Premier League Predictions, Week 8

Welcome back to the weekly predictions, Premier League fans! After the long wander through the wilderness that is the dreaded International Break, we're finally back to the good stuff: fish and chips football, innit.

It's been a while, so I feel obligated to refresh your memory on my own personal performance in these projections, though I would rather not. I had been making incremental progress turning my form around in recent weeks, but last time out, I hit a big ol' speed bump. The easiest/lowest-risk predictions of all bore out, yes, as Arsenal and Manchester City dispatched of Southampton and Fulham, respectively. But my upset pick of Crystal Palace taking points off Liverpool was ill-fated, my expected draw in the Brighton-Tottenham clash was actually a thrilling comeback win for the former, and my predicted Chelsea romp turned out to be Nottingham Forest holding them to a shock draw. So my 2/5 week drops me to 16.5/30 on the year, just a smidge over 50%.

Now, the matches are less than 12 hours from kicking off, so let's not waste any more time getting back on the horse. Here are your 5 for Week 8!

Newcastle vs. Brighton & Hove Albion

It's a big return for the Premier League this weekend, as 6 of the current Top 8 all face each other. One of the first matchups on the docket is 7th-placed Newcastle, hoping to get back to winning ways after a month drought, hosting 6th-placed Brighton, who finally did get back to winning ways after a month drought. The Gulls' rally from 2 goals down to get all 3 points vs. Tottenham was a huge result for a club that had fallen off its promising start, but I would caution against declaring them "back." After all, 3 late goals were needed just to beat a Tottenham side decimated by injuries in front of a home crowd. Newcastle's form has admittedly been even less reliable; their sole win since early September came in the League Cup on a penalty kick against 4th-tier side Wimbledon. But the Magpies have the horses to turn it around when they need to, and right now, they need to more than Brighton does.

The Pick: Newcastle, 3-2

Fulham vs. Aston Villa

At the same time as the clash up north, in London, a solid Fulham host an Aston Villa side that has just 1 loss in all competitions thus far this season (which includes a Champions League win over Bayern Munich). Both teams got a dash of disappointment just before the international break: Fulham battled Man City valiantly, but ultimately succumbed to their opponents for their first loss since the season opener, while Villa slipped out of the Top 4 on the back of consecutive draws against beatable opponents Ipswich Town and Manchester United. Both plucky upstarts will be eager to get back on the horse, and given that the match is at Craven Cottage, it feels like any result is feasible. But I believe in Unai Emery's Villa as a known quantity much more so right now.

The Pick: Aston Villa, 2-1

Bournemouth vs. Arsenal

Arsenal have recovered very well from their draw at Man City that felt like a loss due to how it played out, with two consecutive wins. However, both were harder than expected: Leicester City went into stoppage time level at 2-2, and then just before the international break, the Gunners had to come from behind last-placed Southampton to win. Bournemouth will provide a steeper challenge than either of those sides, and given that it's on the road fresh off an extended break, a not-insignificant part of me wants to predict the Cherries will trip Arsenal up. But I think the Gunners' mental toughness will come through once more and they will dig deep to get another big win and stay right in the thick of the title race.

The Pick: Arsenal, 2-1

Wolverhampton Wanderers vs. Manchester City

It's a toss-up between Southampton and Wolverhampton for which team is the worst in the league right now, but taking into account squad talent and preseason expectations, there's no question Wolves have been the disappointment of the season thus far, notching a sole point through 9 matches (a draw at Nottingham in August). That said, Gary O'Neill's men have shown a good amount of fight in their big matches thus far, hanging with Liverpool, Aston Villa and Newcastle to the very end in the last 4 weeks, so I don't expect tomorrow will necessarily be a cake walk for Man City in front of a hostile crowd. That said, if I'm honest, I don't exactly expect the champions to have all too much trouble getting another 3 points in this contest.

The Pick: Man City, 2-0

Liverpool vs. Chelsea

Despite the teams' generally very different fates in the last several years of the Jürgen Klopp era, Liverpool and Chelsea has routinely become a can't-miss fixture, whether in Premier League matches or domestic cup action. Much more often than not, there hasn't been any margin between them in head-to-head play, and when there is a margin, it's been razor-thin. There's no reason to expect that to change in the biggest match of the weekend, featuring league leaders Liverpool, now under new manager Arne Slot, and 4th-place Chelsea, under fellow new baldie Enzo Maresca. Save for an ugly shock loss a month ago vs. Nottingham, the Reds have been remarkably efficient and clinical under Slot, controlling the balance of play and only conceding 2 total goals and earning a league-best 6 wins. The Blues, however, ugly draw with Nottingham (seriously, what's up with that team?) notwithstanding are one of the hottest teams in the Premier League. Building off their incredible end to last season under now-USMNT manager Mauricio Pochettino, they're unbeaten in all competitions since their season-opening decision to Man City, and most importantly, seem to have rediscovered how to put the ball in the net. Even if this were a Liverpool team at their most dominant, I wouldn't be so foolish as to assume this would be an easy win for them, and unfortunately (as a Red) two things cause me real concern: the sudden uptick in quality of opponent from the matches they have played thus farm and a short but significant laundry list of injuries. Normally, I would say a home contest at Anfield would be enough to assuage those fears, but given that Liverpool's only faltering this season came at home fresh off an international break....I fear it's all adding up to the belief that tomorrow might be another similarly frustrating day for the Kop faithful.

The Pick: Chelsea, 2-1