Premier League Predictions, Week 33

© Micah Veldkamp, 2025

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Welcome back, Premier League fans! A thrilling quarterfinal round in the European competitions is in the books, and we're at our last Premier League weekend in April, which means one thing: yes, believe it or not, we are coming down the home stretch in this season!

My last time out started out about as badly as the week before, whiffing on all three of: Everton's upset win over Nottingham, and Brentford's and Ipswich's shock draws with Arsenal and Chelsea. I did at least get the Nottingham-Everton scoreline correct, though, and wins by Liverpool and Newcastle helped me salvage a mediocre 2.5/5 week, taking me to 71.5/135 on the year. Much like most of the teams in the league, it's not clear what's at stake for me any more, as I have very little chance of matching the enormous highs of last season's incredible 100+ mark, but also am not at real risk of slumping to the lows of my brutal prediction season in '22-'23.

But, the matches for this week are less than 12 hours away from kicking back off, so let's not waste any more time figuring out what to play for. Here are your 5 for Week 33!

Aston Villa vs. Newcastle United

With the title race and relegation battle all but wrapped up, almost all the intrigue in the league is left for the battle for the Top 5, and who will be playing in the Champions League next season, vs. the Europa League, Europa Conference League, or nada. This is a huge match in that race, and without a doubt the prime showdown of Saturday, pitting last year's Top 4 spoilers and this year's Champions League quarterfinalists against the hottest team in the league. Newcastle's form is second to nobody's right now (literally; even would-be champions Liverpool have been outdueled by the Magpies over the last 5 matches), but I think an inspired Villa team, looking to bounce back from their Champions League exit in front of an inspired crowd, will be their hardest competition in some time.

The Pick: Draw, 2-2

Fulham vs. Chelsea

Another key game in the European race, neither West London club is doing themselves any favors right now. Chelsea continue to faff about, with just 3 wins from their last 8, and Fulham followed up their huge win over league leaders Liverpool by losing on the road at Bournemouth. Yet, both remain in contention for European ball next season, thanks to parity all around them. Sooner or later, it's going to have to set in for Chelsea that there's a real chance Champions League Football is out of their hands once again, and while I do still think it is going to set in for them, they have been consistently too poor on the road this season for me to be bold enough to predict a win in a rivalry game against a tough opponent.

The Pick: Draw, 1-1

Ipswich Town vs. Arsenal

Ipswich, who have been out of their depth all season, have played impressively hard down the stretch, taking every match down to the wire and picking up surprise points here and there, and that continues last week, as they managed to get points off Chelsea for the second time this season, even while blowing a 2-goal lead. However, the die is likely cast for the Tractors now, who are probably just playing for pride at this point. That might honestly be enough to nick points off of Arsenal, who seems to have understandably concerted all their efforts on the Champions League instead. Still, even a rotated Gunners side, which is what I expect we will see with this match sandwiched between last Wednesday's trip to Madrid and next Wednesday's Premier League match vs. Crystal Palace, is good enough to dole out one more achingly close loss to Ipswich.

The Pick: Arsenal, 2-1

Leicester City vs. Liverpool

It still feels surreal to say-- especially for this lifelong Red fan --but Liverpool could be crowned Premier League champions as soon as this weekend, if they win this fixture and Arsenal has lost at Ipswich before them on Sunday morning. It's not the likeliest series of results, but it's far from out of the question. Arguably just as surreal is the fact that once-proud Leicester City is likely headed for their 2nd relegation in 3 seasons, and that too, could happen after this match, with a loss + Wolverhampton win elsewhere. I confess I'm not sure what to pick here; I do expect how this match proceeds will depend heavily on the earlier Sunday results. But in the absence of soothsayer abilities, I will predict that a combination of Leicester's last gasp at survival and Liverpool's generally downward-trending form will conspire to create a surprise draw at the King Power Stadium.

The Pick: Draw, 1-1

Tottenham Hotspur vs. Nottingham Forest

In the event that a new champion isn't crowned on Sunday, a fair number of eyeballs will be on Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Monday. Tottenham, languishing in 15th place, have had a far worse season than anyone could have expected; and yet, with yesterday's win over Eintracht Frankfurt and a favorable semifinal draw, very possibly will find themselves playing in the Europa League Final in a month's time, with a Champions League berth at play. Nottingham, meanwhile, seemingly had one foot in next year's Champions League, but are playing their own game of hokey-pokey, with back-to-back losses now. They have been leapfrogged in 3rd place by red-hot Newcastle, and hold a tenuous 1-3 point lead over the next three teams behind them. Forest need a win something fierce, and while in most contexts this season Tottenham would have proven the ideal opponent for a crucial win, something tells me there will be a buoyant atmosphere in North London on Monday night, which might lead to a thrilling, honors-even, match.

The Pick: Draw, 3-3