Mark Lawrenson’s Premier League predictions are revealed as we look forward to what will be another busy weekend of top flight football.
The former Preston, Brighton, Liverpool and Ireland footballer, turned Oxford and Peterborough manager, now a BBC Sport ‘football expert’, has given his verdict on who might spring a surprise.
Lawro will make predictions for all 380 top-flight matches this season, so take a look at what he had to say for this batch…
Wolves v Crystal Palace
Wolves should really be heading into this game on the back of three straight wins – they conceded a late equaliser against Newcastle last weekend, when they’d done enough for the three points.
The way Newcastle were set up to try to stop Wolves is exactly what Crystal Palace will do on Friday, only the Eagles will carry a bit more of a threat at the other end.
With five goals in his first six league games, Palace forward Wilfried Zaha has already bettered his tally from last season [which was four goals in 38 league appearances]. Zaha is playing very well at the moment and will be dangerous no matter how much possession Wolves have.
I still fancy Nuno Espirito Santo’s side here, though. Palace are a good hard-working team, but Wolves are not just a good side, they are a classy one.
Lawro’s prediction: 2-0
Sheff Utd v Man City
Manchester City got a good win in the Champions League in France on Tuesday but Marseille were not up to much.
This will be a bigger test. Sheffield United are still without a win in 2020-21 but they created lots of chances at Anfield in their defeat by Liverpool last time out.
That was arguably the Blades’ best performance of the season so far. I think they will be pretty direct again here, and they can cause City problems.
Ruben Dias has looked pretty solid in the City defence since he arrived at the end of last month, but this will be a decent test for him.
Lawro’s prediction: 0-2
Burnley v Chelsea
Burnley are another side still waiting for their first win, but they do seem to be getting better. They created a few chances against Tottenham on Monday and they were a bit unlucky to end up being beaten.
I think the Clarets will get something out of this game, though. I’m not fully convinced by Chelsea at the moment, because I don’t think you can be.
Blues boss Frank Lampard is still tinkering with his personnel and formation. Yes, they did pretty well against Manchester United at Old Trafford last weekend but it was without ever really looking like scoring.
One positive is that Thiago Silva is already looking the part at the back, and it is already looking like a case of Lampard working out who is going to play with him.
This will be Silva’s first visit to Burnley but he will obviously be told what to expect about the way the Clarets play. To be honest, though, they could just hang a crash helmet on his peg in the dressing room, and if he asks what it is about, just tell him that he will find out at 3pm on Saturday.
Lawro’s prediction: 1-1
Liverpool v West Ham
Without the injured Virgil van Dijk, Liverpool are playing a little bit like they know their back door is slightly ajar.
Fabinho’s hamstring injury in midweek clearly does not help in that department. He is extremely unlikely to play in this game, but at least it doesn’t look like he is going to be another long-term absentee.
Having Alisson back in goal is a big boost, but he doesn’t come for crosses so the Reds will need to find a way to deal with that.
West Ham have got their own injury problems too, though. Michail Antonio is their best striker but he is a big doubt after he was injured against Manchester City following his superb goal in that game.
Without him, West Ham will still be competitive but it is hard to see them getting anything out of this one.
Lawro’s prediction: 2-0
Aston Villa v Southampton
The more I see of Southampton, the more I like them. They were excellent against Everton, and put in a really good team performance.
They dealt with everything and stopped Everton from playing but they also looked lively up front. Che Adams and Nathan Redmond are a handful, and then you have your man Danny Ings, who scores for fun but works so hard with it.
This should be a good game but Leeds’ intensity proved a bit too much for Aston Villa last time out, and I think Saints will edge it.
Lawro’s prediction: 1-2
Newcastle v Everton
Lucas Digne joins Richarlison in being suspended for Everton after his red card in their defeat against Southampton.
Everton have still made an excellent start to the season despite losing that game but I have a feeling they will end up empty-handed here too.
When they need a bit of luck, Newcastle seem to get it – against Tottenham and then Wolves, when they nicked a point from both.
Steve Bruce’s side hang in there in a lot of games, which is essentially what they did under previous manager Rafael Benitez too.
But Bruce is trying to be a bit more offensive at times in certain games, and I think we’ll see the Magpies create some chances on Sunday.
Lawro’s prediction: 2-1
Man Utd v Arsenal
Arsenal defender David Luiz is out injured so I am not sure whether Gunners boss Mikel Arteta will stick with his system of playing three at the back without the Brazilian.
Arteta’s side have lost three of their past four league games but during that spell it is up front where they have not really been firing.
I am going with United here, even though they did not create much against Chelsea last week either.
Their 5-0 win over RB Leipzig was obviously a very good result in the end, but a flurry of late goals and a superb performance off the bench by Marcus Rashford put a bit of a gloss on it because there wasn’t much between the sides, certainly in the first half.
Lawro’s prediction: 2-0
Tottenham v Brighton
Tottenham are absolutely flying at the moment and quite rightly everyone has been raving about how good the partnership is between Harry Kane and Son Heung-Min up front.
I’m glad Son is getting the recognition he deserves – he is two-footed, clever and lightning quick. Kane has been hugely impressive too, of course, just by dropping off a little bit deeper so he can’t be picked up, and he is kind of conducting the orchestra from there.
People have been asking why Dele Alli hasn’t been playing or Spurs – but we kind of know now, because at the moment it works without him.
Brighton have been playing pretty well too, and creating plenty of chances, but they only have one win to show for it so far and it is hard to make a case for them adding to that total on Sunday.
The Seagulls have to be a bit careful, because for all of their good play they keep dropping points against teams they should be beating. They are going to find things a lot harder against Spurs too.
Lawro’s prediction: 2-0
Fulham v West Brom
Neither of these sides have managed a win yet, so they both have to see this as a chance to get their season up and running.
That should make it a decent game, because both teams will think they will go out and have a go.
Lawro’s prediction: 2-1
Leeds v Leicester
This is a real test for Leicester. The Foxes got a great win over Arsenal last weekend, with Jamie Vardy looking electric when he came on, but the Gunners don’t play with the same intensity as Leeds.
Leeds will still have to deal with Vardy, of course, but they have got Patrick Bamford banging in the goals too. His hat-trick against Aston Villa was absolutely top drawer.
Lawro’s prediction: 2-1
How many of these do you think he’ll get right? Let us know your thoughts and maybe your own predictions in the comments below!
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