This round will be similar, with Liverpool’s game at Aston Villa moved to Wednesday, February 19, due to their involvement in the League Cup Final. Keep an eye out for that!
I finished with 5/11 in Round 24, thanks to that James Tarkowski equalizer! I thought Everton might get something based on the narrative, and I was right – that late strike and the scenes that followed were a moment you knew was Premier League and Goodison Park history, even while watching live. Great stuff.
On to Round 25 then. Here are my thoughts on each game.
Click here to join the Premier League Predictor and make your own predictions.
Brighton vs. Chelsea
It’s always challenging to predict matches that have just been played, with back-to-back meetings between the teams. Brighton fully deserved their win in the FA Cup last weekend, as Chelsea were terrible, but will we see the Blues respond in the league? It’s possible, as Brighton are so inconsistent, but I think the absence of Nicolas Jackson due to injury is a huge miss for Chelsea, as he’s their only actual center-forward option despite spending so much money. I think this might finish level. Prediction: Brighton 1-1 Chelsea
Leicester vs. Arsenal
Talking of teams that no longer have a center-forward, Arsenal are now in a real pickle without Kai Havertz for the remainder of the season, as Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka are still some way off, and Gabriel Jesus is already out for the season too. You’d think they can just about get past Leicester regardless, as the Foxes aren’t the strongest, but things could get tricky in the next few weeks, so I’m intrigued to see how Arteta will set up for this game. Prediction: Leicester 0-2 Arsenal
Aston Villa vs. Ipswich Town
Aston Villa have made the sensible move of increasing the number of available attackers they have at their club, rather than reducing like Arsenal and Chelsea, so they should have too much for Ipswich Town, who must still be gutted about that Southampton result. Villa remain a bit weak defensively with so many injuries, but I think Axel Disasi will do OK there as a new arrival, and it should be Villa creating most of the chances in this one. Prediction: Aston Villa 3-1 Ipswich
Fulham vs. Nottingham Forest
I’m really in two minds with this one. Fulham look to have an advantage in terms of preparation time and were excellent in beating Newcastle away in the last round, but how often do they actually go and win a game they start as narrow favorites for (at least according to the bookies) at home? Outside of that shocker at Bournemouth, Forest have been excellent on the road of late, so I’m going with them. Prediction: Fulham 1-2 Nottingham Forest
Manchester City vs. Newcastle
If Newcastle are at it in this game, there’s no reason they can’t pick up at least a point. In midweek, Manchester City actually looked a fair bit better for over an hour, competing well with Real Madrid, but yet another late drop-off is, of course, concerning, and they seem to lack belief as well as physicality in the middle of the park. It’s still tough to go against them at the Etihad, but after picking up a couple more injuries again in midweek too, I’m going with a draw. Prediction: Manchester City 2-2 Newcastle
Southampton vs. Bournemouth
Fair play to Southampton on the win they managed at Ipswich, but I think it’s still very difficult to consider picking them to win on Superbru. Bournemouth are the far better side and should win comfortably. Prediction: Southampton 0-3 Bournemouth
West Ham vs. Brentford
Brentford have finally started to improve their away form, so could be dangerous here, but I’m going with West Ham, as I think there’s been reason for encouragement in the first
