Premier League Predictions, Weeks 27-28

Welcome back to the weekly predictions, Premier League fans! Yes, it's just been three days since you heard from me last. No, the games haven't even stopped in that time. Yes, a new gameweek really is starting tomorrow. We're mostly done with the doubled-up gameweeks, but we're starting March off with one, randomly.

Last weekend, I was back to my usual self on my predictions form. And if you've been following along, you know that means... bad! I correctly predicted Manchester City's and Everton's wins, probably the two easiest calls of the week. But I missed out on Arsenal's and Liverpool's victories, and didn't give Manchester United enough credit for the draw they managed against Chelsea. So, for the millionth time this season, it was a 2/5 week, which brings my season total to a quite unpleasant 54/115.

But, the matches are less than 24 hours away from starting back up, so let's not waste any more time settling into mediocrity. Here are your 5 for Weeks 27-28!

Manchester City vs. Wolverhampton Wanderers

Tomorrow provides a chance for Manchester City to get their 21st straight win, and it comes against an oft bogey team for them. Wolves, despite being nowhere near their swashbuckling best that they were in the last two seasons, still have given good teams fits this year, including this very City team in their season opener. Plus, they have sneakily started to play better, quietly mounting a 5-match unbeaten run. Still, this City team isn't going to lose to this Wolves team. Especially not with the usual culprits Raul Jiménez still working back from injury and Adama Traore completely ineffective in front of goal currently.

The Pick: Manchester City, 3-0

Liverpool vs. Chelsea

Liverpool got an absolutely crucial win at Sheffield United last weekend; crucial both in terms of maintaining and even improving their standing in the Premier League, but also in terms of an emotional lift for the side, who have mired through a dismal last several months on and off the pitch. That said, it can be easy to overstate the result. This was, for starters, a road win, and they've been significantly better on the road than at home of late. But more importantly, as good as Liverpool looked relative to most of their play in previous months, it was still just a 2-0 win over the worst team in the league. We've seen them false start on a "corner turned!" before; their recent 4-game slide came on the heels of back-to-back huge wins against Tottenham and West Ham. Thursday brings a fellow Top 4 contender and Big Six team in Chelsea, who, thanks in no small part to revamped defensive play, are still unbeaten under Thomas Tuchel. What's more, the Blues will be even more motivated to secure 3 points since they failed to do so now in their last two matches; Liverpool' horrid Anfield form (a sentence that still feels weird to say) makes me think this has Merseyside Derby redux written all over it.

The Pick: Chelsea, 2-0

Brighton & Hove Albion vs. Leicester City

Leicester City picked a really poor time to finally lose to Arsenal; Manchester United, West Ham and Chelsea all dropped points, meaning the Foxes missed a golden opportunity to improve their Champions League odds. The good news is that they'll have a chance to bounce back tomorrow against a less-than-impressive Burnley side. The bad news is they've been up-and-down on different occasions this season, and their next match after that is at Brighton, this weekend, a club that has hovered around the relegation zone all year despite generally playing very good football. I have been burnt by Brighton many, many times this season, but I do genuinely think they're significantly better than their standing. I'm going to predict this weekend is when they get another crucial survival win, and catch a defensively vulnerable Leicester side napping.

The Pick: Brighton, 3-2

Chelsea vs. Everton

Sheesh, what a week for Chelsea. In a 7-day span, they face fellow Big Six clubs and/or Top 4 contenders Manchester United, Liverpool, and Everton. Not exactly the ideal recipe for a young team still adapting to their new manager's style hoping to crash the Top 4, but hey, to be the best, you've got to beat the best, right? Anyways, as with all 'two matches ahead' projections, the outcome of this one could be dictated by what happens in the next few days for both these teams. If either team drop points, particularly Chelsea, you'd imagine they'd be even more locked in to getting points back from this crucial fixture. But assuming both get victories in the coming days-- which is a BIG assumption, but remember I do have Chelsea winning at Liverpool on Thursday --and that factor is not in fact present, I do like the Blues at home over a tricky Everton side, if for no other reason than to pay back their December upset that arguably precipitated Frank Lampard's dismissal.

The Pick: Chelsea, 2-1

Manchester City vs. Manchester United

The second edition of the Manchester Derby this season will feature two teams with virtually the same personnel as in their first meeting, but in wildly different positions. When the two faced off in mid-December, just 1 point separated them as United sat in 8th, and City one spot behind them in 9th place. Fast forward 10 weeks or so, and all of a sudden the Manchester teams sit 1 and 2 atop the table, but with City in #1 by 12 points. Barring a major upset by Wolverhampton or Crystal Palace, that margin will be the same when these two play on Sunday. Whereas the last derby was for taking a big step towards righting the season's ship, this one will be mostly about bragging rights: Man City to continue their record-breaking winning streak, and Man United to end said streak and take a serious step towards solidifying their Top 4 spot. There's no question who the better team is at the moment, but the Red Devils have had an uncanny ability to suck the life out of the game against just about every big opponent this season, ever since their debacle against Tottenham at the start. I predict Solskjaer will stick with what's "working"; City's winning streak ends, but not its unbeaten streak nor its defensive record.

The Pick: Draw, 0-0