Premier League Predictions GW6

Another weekend of football is fast approaching and teams should be more settled in. Liverpool still lead the pack, with the North London clubs faltering at the weekend to grant Liverpool some distance. Bournemouth and Crystal Palace maintain their excellent starts to the season taking fourth and fifth place respectively. At the other end of the table it's relatively unchanged with Wolves, Aston Villa and West Ham making up the bottom three.

The upcoming weekend will kick off with Brentford hosting Manchester United in the early kick off (12:30pm) on Saturday. We can then enjoy four fixtures at 3PM with Chelsea welcoming Brighton, Crystal Palace taking on the current leaders in Liverpool, Leeds will battle Bournemouth and finally Manchester City up against Burnley. Following on from that we'll see Nottingham Forest challenge Sunderland in the 5:30PM kick off slot. To round off the Saturday action will be Tottenham Hotspur entertaining Wolves at 8PM. Onto Sunday and we have Aston Villa versus Fulham at 2PM and then Newcastle will go to war against Arsenal at 4:30PM. We have Monday night football this week as Everton will face off against West Ham at 8PM.

Brentford vs Manchester United

Manchester United enter this match with a tad more confidence after finally claiming their second win of the season against Chelsea. Although Chelsea were reduced to ten men after only five minutes, giving United a big advantage, especially on home turf. Casemiro was actually sent off as well in this game, but the damage had been done by the Red Devils. Brentford are now starting to feel the effects of losing half their squad over the summer, well they were replaced, but some players are just irreplaceable. Keith Andrews had done well to manage his team through the turmoil, but they're now three games without a win and actually have only one win in all five games. This has chucked them down to 17th.

Manchester United will be hoping to do something they haven't done since 2022 and that is to beat Brentford at their ground. United will also be hoping to string two wins together in the league for the first time since May 2024. The odds are stacked against Ruben Amorim's men, but they'll take confidence from the fact that they've played relatively well in most fixtures this season. Brentford have experienced some good results, but it hasn't been enough to create some distance between them and the bottom three. I do think Brentford will frustrate Manchester United, but it won't be as straight forward as a win. I think it'll be honours even.

Predicted Score: Brentford 2-2 Manchester United

Notable absentees:

Brentford: Gustavo Gomes

Manchester United: Casemiro, Diogo Dalot, Tyrell Malacia, Lisandro Martinez

Chelsea vs Brighton

Chelsea rather threw away their game against United last weekend after Robert Sanchez clattered into Bryan Mbuemo in the fifth minute. This prompted wholesale changes from Enzo Maresca which saw three players exit the frame. Both teams will be relatively happy with how the season has started, but I think Brighton will feel as though they deserve to be higher. Chelsea sit in sixth after turning in their first loss of the season last weekend. Brighton sit 14th, but have claimed a win against Manchester City and drew to a high flying Tottenham Hotspur side last time out. There's positives within the negatives.

Brighton seem to be playing much better against the bigger sides, it's the smaller clubs they're struggling to overcome. This doesn't bode well for Chelsea who will be seeking redemption from last weekend. Unfortunately Maresca won't have Cole Palmer to choose from, so it'll make this fixture much more tough than it needs to be. The Blues will scrape through, but it won't be pretty.

Predicted Score: Chelsea 2-1 Brighton

Notable absentees:

Chelsea: Cole Palmer, Facundo Buonanotte, Benoit Badiashile, Dario Essugo, Josh Acheampong, Levi Colwill, Liam Delap, Romeo Lavia.

Brighton: Adam Webster, Jack Hinshelwood, Maxim De Cuyper, Solly March.

Crystal Palace vs Liverpool

Palace enter this contest in fine form, not a red blotch on their record for a long time now and certainly not this season. Oliver Glasner has already got one over on Arne Slot when they met in the Community Shield in August and were good value for money in that. Palace will be hoping for more of the same and to really test the steel of Liverpool. Slot and his men have won everything so far, but every game seems like the opposition could take something from them. They've relied heavily on last minute goals, something Palace will have to watch.

Palace have the tools to hurt Liverpool and I think this could be the game that we see the Merseyside club struggle. They will be missing Hugo Ekitike after his red card midweek, so all eyes will be on Alexander Isak to deliver the goods, but it'll be Liverpool target Marc Guehi that will attempt to stop it. I do actually think Palace halt the Liverpool juggernaut, but I don't think it'll be a win for Glasner's men.

Predicted Score: Palace 1-1 Liverpool

Notable absentees:

Palace: Yeremi Pino, Walter Benitez, Chadi Riad, Caleb Kporha, Cheick Doucoure, Ismaila Sarr.

Liverpool: Hugo Ekitike, Giovanni Leoni, Stefan Bajcetic.

Leeds vs Bournemouth

Two teams that you could argue are both high flying given what their objectives would be for the season. Leeds were lingering dangerously close to the relegation zone, but a great win against Wolves lifts them upto 12th. Bournemouth find themselves fourth, but only on goal difference. A fantastic start that has seen them play some exquisite football. They were pegged back last weekend by Newcastle, but they're naturally a difficult opponent to overcome.

Leeds will be confident they can use their home crowd to push them over the line, but it doesn't seem like anything particularly daunts Bournemouth. Andoni Iraola has structured his team in a way that's hard to break down, but explosive going forward. He'll be hoping his back line can absorb any Leeds pressure and use it constructively going the other way. I think Leeds will cause problems, but nothing that Bournemouth can't overcome.

Predicted Score: Leeds 1-2 Bournemouth

Notable absentees:

Leeds: Jayden Bogle, Lucas Perri, Daniel James, Wilfried Gnoto.

Bournemouth: Lewis Cook, Enes Unal, Adam Smith.

Manchester City vs Burnley

The engagement between City and Burnley should be straight forward. Pep should be demolishing his opponent, but football doesn't always work out the way it should. But, in this case there's not much evidence to suggest it won't. City are bang in form again despite a blip against Arsenal last weekend, which they'll likely be quite happy with given the injuries to the squad. They sit ninth, but only three points out from 2nd, 3rd and 4th place. Burnley aren't quite bottom dwellers, but they're languishing close by and they'll want to build up some points to help avoid the drop.

Scott Parker knows the task of beating City is extremely tough, but having recently played Liverpool and only losing 1-0, they'll have a relative amount of confidence. They'll have to dig deep once again and rely on a carefully coordinated defensive structure. However, I don't think that will enough to subdue Pep's men and Scott Parker will have to look to next week to start recovering points.

Predicted Score: City 4-0 Burnley

Notable absentees:

City: Abdukodir Khusanov, Mateo Kovacic, Omar Marmoush, Rayan Ait Nouri, Rayan Cherki.

Burnley: Connor Roberts, Jacob Bruun Larsen, Jordan Beyer, Zeki Amdouni.

Nottingham Forest vs Sunderland

Ange Postecogolou has had a rough start to life back in the Premier League, he hasn't led his Forest side to victory in any of his first four games, in all competitions. This is worrying from a club perspective as the man that was sacked is the only one of the two managers to win a game this season. Although four away games on the trot is a slight caveat. Sunderland, on the other hand, are enjoying life back in the Premier League and find themselves in 7th place. They've only lost once in their previous five fixtures and picked up two wins within that. Regis Le Bris has adopted a brave structure that allows his team to do more than just survive, they thrive. With Granit Xhaka at the core, it'll be hard to look at them in the same bracket as relegation contenders.

Ange has always stuck to his principals and that won't change for anything or anyone. He'll play a high defensive line and encourage his men to defend from the front with a coordinated press. Sunderland will have to weather the impending storm and look to West Ham for inspiration in how to overcome Forest. Ange needs a win from somewhere and I do believe this will be the game he'll grab his first win.

Predicted Score: Forest 2-0 Sunderland

Notable absentees:

Forest: Murillo, Ola Aina, Douglas Luiz.

Sunderland: Luke O'Nien, Ajibola Alese, Dennis Cirkin, Leo Hjelde, Reinildo, Habib Diarra, Romaine Mundle.

Tottenham Hotspur vs Wolves

It's very much a tale of both ends of the tape. On one end we have a Spurs side that will have aspirations of winning the league, but will ultimately hope they end up in the top four, which they're on track to do. Wolves, at the other end, are battling for their lives to break free from clutches of the relegation zone, even though they sit rock bottom. Not a single point registered, but it's not been for the want of trying. Spurs have 10, but will be frustrated it isn't more after being held by Brighton last weekend. Both teams do have something in common though and that's both winning midweek in the Carabao Cup. Wolves will be hoping to use some of that confidence boost in this fixture.

The thing is with Wolves is that they definitely have a goal in them, but they've predominantly come in cup competitions, they need to find a way to transition the good form shown in the Carabao Cup. They've knocked out two Premier League teams, so they have the capabilities, but I think Thomas Frank's men will be much too strong for them and we'll see a similar result to Spurs vs Burnley, which was a very comfortable 3-0.

Predicted Score: Spurs 3-0 Burnley

Notable absentees:

Spurs: Randal Kolo Muani, Dominic Solanke, Yves Bissouma, Dejan Kulusevski, Radu Dragusin, James Maddison, Kota Takai, Pape Sarr, Ben Davies.

Wolves: Enso Gonzalez.

Aston Villa vs Fulham

Villa have had a very trying season so far and have hardly anything to cheer about, that was until their Europa League fixture against Bologna, they beat the Italian side 1-0. Moving back to the Premier League and it's misery for Unai Emery's men having not picked up a single win this season in five attempts. Fulham, though, have certainly improved their form over the last five games in all competitions. Three wins on the bounce since the loss to Chelsea, that includes two in the league which has seen them shoot up to 8th in the table.

Marco Silva will be proud of his men over the last few weeks as he knew they had it in them to turn their form around. They've added goals while still maintaining that great defensive prowess. Emery will want to take some notes as his men seem bereft of ideas and cohesion. Villa have the players, but something is off this season and I think Fulham can capitalise on that.

Predicted Score: Aston Villa 2-2 Fulham

Notable absentees:

Villa: Amadou Onana, Emi Martinez, Ross Barkley, Youri Tielemans.

Fulham: Antonee Robinson, Kevin.

Newcastle vs Arsenal

Another huge clash for both sides. It seems like every other week there's a humongous fixture for both teams to try and navigate. Both sides have struggled to make the most of those big clashes, but it's Arsenal that have seen the most success when they're not facing an almighty opponent. Newcastle have had a topsy turvy season so far, but it's been more lows than highs. The Geordie's only have one win in the league, but also lost their opening Champions League match to Barcelona. They will take comfort in the fact that they demolished Bradford City midweek, but Arsenal beat their opponents too. The Gunners have had more to cheer about, but there's a feeling that there's not enough to keep up with Liverpool.

It's so difficult to predict this one because I want so badly for Arsenal to go there, play some good football, snatch a win and go home. Newcastle won't let that happen, but perhaps the change in personnel could impact proceedings. There will be no Alexander Isak this time around who scored in two of three games that Arsenal lost to Eddie Howe's men. Arsenal will need to find a way to overcome the decibel breaking Newcastle fans who will turn their stadium into a cauldron. However, a part of me thinks that a little bit of discipline and a touch of bravery will secure Arteta and his men all three points.

Predicted Score: Newcastle 1-1 Arsenal

Notable absentees:

Newcastle: Fabian Schar, Jacob Ramsey, Yoane Wissa.

Arsenal: Kai Havertz, Piero Hincapie, Gabriel Jesus, Noni Madueke.

Everton vs West Ham

David Moyes welcomes his former employers, but Moyes will certainly be the happiest of the two to see each other. Despite a hiccup midweek against Wolves (Carabao Cup) they'll be looking to get back on track against a flailing West Ham side. Everton also lost the Merseyside derby last weekend which will leave a very sour taste, especially as they almost stole a point. Graham Potter will simply be hoping that Everton postpone their momentum building until next week as his own side needs three points desperately.

Everton have been a class act all season and gave Liverpool a lot of concerns last weekend. They'll be hugely disappointed that they were moved to one side by Wolves, but I think they'll use that disappointment and turn it into desire and hunger to make sure they don't lose. For West Ham it's hard to see where the points will come from at the moment because it won't be against the blues of Merseyside.

Predicted Score: Everton 3-1 West Ham

Notable absentees:

Everton: Jarrad Branthwaite, Merlin Rohl.

West Ham: Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Tomas Soucek.

That's my predictions for this week and as a new feature I'm going to check my last predictions from GW5 and see how I did. As always, take the 'Notable absentees' section with a pinch of salt as that's just what information has been provided at the time of writing. Now, let's get checking

Liverpool 2-1 Everton - Correct result and score!

Brighton 1-1 Spurs - Correct result!

Burnley 1-1 Forest - Correct result and score!

West Ham 0-2 Palace - Correct result!

Wolves 1-0 Leeds - Incorrect

Manchester United 2-1 Chelsea - Correct result and score!

Fulham 1-1 Brentford - Incorrect

Bournemouth 3-1 Newcastle - Incorrect

Sunderland 2-0 Aston Villa - Incorrect

Arsenal 2-1 Manchester City - Incorrect

5/10 correct result

3/10 correct score

5/10 incorrect