Premier League Predictions, Week 35

Welcome back to the weekly predictions, Premier League fans! We draw ever nearer to the end of the season, and as such, the matches are tumbling together rapidly. Case in point: today is the only day this week that has not featured Premier League action.

And yet, we get back to it tomorrow morning, with the fourth-to-last weekend of the season. It's been a very strong season for me, and lest you think I am emulating my beloved Liverpool and collapsing down the stretch, I had yet another strong outing last time! The aforementioned Liverpool did do me dirty, skating past Fulham in a match I predicted they'd lose, and then losing to rivals Everton in a match I predicted they'd draw. Given how much of an upset that Merseyside Derby was, though, I'm going to give myself half a point for predicting the Reds would drop points at least. Elsewhere, Manchester City made easy work of Brighton, and Arsenal, of Wolverhampton and Chelsea, just like I predicted! All My 3.5/5 week gets me back on track, with a season total of 86.5/130.

Now, the matches are less than 12 hours from kicking back off, so let's not waste any more time touting our minor achievements. Here are your 5 for Week 35!

West Ham United vs. Liverpool

I saw a tweet yesterday that I decided to laugh at to keep from crying, which read something like "West Ham are out of European contention, have nothing to play for, are in bad form at the moment, and have a manager who's all but officially been sacked. So naturally, I look forward to them scoring on Liverpool within the first 10 minutes." Sounds about right. Look, in a vacuum, there would be no reason to expect the Reds to drop this one; they're the better team, they do have something to play for, and West Ham is not typically a team that troubles them (and hasn't been one this season). But something is clearly broken with the once title-chasers, especially in the last month.

The Pick: West Ham, 3-1

Aston Villa vs. Chelsea

Aston Villa, unbeaten in their last five, seem to have carved out a nice gap between themselves and 5th-place Tottenham. Look closer, though, and you'll see that gap is deceptive; Vill have played two more matches than Spurs, have only a tenuous goal differential advantage, and recently lost 0-4 at home to their Top 4 rivals. Ergo, a win in Birmingham this weekend would go a very long way, and they get a chance to do it against a struggling (albeit wildly talented) opponent coming off a 5-0 humbling by their rivals. I honestly could very much see this being the match Chelsea randomly turns on the jets and plays up to their potential, and will kick myself if it turns out that way. But I've been burnt by believing in a Chelsea turnaround too much this season for me to pick them again.

The Pick: Aston Villa, 3-2

Tottenham Hotspur vs. Arsenal

Speaking of Tottenham! The weekend's biggest match is the highest-stakes edition of the North London Derby in quite some time. The Gunners have finally reclaimed the upper hand in this rivalry in the last couple seasons under Mikel Arteta, after 6 or 7 years in the wilderness. But they dropped points at home in the first leg of this derby back in September, and points are increasingly precious in the closing stages of this now two-horse title race. Points are precious for Spurs, too, though, as they race against time to leapfrog Aston Villa back in the Top 4, especially because it seems increasingly likely England will still only get four spots for next year's Champions League and not the five it appeared it might earn. In other words, there's no excuse for either team to not go absolutely balls to the wall in this one, which should make for a spectacular match. If it were at the Emirates, I'd favor Arsenal, but as Tottenham have the raucous home crowd, I genuinely have an equally hard time seeing either team win on Sunday morning. So I'll go the coward's route and pick a draw, which would open the door very nicely for...

The Pick: Draw, 2-2

Nottingham Forest vs. Manchester City

...Manchester City, who play immediately afterward, to stamp their boot down on the title race and jump back up to 1st place with a game in hand. And you would certainly expect them to do it, both based on historical precedent and the fact that they're facing a side on the brink of the relegation zone. But I don't know... I just have a strange feeling with this one. We saw with Everton on Wednesday what power a desperate team can hold in front of home fans against a big opponent. And while City's romp at Brighton was far from the most taxing match, it was just 1 day ago, and injuries have caused this iteration of Pep Guardiola's club to be more susceptible than usual to fixture pileup. (As evidenced by the fact that the manager has begun relentlessly complaining about the issue, a good several years after Jürgen Klopp was eviscerated for doing the same thing.) This may age incredibly poorly, and I'll own that, but when everybody is stunned by Nottingham taking points off the champions, remember you heard it here first.

The Pick: Draw, 1-1

Chelsea vs. Tottenham Hotspur

Spare a thought for Tottenham, whose blowout loss at Newcastle kicked off a 5-match stretch against last year's 4th-place team, current leaders Arsenal, on the road at money-laundering Chelsea, on the road at 3rd-place Liverpool, and then hosting the three-time reigning champions. If Ange Postecoglou's men are going to qualify for next year's Champions League, they are going to have to absolutely earn it. And they might just! But I think this may be a tricky one. It's far from an easy stretch for Chelsea, too (@ Arsenal, @ Aston Villa, vs. Tottenham in the midweek), but I still feel like the Blues are good for a surprise result in at least one of them. I'm not sure a home draw vs. Tottenham constitutes a BIG surprise, but consider that prediction a reflection of how much I expect Spurs will also be up for the test.