Premier League Predictions, Week 33

Welcome back to the weekly predictions, Premier League fans! Yes, even though the last gameweek ended mere hours ago, tomorrow we are right back at it! It's beginning to feel like...oh, I don't know, every month from Project Restart until last March, with matches every day of the week. Such is the nature of fixture and competition pileup, as all endeavor to rush the season to a close in time for a Euro Cup, that it appears will still be happening?

My good form in predictions was bound to come to an end, and it did so in noteworthy fashion last week. My downward trajectory unfortunately continued, as, for the first time in well over a month, I had a sub-.500 week. In fact, thanks to a late Tottenham equalizer, and stunning results from Newcastle and Brighton, it took until Wednesday to get my first correct prediction, in Manchester City's win over Aston Villa. Even that was nowhere near as clear-cut a victory as I anticipated it being. With Leicester winning comfortably today over West Brom, I was able to salvage a 2/5 week, but that dropped my season total to a far-from-scintallting 71/140. But let's be honest: the only result any of us really cared about last week was the swift, glorious death of the Super League, inarguably one of the worst proposals, and for 12 owners, decisions, in the footballing world for some time. That it was so roundly shouted down by passionate fans, players and managers, and that was enough to spook owners out of an absurdly lucrative agreement, was a huge victory for the sport.

But, the matches are less than 24 hours away from kicking back up, so let's not waste any more time distracting you from my futility. Here are your 5 for Week 33!

Arsenal vs. Everton

Given where these two clubs were last Fall, it's amazing that they're within a place of each other in the table. For Everton, it was a steady fall from 1st place from which they've never recovered, and for Arsenal, it's been a steady rise in 2021 from the depths of the table. Now, both will be looking to rebound from a disappointing draw to cling on to their slim Top 4 hopes. In the case of Everton, they'll be looking for their first win in 6 matches, since early March. Inconsistent though the Gunners may be, this version of the Arsenal squad is good enough that it's not going to be the team they suddenly find their form against.

The Pick: Arsenal, 3-2

Liverpool vs. Newcastle United

In fashion perfectly fitting for this season, Liverpool's slowly building, cautious optimism with wins over Arsenal and Aston Villa were very swiftly undone over the last week. A frustrating draw with Real Madrid saw their exit from the Champions League, a midnight hour announcement of their joining the Super League (something the manager and players did not support), and then another frustrating draw soon after against Leeds, which hampered their Top 4 odds. Newcastle is not only the club that helped start Liverpool's shocking plummet at the end of 2020, they're also coming off a Top 4 ball-busting victory already, in their upset of West Ham last week. I think you understand why I'm not overly optimistic about Liverpool's odds this weekend.

The Pick: Newcastle, 2-1

West Ham vs. Chelsea

And speaking of that Top 4 side who suffered defeat: West Ham! The Hammers picked the absolute worst time to get their first loss to a team not in the Top 2 in nearly three months; their loss to Newcastle meant they slipped to 5th place and also missed out on a golden opportunity to create some distance between themselves and other contenders. Their opponents Chelsea will also be kicking themselves, though, for failing to capitalize both on West Ham's loss and Liverpool's draw, suffering a listless draw of their own. So it is that these teams enter this crucial match even on points, separated only by Chelsea's 8-goal advantage on the season. I feel confident that this will not be as smooth sailing as the Blues' 3-0 win back before Christmas; this is a different West Ham team. But I also just can't see post-Tuchel Chelsea dropping points two matches in a row at this point in the season.

The Pick: Chelsea, 2-1

Leeds United vs. Manchester United

Nearly a week after snatching crucial points away from Liverpool at the death (and becoming the heroes of the "Super League villain story" in the process), Leeds have a chance to cause ruckus with another one of their old rivals. To do so, they will have to be miles-- sorry, kilometers better than they were in December, when Manchester United romped to a 6-2 victory at Old Trafford. And better they almost surely will be, with a more consistent squad and on their home ground. But will it be good enough to beat United? I'm skeptical, particularly with the Red Devils in the midst of a 12-match league unbeaten streak and suddenly very much alive in the title race.

The Pick: Manchester United, 2-0

Leicester City vs. Crystal Palace

After qualifying for the FA Cup Final, Leicester City came into today desperate for a league win as well, to restore good vibes in their Top 4 race, and got a resounding one over relegation-bound West Brom. That will go a long way towards assuaging the Leicester faithful that they're not just witnessing a repeat of last season's epic collapse down the stretch, but now the Foxes need to take the next step and avoid a letdown in this weekend's match. Fortunately, Crystal Palace, while talented, has not shown any real flashes of being capable of punching above their weight since the season opener against Manchester Untied. Leicester love a good letdown, but it's hard to see Palace being the club that take advantage.

The Pick: Leicester, 3-1