Can Manchester City avoid yet another loss when they go up against clear Premier League title favorites Liverpool? Will West Ham make it two massive wins on the road for Julen Lopetegui this weekend against a resurgent Arsenal? Which version of Aston Villa will show up vs. Chelsea? And can Ruben Amorim get his win when Manchester United take on Everton?
All this and more as I predict every fixture in the Premier League this weekend on Matchday 13.
Brighton vs. Southampton
As tempting as it is to predict a Southampton upset after they gave league leaders Liverpool quite the scare last weekend, there’s just no way the Saints are able to compete with a Brighton side that is swimming in goals and seemingly impervious to underestimating the opposition.
After all, Brighton are underdogs in their own right, and with Danny Welbeck and Joao Pedro forming the unlikeliest of star duos in the Premier League, the Seagulls have the attacking firepower and consistency of playmaking execution to dominate anyone.
Southampton’s desire to, you know, not play like a team largely bereft of talent is admirable but foolish. Look for Brighton to take the visitors down 4-0 in a game that never looks particularly close.
Crystal Palace vs. Newcastle
Newcastle are coming off a shock defeat to West Ham, whose manager, Julen Lopetegui, would have been on the outs if he were on the receiving end of the sort of loss the Magpies suffered.
It hasn’t been a banner year for Newcastle either, though they are in striking distance amongst a pile of teams competing for European slots that are very, very close to each other.
To wit, with 18 points, Newcastle are only a point behind seventh-placed Nottingham Forest for the Conference League, and Forest were in the Champions League huddle before getting smacked 3-0 by Arsenal at the weekend,
Meanwhile, Crystal Palace nicked a point off a Champions League contender, drawing Aston Villa 2-2. Funny enough, Palace’s best performances have been against quality opposition as of late, as their most recent wins were over Tottenham and then Villa in the League Cup.
At home, it’s not far fetched to think that the Eagles will get a 1-1 draw off Newcastle this weekend, aiding their desperate claw out of the relegation zone. In all honesty, they have too much talent to be 19th, even after losing Michael Olise.
Brentford vs. Leicester City
There’s not much to say about this game, other than it’s almost too easy to pick Brentford to take a 3-1 win here. They just have too much attacking firepower, while there’s honestly not a whole lot to like about the Leicester City squad beyond Abdul Fatawu and Facundo Buonanotte. Firing Steve Cooper, materially, solves nothing.
Nottingham Forest vs. Ipswich Town
If it weren’t for the heroics of Andre Onana in goal, Ipswich Town legitimately deserved to get the full three points and completely spoil any optimism heading into Ruben Amorim’s Manchester United managerial debut.
Ipswich will face a tougher test on Saturday afternoon against Nottingham Forest, and the smart money is on the home side pitching a 1-0 shutout to get back to their winning ways.
Wolves vs. Bournemouth
Wolves are a significantly better team than their 17th placed standing in the Premier League would indicate, and they proved that point with a massive 4-1 win over Fulham last weekend, led by the magnificent Matheus Cunha.
In fact, Wolves haven’t lost any of their last four games, following up two draws with two wins, and they have the momentum against a Bournemouth side that remains safely in the mid-table despite losing Dominic Solanke.
Expect Wolves and Bournemouth to share the spoils 1-1, with Cunha grabbing another great goal to his good.
West Ham vs. Arsenal
Imagine the headlines if Julen Lopetegui were to stun Arsenal as an encore performance from what may have been a job-saving 2-0 victory over Newcastle last Monday.
But fairytales don’t always come true. Arsenal have so many flaws after another summer transfer window without serious attacking reinforcements, but they can still score goals when superstars Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka are revved up.
The two franchise cornerstones were solid last weekend, and they will, once again, carry Arsenal through to victory in this one, 2-1.
Tottenham vs. Fulham
Fulham are such a thoroughly mediocre side, but because they are reasonably average at every position and have a few notable attacking names capable of going off on any given Saturday (or Sunday), you can’t count them out against any caliber of opponent.
Tottenham, meanwhile, are the toughest team in the Premier League to get a read on, because they can go from blasting Aston Villa and Manchester City off the pitch to getting betaen by inferior competition like Galatasaray and Ipswich Town.
Spurs should do enough to get the win here, even without Guglielmo Vicario in goal, and any three points with the injuries they’ve suffered is massive. Look for Solanke and Son Heung-min to play the hero here as Tottenham outlast a very ambitious Fulham 3-2.
Manchester United vs. Everton
On the surface, you’d think that Manchester United would be happy to face Everton in Ruben Amorim’s second match as manager, but after drawing his debut, they certainly can’t take Everton for granted and are only a few spots above them in the Premier League table anyway.
Furthermore, Everton haven’t been half bad since getting blown out 7-0 by Brighton and Tottenham to start the season. Since then, the Toffees have never lost by more than one goal.
Better yet, they’ve been on a bit of a roll lately with only one loss since Sept. 21, which was against Southampton. They have drawn West Ham and Brentford in their last two, and those are very similar clubs to Manchester United in terms of quality this season.
Manchester United should ultimately do just enough to grind out a victory at Old Trafford, but it isn’t going to be pretty. Look for Man United to eek out a 1-0 win, courtesy of a moment of dribbling brilliance from Rasmus Hojlund.
Chelsea vs. Aston Villa
Chelsea keep getting the job done, as Enzo Maresca picked up three more valuable points in the Champions League title race by dispatching of his former employers, Leicester City.
He and his Blues will have a tougher matchup this Sunday against Unai Emery’s Aston Villa, who look almost unrecognizable from the outfit that qualified for the Champions League last season and started the competition hot this season.
Villa have slid all the way down to eighth in the Premier League and have not won a league game in more than a month (against Fulham). They are the underdogs at Chelsea this weekend, and as painful as it is to say, they could be headed for a blowout loss, especially if Christopher Nkunku get his chance. Call this a 2-0 win for the Blues.
Liverpool vs. Manchester City
I’m sure no neutral takes any displeasure in the humbling string of horrible defeats and calamitous collapses Pep Guardiola has suffered, as Manchester City’s reliance on a few players to paper over a bloated, aging, overly expensive, and rather arrogantly managed squad have finally caught up to them.
And the catching up won’t stop. Liverpool are, by far, the best team in the Premier League, and the only shock on Sunday will be if Liverpool don’t completely pummel Manchester City into an oblivion, sending Pep’s sporting project into the scrap heap’s graveyard where the mad scientist himself must resuscitate whatever can be salvaged into a scarier machine next season.
Oh yeah, the prediction. Liverpool roasts Man City 5-0 with Luis Diaz and Mohamed Salah sending half the Citizens defense into reti- I mean, uh, lucrative Saudi Pro League contracts. Why hello there, Mr. Laporte.
The managing editor of The Trivela Effect, Kevin has 15 years of experience in digital media. He covered Real Madrid from 2019-2022 for The Real Champs as a site manager. You can contact him at the site’s official Twitter handle @TrivelaEffect or via the site’s official email thetrivelaeffect@gmail.com.