Premier League Predictions, Week 9

Welcome back to the weekly predictions, Premier League fans! After the domestic action returned last weekend, European action returned in the midweek, and like all of you I was elated to see Liverpool's unbeaten start continue in that competition. But! It is nearly the weekend again, which means our attention turns back to the shores of England.

And I need to get back to winning ways, and desperately. A promising start to my predictions season has quickly turned sour, as I nearly turned in my worst performance yet last weekend. Indeed, only John Stones' 96th-minute winner for Manchester City over Wolves saved me from a meager 1 for 5 mark on the week. Between City and Aston Villa's victories, I at least had something to write home about. But zero accurate scorelines, and whiffs on Brighton's, Bournemouth's and Liverpool's crucial wins made me settle for a second consecutive 2/5 week, dropping my season total to a grim 18.5/35.

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

Aston Villa vs. Bournemouth

Villa's win coupled with Liverpool's victory over Chelsea saw Unai Emery's squad fight their way back into the top 4. For any skeptics of whether the Lions could replicate the surprise success of last season, a 4th place league placement and lead atop the mega Champions League table in late October should quiet the doubters. Bournemouth, a hot-and-cold team with a bevy of attacking talent, certainly provides "trap game potential" but I trust Villa to be focused on keeping the Top 4 pace up into the next month.

The Pick: Aston Villa, 3-1

Manchester City vs. Southampton

Despite being one of, if not THE worst team in the league thus far, Southampton already has experience causing trouble against bigger teams. Newcastle only narrowly escaped them at home, and just a few weeks ago, they led Arsenal at the Emirates until the 2nd half. That said...not gonna happen in this one. Manchester City is a whole different beast, and even if they haven't looked like their dominant selves very often this season, last weekend's escape at Wolverhampton shows just how hard they are to kill off. This one will be one of their easiest wins all year.

The Pick: Man City, 4-0

Chelsea vs. Newcastle United

Two of the richest clubs in the world face off to try to get back to winning ways. Chelsea and Newcastle would both love nothing more to get back to the Top 4, at the very least, and each have spent time in and around that zone. But after Chelsea's tough but frustrating loss at Liverpool, and the Magpies' surprise home loss to Brighton, they've slipped to 7th and 9th respectively. Personally (and admittedly with perhaps some bias), I didn't really buy into the "unlucky result for Chelsea" chatter after last Sunday; Liverpool lost the possession battle, yes, but were much more cogent and dangerous going forward than their opponents, and arguably deserved one more penalty kick than they got. Still, there's no question there was a lot of positives the Blues can take from that performance, and especially in front of a home crowd in this one, I'm higher on their ceiling than that of Newcastle's.

The Pick: Chelsea, 2-1

West Ham United vs. Manchester United

If Chelsea-Newcastle is a matchup of rich and good teams trying to get back to the Top 4, and Arsenal-Liverpool is a clash of title hopefuls, this fixture sandwiched in between them is the "when did we get so shite???" derby. Manchester United, of course, has had plenty of hard times in the 11 seasons since their last league title, but they are just a year and a half removed from the end of a very solid season under Erik ten Hag, and mere months removed from a famous FA Cup conquest vs. Manchester City; yet, even with last weekend's win over Brentford, their first in a month, the Red Devils sit in a distant 12th place. West Ham may not have come into this season with the same expectations as Sunday's opponents, but they were still at least expected to be good, and what they have been is very not good. 2 wins from their first 8 matches has them just 4 points above the relegation zone currently. Both sides need a win, and need one desperately, but it's possible neither will get it. I think United are the better team (just), but this one's also in London Stadium; I'm gonna call it a wash.

The Pick: Draw, 2-2

Arsenal vs. Liverpool

If, as many (including myself) believe is the case, this season is going to see a second consecutive three-horse race between Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool for the title, this can be considered Game 2 of 6 in the "Premier League Finals." Game 1, of course, was the thrilling 2-2 draw between City and Arsenal a month ago in the Etihad, and despite it being a good result overall, it's not unfair to say the Gunners don't seem to have fully recovered from that 98th-minute John Stones equalizer (man, he has a knack for the dramatic late goals, doesn't he?). Two wins followed that draw, but each harder than expected-- two goals needed in stoppage time vs. Leicester, a second-half comeback needed vs. Southampton, both at home --and then, of course, came the disaster at Bournemouth last weekend, in which they played a man down the majority of the match, and lost 0-2. What's worse, they now head into an enormous clash with league leaders Liverpool, winners of every match except one this season, with a significant laundry list of absent players. And yet? I can't shake the feeling that this will be Arsenal's day. There seems to be much mojo working against them right now, and that plus the surely raucous home support will give them plenty of motivation fuel. Liverpool have been consistently class and professional in their 11 wins out of 12 thus far, but have rarely looked dominant, and the Gunners represent a serious step up in their quality of opponent. This feels like a match that the Reds might end up statistically controlling, but Arsenal rides an early set piece goal and heroic defending to victory.

The Pick: Arsenal, 1-0