Premier League Predictions, Week 6

Welcome back to the weekly predictions, Premier League fans! It's September now, which means two things: first, one month of the season is somehow already in the books. Second, things are about to get reeeally wild, with European competitions and domestic cup ties getting thrown into the midweek mix in this compressed schedule before the November World Cup kickoff.

The matches are already coming thick and fast, in fact. So much so that I forgot Week 5 was being played this past Tuesday-Thursday. So my last predictions, from Week 4, already feel vastly outdated. But if you can remember that far back to one whole weekend ago...well, hopefully you can, because I did turn in my best prediction performance yet. Sure, in terms of results, it was yet another 3/5 week. I errantly doubted Manchester United's turnaround and Arsenal's authenticity as a legitimate contender, as both clubs gutted out crucial wins. However, in addition to the inevitable Man City win over Crystal Palace, I nailed Brighton winning the 'battle of the upstarts' vs. Leeds, and got that Tottenham win over Nottingham Forest dead on. That gives me a 3.5/5 mark, taking my season total up to 9.5/15. Doing better than Liverpool, Chelsea and United!

But, the matches are less than 12 years away from kicking back off, so no time for backhanded compliments. Here are your 5 for Week 6!

Everton vs. Liverpool

Liverpool's 9-0 win over Bournemouth was cathartic, but I told friends that I would hold off on declaring their turnaround legitimate until I saw whether they could pull a win out against Newcastle. Well, they did so, with literally the last touch of the match...but I'm still not convinced. On paper, Liverpool are miles-- sorry, kilometres --ahead of their next-door neighbors, but although it could prove to be a huge mental boon to have gotten all 3 points against Newcastle, the majority of that match suggested something is still off about this side, be it in the midfield, in the attack, or in the mentality. Couple that with Everton's usual staunch insistence on taking points off their rivals at Goodison, and small turnaround in form, and it's not hard for me to see another upset brewing here.

The Pick: Draw, 1-1

Tottenham Hotspur vs. Fulham

Tottenham's quietly solid start to the season hit a bit of a speed bump, with a surprise draw against previous cellar-dwellars West Ham. They'll be looking to get back to winning ways, no doubt, but might find it harder than they would like. Fulham took their first loss of the young season with a late concession to Arsenal last weekend, but immediately bounced back with an impressive midweek win over Brighton. I find it hard to believe Spurs would drop points in a second straight match, particularly at home. But, but, Fulham has acclimated so much better to the league than I anticipated, and has already been a thorn in top teams' sides. My prediction of them drawing a North London club 2-2 narrowly missed last time, but I'm going back to that same well this time.

The Pick: Draw, 2-2

Aston Villa vs. Manchester City

If you're holding out hope for a replay of the classic 2022 season finale, don't waste your time: Manchester City's going to annihilate Villa. The two points of interest to me are: 1. Will Haaland bag yet another hat trick?, and 2. Will Steven Gerrard survive the weekend?

The Pick: Man City, 5-0

Brighton & Hove Albion vs. Leicester City

If I told people that after five weeks, one of these teams would be crashing the Top 4 party and the other would be in dead last, I'd bet the vast majority would expect Leicester to be the former, and Brighton the latter. Instead, it's Graham Potter's men who have had a terrific start to the season, and despite suffering their first loss of the season to Fulham on Tuesday, still sit in 4th place. Leicester, meanwhile, just 15 months removed from narrowly missing out on the Top 4 for the second straight season, could not have started the year, much worse, taking just 1 point out of 15. The Foxes cut a miserable form these days, lacking much inspiration or identity, and though a turnaround is not out of the question, I don't think it will come against a positively reborn Brighton side. Brendan Rodgers' tenure might be in serious trouble.

The Pick: Brighton, 3-1

Manchester United vs. Arsenal

Manchester United and Arsenal are big enough names that their showdown would be the marquee matchup on most weekends. But it's unquestionably the tilt of this weekend due to the surprising position of both sides. It wasn't long ago that every pundit, outlet and former player aired their dismay over Man United's form and the dire trajectory of the club. Three straight wins later, and suddenly things are a little more chummy for the 5th-placed Red Devils. The wins haven't been pretty, but they've spoken to a mental toughness that United lacked throughout the last several seasons. Arsenal, meanwhile, have only gone and jumped out to the Premier League lead, remaining the only team thus far to record nothing but wins. Their strength of schedule leaves something to be desired thus far, but their form and cohesion do not; the Gunners are back, for real this time. I do think Arsenal's perfect season finally comes to an end this weekend, but I'm not sold on United's turnaround so much that I think they'll take all 3 points off a Gunners team that is, quite frankly, better.

The Pick: Draw, 0-0