Premier League Predictions, Week 9

Welcome back to your Premier League predictions! You already know what I'm going to say....it's been TOO LONG since we've had some good old Premier League action. Last weekend's international break did see the exciting stories of qualification to the Euro Cup for Scotland, Hungary, and North Macedonia, advancement to the Nations League semifinals for Belgium, France, Italy and Spain, and breakout performances by a much-anticipated young American team. But none of these were really enough to substitute for the delicious chaos that is the English football season, nor were they enough to justify flying thousands of players around the world in the middle of a freaking pandemic. And yes, I'll confess my bias; it's a particularly bitter pill to swallow when your favorite team seems to shed players every single international break that takes place.

Now that I have that off my chest- in case, like me, you can barely remember what happened two days ago, let alone two weeks ago, I continued my impressive streak of batting below .500 in my predictions last time out. I did get Leicester City and Tottenham Hotspur's victories correct, but erred in expecting Everton and Arsenal to take points off of Manchester United and Aston Villa, respectively. And in the biggest match of the weekend, I decided at the last second to go against my gut instinct of a draw and predict Manchester City beating Liverpool, only for them to-- wouldn't you know it? --draw. My foolish change of heart meant that once again, I notched just a 2/5 on the week, making my season total 19/35. My promising start to the season feels like centuries ago.

Now, the matches are already underway and are less than 12 hours from resuming, so let's not waste any more time reflecting on personal demise. Here are your 5 for Week 9!

Newcastle United vs. Chelsea

The first matchup of the weekend pits a Chelsea side on the verge of cracking the Top 4 against a side that is yet to leave the bottom half of the table this season. But, despite a rough beginning to this season, Newcastle has already shown an occasional tendency to surprise teams you wouldn't think them capable of hanging with, such as Tottenham, Everton and Wolves. Chelsea, meanwhile, has shown an occasional tendency to overlook their opponents, Southampton and West Brom being the most notable examples. Throw in the bye week, and the ingredients for an upset result are all there. That said, Chelsea players' torrid form over this past week-- Giroud, Jorginho, Kante, Kovačić, Mount, Werner and Ziyech all found the back of the net on international duty -- has to be a cause of optimism for Blues fans. Though international performances do not consistently translate to domestic leagues, surely at least a couple of those lads will have a little bit left over for this weekend.

The Pick: Chelsea, 3-1

Tottenham Hotspur vs. Manchester City

It's not outrageous to argue that the best Premier League team in the calendar year of 2020 has been Tottenham. They were far enough back from the pack when Jose Mourinho joined that they had to settle for Europa League this year, but their hot form to end last season has carried over to the start of this year, as they find themselves in an inch-close 2nd place. Tottenham has always been a bit of a bogey team for Pep Guardiola at Manchester City, even when their gulf of quality was considerably larger than it is now. Now that Spurs appear to be hitting their stride under Mourinho and they have the Citizens at their home stadium, it's hard not to consider them the favorites in this one. I really flirted with picking an outright win for Tottenham here, but the combination of a momentum-busting international break and Manchester City being desperate for a result makes me think a draw is the more likely outcome.

The Pick: Draw, 1-1

Leeds United vs. Arsenal

A match between the 11th-placed and 15th-placed teams in the league isn't always fascinating, but this particular one is fascinating. It's fascinating in part because it features two teams whose positive start to the season and optimistic outlook have been shattered by three losses in last four matches. As a result, both will be eager for a win to pull themselves up a still-very-tight table. It's also fascinating because it's two clubs that have been known of late to score and concede goals in almost equal proportion. I'm not particularly confident in predicting the result, but though nothing seems to go according to expectations in 2020, I am pretty confident in predicting the style: loads of attacking opportunities and haphazard defending.

The Pick: Draw, 2-2

Liverpool vs. Leicester City

In yet another edition of "man, these circumstances suck".... Leicester City and Liverpool have been known to put on some thrilling clashes-- particularly at Anfield --in recent years, and those didn't even involve the two teams being 1st and T-2nd in the league. It's such a shame that we won't get to hear a roaring Anfield crowd watch these two 'positive football' sides run back and forth at each other. It's arguably even more of a shame that we're going to see two teams absolutely ravaged by injury. Liverpool's plight has been well-documented, but it bears repeating: they will be down both starting CBs, captain and lifeblood Jordan Henderson, star forward Mo Salah, and young ingenue Trent Alexander-Arnold for sure, and potentially without crucial pieces like Fabinho, Thiago, and Andy Robertson as well. Yet, lest the Reds start feeling too sorry for themselves, Leicester has quite the laundry list of their own, with almost their entire back line wiped out by injury, along with star midfielder Wilfred Ndidi. So, what to make of this high-stakes, likely high-energy, fanless, B+ squad showdown? No clue. But until Liverpool finally loses a Premier League match at Anfield, I don't think I'm ever going to predict it happening, though it is worth mentioning that the Foxes have, strangely, fared better against Liverpool on the road in recent seasons than at home.

The Pick: Draw, 2-2

Wolverhampton Wanderers vs. Southampton

The fact that, at this point in the season, one of these clubs is in 4th place, and the other is hovering not too far back in the Top 10 is not all that surprising. What's mildly surprising is that Southampton is the team in the Top 4. Especially because just a couple weeks into the season, it looked like the Saints might be in genuine danger of relegation. Yet, by the grace and will of Lord Danny Ings, they have completely bounced back from their horrendous opening 3 matches of the year, ripping off 16 points from the last possible 18, ending Everton and Aston Villa's stays at the top of the table in the process. Wolves, meanwhile, have had a choppier opening stretch this season, initially losing 3 of their first 4 matches in all competitions, before unfurling a 4-match unbeaten streak in the league, then being outclassed by short-handed Leicester last time out. I have a good bit of affection for both these sides (I'm always a fan of smaller clubs that aren't afraid to play up-tempo attacking football, even against the big boys), so I hate to see at least one of them drop points here, but I'd especially see bummed to see Southampton's delightful stay in the Top 4 come to an end. However, though it makes me sad to say, the first weeks back from a break are typically when we see those overachievers lose their mojo a bit.

The Pick: Wolverhampton, 2-1