Premier League Predictions, Week 35

Welcome back to the weekly predictions, Premier League fans! I said this last week, and it's true again: between a late finish to last week's Premier League matches, an early start to this Premier League weekend, and Champions League and Europa League football in between, we've had football every day this week. Why stop now? Let's keep the party rolling. We're in the home stretch now!

One reason I have no desire to switch up my intro from last week, is that I had a phenomenal outing last week, one of my best all year. The scoresheet will read as 4/4, but it was an unconventional 'perfect' week. For one, I did inaccurately predict that Southampton would beat Leicester, while they only drew. However, a half-point is awarded for correctly suggesting a fairly major upset in that one. Then, along with my accurate Manchester City and Chelsea victory projections, I nailed the scoreline of West Ham's win over Burnley, getting 1.5 points for that Monday fixture. And in the most surprising twist of the weekend, Manchester United- Liverpool wasn't played, the league's biggest rivalry match being postponed due to fan protests breaching the stadium and locker rooms. It's probably a good thing that match wasn't played, as I would have been caught in the position of needing to choose between cheering against my beloved Liverpool or cheering against a flawless prediction slate. All in all, the 4/4 brings me to 77.5/149, on the year, continuing my late-season upward trajectory.

But, the matches are less than 12 hours away from kicking back up, so let's not waste any more time basking in your praises. Here are your 5 for Week 35!

Leicester City vs. Newcastle United

It feels like Leicester has played half their matches on a Friday this season, but here the Foxes are, again kicking off the Premier League weekend. Both these sides could use a win in a big way after disappointing outings last week; Newcastle's home loss to Arsenal left them still in contention for relegation, though they could officially clinch their safety with a win tomorrow. Leicester, meanwhile, are not quite in the clear in the Top 4 race but couldn't come up with anything more than a draw against a struggling Southampton side. As I've touched on many times on this blog, I have major trust issues with Leicester, especially down the stretch here. That said, I do think they just have too much quality to not get the vital win here.

The Pick: Leicester, 3-1

Liverpool vs. Southampton

Liverpool's return to the pitch after an unexpectedly long layoff comes at a time when they desperately need a win to stay in Top 4 contention, but also comes against an opponent that kicked off their dismal run of form that dropped them from the top of the table. The Reds' post-Christmas draws against West Brom and Newcastle were disappointing, but it was their ensuing 1-0 loss at Southampton that officially set off all sorts of red flags for their season trajectory. The good news for Liverpool is that they're slightly healthier, and playing a little better than they were at the turn of the new year. The bad news is, that hasn't translated to an ability to close out wins the last couple outings, and their next opponents are coming off a confidence-building result against Leicester. I imagine we're in for yet another installment of "Liverpool dominates possession and shots on goal, but only scores one and concedes a late equalizer."

The Pick: Draw, 1-1

Aston Villa vs. Manchester United

Once upon a time, Aston Villa sat at the top of the table. Now they are barely in the top half of the table, and are all but officially out of the Top 4 race. They'll be facing a team that also spent time leading the Premier League table, although Manchester United are in fact the only team not named Manchester City that is technically still alive in the title race. Like Liverpool, United will be coming off an unexpected two-week layoff in the Premier League, but unlike Liverpool, they've had Europa League matches sprinkled in (including as recently as last yesterday) to keep them fresh. I expect having slightly more to play for, as well as a boost of confidence in the wake of their Europa League Final qualification, will buoy the Red Devils over a plucky Villa side.

The Pick: Manchester United, 2-1

West Ham United vs. Everton

Like Aston Villa before them, Everton blazed out of the gates this season, standing alone atop the league, but sputtered so much in recent months that they are now clinging on to just a shred of hope in finishing the Top 4. To keep that hope alive, they will need to beat a team that is very much still alive in the same race. 5th-placed West Ham made their own lives more difficult with a couple ill-timed losses, but got a crucial 3 points last Monday. So who will win this de facto Top 4 knockout match? Both have proven attacking prowess, but Everton have been much more of a broken team of late. They'll give the Hammers all sorts of problems, but the latter have them at home and have too much to lose by not winning.

The Pick: West Ham, 3-2

Manchester City vs. Chelsea

Who knew, when this fixture list was announced back in August, that this weekend could have seen a preview of the 2021 Champions League Final? I'm not sure anybody in their right minds would have predicted a Manchester City-Chelsea final in the World's most prestigious club soccer tournament, but these two saw off Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid this week to seal their qualification for the final duel. Domestically, the news will get even better for at least one of these clubs this weekend, if there is to be a winner. (And we can't count out the very decent probability of a draw.) Regardless of what happens in Manchester United's match, a win for City tomorrow officially gives them the Premier League title. Conversely, an upset win for Chelsea helps them take a massive step forward towards Champions League qualification next season without relying on an upset win in this year's Champions League Final! There's no denying who the 'better' team is, here; City's ascension in both the Premier League and the Champions League has felt inevitable. But under Thomas Tuchel, Chelsea are such a well-drilled side and are good enough to take points off even this City team, as evidenced by the Blues' head-to-head win recently in the F.A. Cup. We will see later this month what that means for the Champions League, but for this weekend, I think Manchester City is ready to avenge that F.A. Cup loss and clinch their Premier League title on their home grounds.

The Pick: Manchester City, 1-0