Premier League Predictions, Weeks 14-15

Welcome back to the weekly predictions, Premier League fans! I hope you stateside readers had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday. I did, and being gorged, both on family time and on stuffing and macaroni, was the reason why there were no Premier League predictions last week. Even had I time to publish a new piece, I wouldn't have been able to pick myself up off the couch (ha!) to do it. But the good news is I have an immediate opportunity to somewhat rectify this; we're entering the wild part of the year, where the fixtures come fast and heavy. So this is a jumbo-sized Premier League Prediction piece.

Let's just assume I had a perfect week since I didn't miss any! Just kidding. Sadly, the last performance on record was from two weeks ago, in which I had an absolutely torrid time. I correctly forecasted Manchester City's win over Everton, and that was the only thing I got right. One more goal from Everton, or from Watford in their stunning upset of Manchester United, and I could have at least salvaged a couple scoreline points, but at the end of it all, I came in at 1/5, bringing my season total to 30.5/55. Yikes :/

But, the midweek matches are already back underway, so let's not waste time ignoring the spirit of the season by being an ingrate. Here are your 8 for Weeks 14 and 15!

Watford vs. Chelsea

Before making a definitive proclamation on whether Watford stands a chance against Chelsea, it's fair to ask which Watford we will see? The one that got absolutely steamrolled by Liverpool in a 5-0 debacle at home, or the one that returned the favor to Manchester United two weeks ago in a 4-1 romp? Considering Chelsea is coming off a frustrating draw against that same United team and the league leaders will be particularly eager to get back to their winning ways, my guess is we're going to see something a little more like the Liverpool destruction at Vicarage Road.

The Pick: Chelsea, 3-0

Aston Villa vs. Manchester City

Aston Villa played the part of Top 4 spoiler last year, but thus far have failed to recapture the consistency of last year's squad. A new manager often helps things, and sure enough, the Villains are two wins from two under new manager Steven Gerrard. You know Gerrard would love to take points off Manchester City to help his beloved Liverpool in their title race, but this opponent is a different beast from Brighton and Crystal Palace. I expect they'll be up for a fight for a half, perhaps a little more, but City will be too much to overcome.

The Pick: Man City, 3-1

Everton vs. Liverpool

Liverpool ended the last stretch before the international break poorly, with a home draw against Brighton followed by their first (and only) loss at West Ham. Since coming back from said break, though, they have looked nothing short of brilliant in two 4-0 wins against Arsenal and Southampton sandwiched around a Champions League clean sheet, and now have players gradually coming back from injury in time for mad Winter dash. Everton's season has gone the opposite direction, the Toffees earning only 5 points in the league since mid-September. That said, they have a manager who is well acquainted with Liverpool, and this is always, always a fixture in which the Toffees take points off the Reds, regardless of how good each team might be. Liverpool's last league win at Goodison Park was 5 years ago, and they've won a Champions League and Premier League title in that time.

The Pick: Draw, 1-1

Manchester United vs. Arsenal

Despite announcing the arrival of new interim manager Ralf Ranginck, current interim manager Michael Carrick will still be leading Manchester United while they sort out Ranginck's visa situation, and the good news is, United are yet to lose under Carrick, getting two impressive results in a Champions League win at Villarreal and a tough draw at Chelsea this past weekend. I'm genuinely torn on this one because United have more talent, the potential for a new manager bounce, and won't want to lose yet another big match at Old Trafford. That said, Arsenal's turnaround is legit; their only blip has been that loss to an elite Liverpool at Anfield, and they bounced back from that nicely with a 2-0 win over Newcastle last weekend. Arsenal's got a real identity now, and are legitimately the better team at this point. I'm copping out and picking a draw, but this fixture really could yield any result and I wouldn't be shocked.

The Pick: Draw, 1-1

West Ham United vs. Chelsea

There's no question this is the biggest fixture of the whole week, which is why I'm sad it's at 7:30 (ET) in the morning on a Saturday. West Ham is still sitting at 4th place in the league, but are clinging to that by a thread after back-to-back losses. The Hammers showed good fight against City last week, and very well could bounce back tomorrow against Brighton, but I still think they're reverting to the mean somewhat, and this Chelsea team is just too good to be anything less than great against.

The Pick: Chelsea, 1-0

Wolverhampton Wanderers vs. Liverpool

It seems like the thrilling title race and Manchester United and Tottenham's struggles have dominated the Premier League storylines, and as such not much attention is being played to the wild 4th place race bubbling below the surface. Wolves have quietly played themselves into contention with a solid stretch over the last couple months, losing only 1 of their last 8 matches and just two weeks ago, upsetting West Ham. All that being said, it's hard for me to see Liverpool going winless this week, and though Wolves are better, given the rivalry context I think Everton is the side more likely to take points off them.

The Pick: Liverpool, 2-0

Watford vs. Manchester City

What a brutal week for Watford. At least both matches are at home, but hosting the two 2021 Champions League finalists in 4 days isn't exactly the recipe to play yourself away from the relegation zone. We discussed earlier how Watford is capable of randomly popping up for a surprise result, as we saw in the opener against Villa and two weeks ago against United. But more often than not, if you hit them early, they are not built well for playing from behind, and Manchester City are just the kind of side that can hit you early then spend the rest of match picking apart your overmanned defense.

The Pick: Man City, 6-2

Everton vs. Arsenal

If Watford has the hardest week of any team, spare a thought too for Everton, who follow their bout with Liverpool with a visit from surging Arsenal. At least, like the Hornets, Everton will get to play both matches in the friendly confines of Goodison Park, but it's not hard to like the Gunners' form a lot more than the Toffees'. I do think Everton is capable of snagging at least a point in this one, but if both teams' previous matches go the way I predict-- i.e., both teams draw --Arsenal is going to be the side coming in with more urgency for a win to keep their Top 4 bid on the up and up.

The Pick: Arsenal, 1-0