been a rough go of it for me lately, and I thought my bad form was due to continue as Aston Villa dropped a stunner to Wolves, and the upset I actually thought would happen (Leeds over Man City) didn't. But my own team Liverpool set my form straight by soundly beating West Ham, and it went upwards from there, nailing the Manchester Untied 2-1 win, as well as the competitive Arsenal win over Chelsea. My 3.5/5 week gets me a +.500 score for the first time in a while, and takes me to a slightly sunnier 71/120 on the season.

But, snow is falling outside, and the matches are less than 24 hours away from kicking back off, so let's not waste any more time discussing the "slightly sunnier"! Here are your 5 for Week 28!

Wolverhampton Wanderers vs. Liverpool

Liverpool are still a long ways from perfect, but their form in 2026 has undoubtedly dwarfed that of the 3 months that preceded it, and that coupled with some Chelsea stumbles has seen the Reds get back into the Champions League places. The reigning champs have a big opportunity to improve their standing further with tough matches on deck for Aston Villa, Manchester United and Chelsea this week, but first they will need to win the first of two games in four days at Molineux Stadium (Liverpool play at Wolves again on Friday in the FA Cup). On paper, this should be one of Arne Slot's easiest fixtures to manage in this all-important closing stretch: Wolves, after all, are in last place and are surely headed for relegation. But Wolves have undoubtedly been playing better of late, epitomized by the shocking win over Aston Villa on Friday, and I have a hard time seeing Liverpool make it out with two wins there in quick succession; I think dropped points here is more likely than in a one-off elimination match on Friday.

The Pick: Draw, 1-1

Aston Villa vs. Chelsea

It's been clear for a while now that this would be a big match in the Top 4 race, but I'm not sure either team anticipated (nor wanted) just how pivotal this could be a couple months ago, when Chelsea was outside the Top 5 and Aston Villa was in the thick of a title race. Villa's had a rough stretch, earning just 1 win and 5 total points from their last 6 matches, but no point was as low as the one last Friday, where they stumbled to a 2-0 loss at last-place Wolverhampton. Unai Emery's men are suddenly in a precarious position, with the potential to fall all the way to 5th after the matches tomorrow. That said, Chelsea's is more precarious still; after working hard to get up as high as 3rd place, the Blues are back down to 6th place after 2 points from their last 9, sitting closer to Brentford behind them than to the Champions League spots above them. Do I trust a Villa team in tepid form to beat a side more talented than them? Not really. But do I trust an unreliable Chelsea team to beat an equally desperate, solid team on the road? Also not really. I'm going honors-even in a high-octane, high-stakes clash.

The Pick: Draw, 2-2

Newcastle United vs. Manchester United

Ironically enough given the history of the two clubs, if you had told people preseason (or even just earlier this season) that this fixture would feature the 3rd-place team vs. the 13th-place, most would have the teams reversed. That's how dire Manchester United's prospects looked in the not-so-distant past, but suddenly everything looks a great deal more rosy under interim manager Michael Carrick. The former player turned caretaker is still unbeaten in his stint at the helm, steering United to a shocking 7 wins and 1 draw. The latest, a come-from-behind win against a tricky Crystal Palace team took them to 3rd place, and also epitomized this team's renewed toughness. Newcastle, meanwhile, have proven in other competitions (especially the Champions League, where they clinched a Round of 16 bid last week) that their ceiling is as high as almost anyone's in England, but for whatever reason the light just has not come on for them in the Premier League specifically. That fact is what I'm leaning on to decide an otherwise difficult match to call: based simply on what I've seen from both teams in the Premier League of late, it's hard not to go with Man United, even in a rowdy St. James' Park.

The Pick: Man United, 2-1

Manchester City vs. Nottingham Forest

Nothing's coming easy for Manchester City in this run-in, which is a change from so many of their title "charges" under Pep Guardiola, at least. But crucially, City are finding out ways to consistently win matches, no matter how tough, which is a change from the team of last season through January, and might be a change coming right in time to genuinely challenge for this title. I continue to be unconvinced that they are in fact built to take the title race to the end of the season until I start seeing some control over matches for two halves, but I don't think their stumble-- if it happens -- will come at home to Nottingham Forest.

The Pick: Man City, 3-1

Brighton & Hove Albion vs. Arsenal

Arsenal have done well to prevent their standing atop the table from bottoming out; just as it was looking as dire as it's looked all season for the Gunners, they responded with two hard-earned victories against London rivals. Where last Sunday's North London Derby victory over Tottenha, eventually turned into a romp, yesterday's clash with Chelsea took a late winner from Jurrien Timber and a fantastic stoppage-time save from David Raya to see all 3 points across the line, but in the long run, Mikel Arteta might be more grateful for the latter. If his side are finally gonna do this thing, it's gonna take the tough mentality exhibited in that Chelsea win to navigate the "trap games," such as this very clash with Brighton. A midweek away match? An opponent who's having too disappointing a season for this to register as a big game, but with a proven ability to make life difficult for all comers? Yeah, that's got "trap" written all over it. I'd almost expect a stumble here from Arsenal teams of years past, but I think this team in this very moment is different, and will be able to keep their eye on the ball.

The Pick: Arsenal, 2-0