There’s a full round of matches in the Premier League this weekend, so with Matchweek 34 hours away from kicking off, here is The Big Kick Off’s latest Premier League predictions.
Both Man City and Liverpool won in midweek, and as a result, the betting to win the Premier League is pretty much as you were.
Man City were 2/5 going into last weekend’s fixtures. This week, they’ve slightly drifted to 4/9. As for Liverpool, they were 15/8, they’ve now been slightly trimmed into 13/8.
Both the top two have winnable matches this weekend, and if all goes to plan, Man City should be one match closer to winning their fourth title in the last five years.
Elsewhere, fourth place Spurs take on Brentford. Also in the fight for fourth place is Arsenal, who host Man Utd in the Saturday lunchtime kick off. And it’s at the Emirates where we start this weekend’s Premier League predictions.
Arsenal v Man Utd – Saturday 12.30pm
Given the form of these two sides, how on earth can anyone begin to predict this match?
Arsenal had a great win over Chelsea on Wednesday, but in their three matches before that, they were utterly useless.
As for Man Utd, the only thing that is consistent now, is how bad they are. Even by their atrocious standards this season, they managed to sink to a new low at Anfield on Tuesday.
When the 10 minute cameo of 19-year-old Hannibal Mejbri trying his best to get himself sent off is all that United can take from the match, you know things must be bad!
But as bad as United are, the Gunners can’t be trusted either.
- Verdict – DRAW
Leicester v Aston Villa – Saturday 3pm
Another two teams whose form has been all over the place this season.
I did think Leicester had finally turned the corner, but they’ve conceded a couple of late goals in the past week that has cost them 3 points.
As for Villa, they’ve fallen off a cliff in recent weeks, losing four in a row. They’re probably safe from relegation, but are only 8 points ahead of Burnley.
Even though Leicester may have one eye on the Europa Conference, I still think they are in better shape than Villa, and also have home advantage.
- Verdict – LEICESTER WIN
Man City v Watford – Saturday 3pm
I sensed nerves at the Etihad on Wednesday against Brighton. And City needed a bit of good fortune to break through.
Even though Watford will no doubt try to frustrate City, I don’t see them achieving it. Over 3.5 goals is even money, and I think that’s decent value.
The Hornets look to have more chance of finishing bottom of the table, than they do staying up.
- Verdict – MAN CITY WIN
Norwich v Newcastle – Saturday 3pm
The Canaries pulled off a decent home win over Burnley at Carrow Road two weeks ago.
They’re 8 points from safety with just six matches remaining. Even 3 points here might not make any difference now, but it’s a must win.
Newcastle’s recovery since Christmas has been extraordinary. They are now eyeing a top half of the table finish.
Eddie Howe’s team have won their last three, and I think they will make it four in a row.
- Verdict – NEWCASTLE
Brentford v Spurs – Saturday 5.30pm
Like Newcastle, Brentford are a team also eyeing a top half finish this season. The Bees have won four of their last five, the defeat was 2-1 away to Leicester.
As for Spurs, their 1-0 home defeat to Brighton last weekend was a major setback in their bid to finish fourth.
Bizarrely, Arsenal’s 4-2 win over Chelsea on Wednesday has just seen the 3rd place finish door pushed slightly ajar. Although on the flip side, the result meant Arsenal went back level on points with Spurs, with the same number of matches played.
Regardless of all that though, with Spurs’ two main rivals for 4th place playing each other, they can’t fail to take full advantage if they’re serious about playing in the Champions League next season.
- Verdict – SPURS WIN
Brighton v Southampton – Sunday 2pm
Onto Sunday, and the first match we’re looking at is the South Coast Derby.
Brighton have had a strange old season. After a horrendous run where they could barely get a shot on goal, they go and win away at Arsenal and Spurs.
They then followed that up at the Etihad on Wednesday with a decent performance that must have had Pep worried as his team couldn’t break the Seagulls down.
Yes, ultimately they lost 3-0, but it took a couple of deflected goals to get City going.
As for Southampton, they ended a poor run of form with a decent 1-0 win over Arsenal last Saturday. They then followed that up with a very poor display – particularly in the 1st half – against Burnley on Thursday night.
My head is saying Brighton, but for some reason I can see this being a draw.
- Verdict – DRAW
Burnley v Wolves – Sunday 2pm
This is another one of those hard to call matches that could go any way.
Burnley has taken 4 points from two matches since Sean Dyche was harshly sacked. If they stay up, the move to sack Dyche may be classed as a risk worth taking. Quite where it leaves Burnley in the long run, is another question though.
Wolves have been a bit up and down lately. They’ve lost two of their last three. Most recently was the 1-0 defeat away to Newcastle two weeks ago. Prior to that, they beat Villa 2-1 at Molineux, which was the match after that 3-2 defeat to Leeds.
If that all sounds like an eternity ago, it’s probably because it was. This is only Wolves’ fourth match in the last five weeks.
I feel Burnley will gladly take a point from this match. They know Everton are away to Liverpool later in the day, and a draw sees them move out of the bottom three.
- Verdict – DRAW
Chelsea v West Ham – Sunday 2pm
Chelsea have had a torrid few weeks, conceding goals galore in both Europe and the Premier League.
Thomas Tuchel’s team needs to stop shipping goals in this manner, otherwise they might struggle to hold onto 3rd place. They still have a 5 points gap, and a game in hand, but Chelsea are a side out of form.
Going in Chelsea’s favour is West Ham’s Europa League semi-final with Eintracht Frankfurt on Thursday. Surely the Hammers will have one eye on that match already.
Therefore, I’m going for the Blues to get the win.
- Verdict – CHELSEA WIN
Liverpool v Everton – Sunday 4.30pm
Well, what do you do here if you’re Frank Lampard? His Everton team are a huge 15/1 just to win this match. In fairness, I thought they might have been a longer price.
The odds just go to show the gulf in class between these two teams at the moment.
Liverpool can’t afford any slip ups, and I don’t see one coming this Sunday.
- Verdict – LIVERPOOL WIN
Crystal Palace v Leeds – Monday 8pm
Can the real Crystal Palace please reveal yourself?
The team that destroyed Arsenal on live TV just under 3 weeks ago seems to have gone missing. They’ve been replaced by a team that has lost three matches in a row if you include the FA Cup semi-final against Chelsea.
So which Palace should we expect to see on Monday? Who knows.
As for Leeds, I feel Sunday’s results may have a bearing on how they perform.
The Whites aren’t safe yet. So if Burnley and miraculously Everton get points on Sunday, Jesse Marsch’s side will really be under pressure. If they both lose, then Leeds will be able to approach the match with confidence.
Either way, Leeds has taken 10 points from their last four matches. That is great form at this stage of the season for a struggling team down the bottom of the table.
I’m going to base my call on this match on what I’m predicting will happen to Burnley and Everton the previous day. I think Leeds will get a point.
- Verdict – DRAW
Our Matchweek 34 Premier League Match Predictions article is written by Dean Etheridge. You contact him on LinkedIn, or see more of his work on his football betting website.