Premier League Predictions, Week 31
Welcome back to the weekly predictions, Premier League fans! It's been a week since you heard from me last, which is normal. What is not normal is that there was a whole other gameweek that took place in between my last predictions and this one.
Yes, as we hurtle towards the end of the season, the matches are beginning to all crash and tumble into each other, and sadly, I did not have time to push out a Week 30 preview piece. But that's okay, really; just about everyone of note who won last weekend won again in the interim. And speaking of who won and lost, last time out, my week started well!!!...and then quickly fell apart. In the battle for the Top 4, Tottenham and Aston Villa both won, and if either had scored one more goal, I would have nailed both scorelines as well. I came close to opening with 3 straight wins, but Brentford's last-gasp equalizer gave them a draw with Manchester United. Then, Liverpool did not in fact settle for a draw with Brighton, while Manchester City did in fact settle for one with Arsenal. All in all, my subpar 2/5 week drops my season total to 77/115.
But now, the matches are less than 12 hours from kicking back off, so let's not waste any more time fretting over minor Ls. Here are your 5 for Week 31!
Crystal Palace vs. Manchester City
There was a time, in the not-so-distant past, that Crystal Palace was pretty consistently a thorn in a lot of title-chasing teams' side, and arguably none more so than Manchester City. However, as the Blues chase a 4th straight Premier League title, and Palace flounder about in the bottom half of the table, those days have never felt further away. City has been far more vulnerable on the road this season, so it wouldn't shock me if they take a little while to get going tomorrow morning. But it would shock me if they didn't ultimately win this match.
The Pick: Man City, 2-0
Aston Villa vs. Brentford
In the latest round of 'Top 4 hot potato,' Aston Villa failed to take advantage of Tottenham dropping points by losing one day later. Granted, they were on the road at the three-time defending champions, so it would feel a bit harsh to expect them to get points, sure. But still, you would have expected the 4th-place team to cause the 3rd-place team a little more trouble. The good news for the Lions is that things should get easier tomorrow, as a plucky but down-and-out Brentford comes to visit.
The Pick: Aston Villa, 3-2
Brighton & Hove Albion vs. Arsenal
It was a big week for Arsenal. They may have lost their Premier League lead, but it's hard to argue a listless draw at Manchester City is a bad result, as it secured them 8 points on the season against their title rivals (for comparison's sake, both City and Liverpool will finish with 3 points from 12 in the same mini-league), and the Gunners followed that up with a comfortable win vs. Luton Town to keep the pressure on Liverpool. Brighton, meanwhile, continued their wildly inconsistent season, as a highly competitive match against the league leaders ended in a narrow loss, and then they settled for a frustrating goalless draw at Brentford in the midweek. As is always the case with the Gulls, if things are clicking tomorrow afternoon, they could absolutely snag a point, even 3, from Arsenal, especially given that it's their first match at home in nearly a month. It's just that it's been a while since we've seen Mikel Arteta's men fail to rise to meet the challenge.
The Pick: Arsenal, 4-2
Tottenham Hotspur vs. Nottingham Forest
In the latest round of 'Top 4 hot potato,' Tottenham failed to take the opportunity to make up much ground on Aston Villa as they settled for a draw at West Ham. Granted, it was a net gain on the week, as Villa capitulated at City a day later, but still, Spurs will be kicking themselves for not taking a bigger chunk out of their deficit. The good news for them is that this weekend they get to host one of the worst teams in the league. They can't afford to snooze vs. Nottingham, who will be desperate to get a little space between themselves and the relegation zone, but I expect Ange's men to pull out the 3 points this time.
The Pick: Tottenham, 2-1
Manchester United vs. Liverpool
It's not the last match of the weekend, but as is almost always the case, it's the biggest. The Liverpool-United rivalry is almost always relevant in some capacity to the league title race, even if not so for both teams, and the latest edition is no different. It's Jürgen Klopp's last Premier League match at Old Traford, and in the Jürgen Klopp era, typically these clashes have featured a United side trying to be a banana peel in his Liverpool team's race for the trophy. And in fairness, more often than not, the Red Devils have accomplished that. Despite what has been another turbulent and often frustrating season for the Mancurians, who have quite likely played themselves out of Champions League positioning, they have already proven to be a thorn in their rivals' sides this season. In their first matchup in December, they stole a precious point on Liverpool's home field, and less than a month ago, they knocked the Reds out of the FA Cup in the quarterfinal stage with a 4-3 extra time thriller. On paper, there's no reason to not expect a Liverpool victory tomorrow: there's so much more at stake, it's Klopp's last chance to win at Old Trafford (for only the 2nd time in his Liverpool career), Liverpool hasn't won this matchup yet this season, and United has an extensive laundry list of injury absences in defense. And yet? I can't help but feel like we're headed for another edition of the first kind of matchup these two played, back around Christmas at Anfield, wherein a self-aware overmatched United plays a compact, counterattacking style, ceding dominance of possession in exchange for a gritty point.
The Pick: Draw, 0-0
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