Where would we be without our annual glut of Premier League action over Christmas? The games are now coming thick and fast – and although there’s just one game on Boxing Day there’s a feast to follow over the weekend. It’s time to play Predictor!
Predictor is our simple, free-to-play competition where you can win big cash prizes, with £1,000 up for grabs weekly. Simply guess the winner of seven Premier League matches – or play it safe with a draw. There’s also a £5,000 prize if you come first across the whole season.
And we have leagues! You’re able to create or join them, and they can be public or private. Now is your chance to definitively prove you know more than your mates or even more than our experts – play now at dailymail.co.uk/predictor.
We kick off this set of predictions with the Saturday lunchtime game, as Nottingham Forest – who suffered a setback with defeat at Fulham after a decent start under Sean Dyche – host Manchester City.
Then there’s Arsenal v Brighton, Burnley v Everton, Liverpool v Wolves and West Ham v Fulham all at 3pm, with Chelsea hosting Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge to follow at 5.30pm.
We finish our round of games with Tottenham’s trip to Crystal Palace at 4.30pm on Sunday. Our expert this week is Kieran Gill – who scored a solid four out of seven last time out. Here is his take on this weekend’s clashes…
KIERAN’S VERDICT
Manchester City will not pass up an opportunity to pile the pressure on Arsenal when they travel to the City Ground. Erling Haaland et al will know that their rivals will be watching their lunchtime kickabout on those little televisions onboard their team bus en route to the Emirates and will not want them seeing anything other than a trouncing that temporarily takes City to the top of the tree.
Unfortunately for City, though, I reckon Arsenal have a strong enough mentality, particularly with players such as the vocal Declan Rice, that they will then immediately respond with a win of their own over Brighton to reclaim first place in the Premier League.
Perhaps the biggest shock in my weekend predictions comes in Chelsea versus Aston Villa. I’ve gone for a home victory which would end Villa’s 10-game winning streak.
I see Chelsea as having the right ingredients to pose problems for Unai Emery’s side, with Robert Sanchez providing tidy long passes directly to the attackers nowadays rather than purely playing it short.
That was how Joao Pedro scored at Newcastle to equalise in Chelsea’s last outing, and I suspect we may see similar balls from Sanchez at Stamford Bridge which could hurt Villa for the first time in a long while. Chelsea cannot allow Villa to go 10 points clear of them, so this will be a big game, and, I think, an entertaining one for the neutrals chowing down on their leftover turkey.
Earlier this week, I had to predict who would be relegated from the Premier League this season. I went for Wolves, West Ham and Burnley, and I’ve got them all losing this weekend.
Wolves are going to Liverpool and, even without the injured Alexander Isak, Arne Slot’s side should have more than enough to crush the visitors.
Burnley face Everton at home after finally ending their losing streak under Scott Parker with a draw at Bournemouth, but I suspect David Moyes is savvy enough to have spied the vulnerabilities he can exploit.
As for West Ham, I feel for their fans. The London Stadium simply isn’t an intimidating place to go, and Fulham should be relishing their visit.
Selhurst Park is tough, though, and I predict Tottenham’s players may fold there in their first match since that strange showing when they finished with nine men in losing to Liverpool.
Reckon you can beat Kieran? Go to dailymail.co.uk/predictor and have your say.
