My predictions for GW21 of the Premier League season

Premier League fixtures are coming at a rapid rate, but will be slowing down to make way for the FA Cup after this round of fixtures. Arsenal still hold a lead at the top of the table, and it’s even been extended to six points. Manchester City and Aston Villa are both left trailing behind. At the other end, it’s still Wolves, Burnley and West Ham in the relegation zone.

We have fixtures taking place over three nights. First up is Tuesday night (6th January) and we have one game. West Ham vs Nottingham Forest, which will kick off at 8PM (GMT). Then there’s eight games on Wednesday night. Six of those games will kick off at 7:30PM which will include; Bournemouth hosting Tottenham Hotspur, Brentford up against Sunderland, Crystal Palace welcoming Aston Villa, Wolves traveling to Everton, Fulham will face Chelsea and Manchester City will play Brighton. After that we have two fixtures kicking off at 8:15PM. Burnley vs Manchester United and Newcastle vs Leeds. Thursday will see our final game of this round and that will see Arsenal battle Liverpool at 8PM.

West Ham vs Nottingham Forest

The Hammers didn’t think life could get much worse until they faced Wolves at the weekend. They gifted the bottom dwellers their first win of the season, and with a comfortable margin. The East London side were three goals down before half time and couldn’t find a response in the second half. Realistically, West Ham should be safe from getting leapfrogged by Wolves, but the gap is now 8 points. Nuno Espírito Santo would rather look upwards and they have a chance to pull themselves within a point of Nottingham Forest. This is one of those games that neither team can afford to lose, especially not West Ham. A loss would see the gap open up to seven points and that’s beginning to look like an unreachable target. When you consider the fact that the Hammers have only won three games all season, the odds aren’t in their favour.

Nottingham Forest have had a few good chances to propel themselves away from the relegation zone, but keeping failing to do so. They’re on a stretch of form that could throw Sean Dyche into murky waters. Forest have now lost four games in a row and only sit four points clear of West Ham. Thankfully, their away form isn’t tragic. They’ve picked up points in four games on the road, out of a possible 10. That does include a win over Liverpool. So, they’re no strangers to getting big results while on their travels. But, they’ll have to start scoring goals as only Wolves and Sunderland have scored less than them while playing away. I do think Forest possess the better individual quality, but it’s whether they can apply themselves correctly. Most of me thinks they will.

Predicted Result: West Ham 1-2 Forest

Bournemouth vs Tottenham Hotspur

Bournemouth now face the other North London side at the Vitality Stadium. The Cherries probably felt hard done by that they couldn’t get at least a point against Arsenal, but they have the chance to redeem themselves against Spurs. Bournemouth have extended their winless streak to 11 games now and will be desperately avoiding another game to add to the streak. The Vitality Stadium is where Bournemouth have fared the best as they’ve only lost twice. In the 10 games played, they’ve won four and drawn four. Prior to Arsenal, they’d only lost once at home, which is excellent form. They even have the fifth best defensive record in the league when accounting for just home form. There’s also been no fresh movement on the Antoine Semenyo deal, so he could still be in the squad.

Spurs have fallen flat again after picking up a nice win against Crystal Palace. They’ve now drawn two games in a row after very underwhelming performances. Something which the fans are less than happy with. The North London side sit 13th in the league, but a win can see them rise to 7th. Spurs’ away form is still where their strength lies as they sit 2nd in the form guide. They’ve won five games while on the road, only Arsenal have more. But, in terms of where Spurs can improve, it’s certainly the regularity of which they can churn out chances. For xG created, they only sit 0.2 ahead of Wolves, the bottom placed club. Only Sunderland and Burnley have a worse xG performance. This is not the standard of a side that see themselves competing for a top four finish. They’ll be pushed to their limits again and I can see Bournemouth ending their winless streak.

Predicted Result: Bournemouth 2-1 Spurs

Brentford vs Sunderland

Brentford are having an extraordinary season and I feel as though they’re finally getting some recognition for it. They sit 7th in the league and are unbeaten in their last five Premier League games, that stretch includes three wins. This featured a huge 4-2 win over Everton at the weekend. Igor Thiago has been phenomenal for the Bees, pushing his season total to 14 goals now. Only Erling Haaland has more. If they were to beat Sunderland then they can rise to 5th in the table. Home form suggests that they likely will as they’ve only lost once at the Gtech Community Stadium. They’ve also scored 20 goals in this stadium alone, only Manchester City and Arsenal have better offensive records.

Sunderland are by far and away the draw experts in the league. They’ve now drawn almost half of the games they’ve played which is quite incredible. However, they’ve picked up the draws against the elite in the league. Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool and Aston Villa have all been held. This proves that they have the guts to go toe-to-toe with anyone. This sees them holding 8th in the league, just under their opponents. A win for Regis Le Bris could also see them rise to 5th, so this game has the makings of a classic. But, winning games is becoming less and less frequent for Sunderland as they’ve drawn four games in a row now. One area that does need improvement is scoring goals. Clearly they can defend extremely well, but they’ve got the third lowest goal tally in the league. Only Forest and Wolves are worse off. I do feel as though this could be the game that Sunderland won’t be able to hold out for as the squad is extremely stretched, given the absences for the African Cup of Nations.

Predicted Result: Brentford 2-0 Sunderland

Crystal Palace vs Aston Villa

Palace have a list of absences as long as their arm and have now attracted the immediate attention of Manchester City for the services of Marc Guehi. Oliver Glasner will have no other option than to keep playing the likes of Adam Wharton, Jean-Philippe Mateta, Marc Guehi and Maxence Lacroix. This set of players are putting in an extraordinary amount of minutes and this won’t change as we roll through January. However, they have added Brennan Johnson to spice up the attack. This lack of rest for key players is hampering their results as they’ve now not won in seven games. They sit 14th in the league, and have only scored two goals in their last five games. It’s an awful record and it needs addressing as soon as possible.

Aston Villa returned to winning ways immediately after their winning streak was ended by Arsenal. They convincingly beat Forest 3-1. Due to having a huge winning streak, Villa are now 4th in the league for away form. They’ve picked up 17 points away from Villa Park. Not much more can be said about Villa right now, they can prove that the Arsenal game was a one off with a win over Palace. I think that’s what they need the most, just keep winning games by any means necessary. I think that Villa could quite easily turn Palace over given how depleted the South London side are.

Predicted Result: Palace 0-1 Aston Villa

Everton vs Wolves

I thought Everton had escaped the bad form, but they’ve turned in another loss. That makes it three defeats in five games. It’s seen drop down to 12th, but the middle of the table is so congested that a win could see them rise to 6th. When one win can see you move 6 places, you know it’s tight. But, having just lost another game at home, the Hill-Dickinson Stadium is looking less like the fortress it was at the start of the season. Two of the four home defeats have come in the last two games, meaning that the previous eight only saw two losses. It’s something that David Moyes needs to put right against Wolves. But, to keep the consistency, they’ll need their main stars back soon.

Wolves picked up their first win of the season at the weekend with a huge 3-0 win over West Ham. This means they’re unbeaten in 2026 and are also unbeaten in two consecutive matches. Something they haven’t managed since the start of October. Will Wolves perform a miracle and escape relegation? No. But, it’s giving the fans something to cheer about and that’s what matters. Having said that, 12 points is not an impossible target. But, the use of some youth players is proving to have an effect and that’s exactly what I said they needed to do. Do I think they can beat Everton? No, I don’t think they will, but I also think they’ve shown they can avoid humiliating results.

Predicted Result: Everton 2-0 Wolves

Fulham vs Chelsea

Much like Brentford, Fulham’s form has been flying under the radar. They’re now unbeaten in five games, winning three of them. They were even able to hold Liverpool to a 2-2 draw after equalising in the 97th minute, a goal of the season contender. Marco Silva will be delighted with how his team have changed their fortunes, a win could see them climb into 8th. From where they once were, that’s an incredible turnaround. Craven Cottage has also seen the best of their work as they’ve picked up five wins. Harry Wilson has been absolutely crucial to this run of form.

Chelsea are still manager-less, but things could change very quickly. However, anyone they do bring in won’t have any time to really get to grips with the players. But, do they really need a new manager considering Calum McFarlane pulled off surprise draw against Pep Guardiola’s side at the Etihad. Behind the scenes aside, they have a London derby to contend with. Though they’re technically West London neighbours, there’s no real rivalry between these two sides. But, Chelsea still have a job to do and seriously need to put three points back on the board. They’ve not won a Premier League game since the 13th December, but the reality is that they’ve won just one Premier League game between the 30th November and the 4th January. It’s an abysmal record for a side that claimed to be in a title race on November 30th, after drawing against Arsenal. I think this could be a very awkward encounter for Chelsea and one I don’t think they’ll win.

Predicted Result: Fulham 1-1 Chelsea

Manchester City vs Brighton

City have fallen further behind Arsenal after two disappointing match day’s. They couldn’t break down Sunderland, leading to a 0-0 draw. They then conceded a last gasp equaliser against Chelsea, ensuring the game finished 1-1. Those two results coincided with two wins from the North London side, leaving City six points behind the leaders. Pep Guardiola has also confirmed Josko Gvardiol has sustained a season ending injury, leaving him with a paper thin squad. No doubt City will seek replacements in the transfer market, but for now, they’re going to have to get by. First up is another home tie against Brighton. The Citizens will be well aware that they lost the reverse fixture, so there’s a chance that not even home form will save them.

Brighton have had their struggles in recent weeks, but they were finally able to put three points on the board against Burnley. It’s restored some pride, but they’ll need a few more wins to get it all the way back. December was an awful month as they didn’t win a game at all, but they’ve started 2026 how they mean to carry on, with a win. It sees them sit in 10th with a chance to jump into 6th place. However, away form has been less than inspiring, but not the worst the league has seen. They’ve picked up points in 50% of games on the road. They’ll have some encouragement too as they actually drew against City in this fixture last season. It’ll be a very awkward game for City considering who they have out right now. Brighton will bring energy and talent. Any win for the home side will be hard fought.

Predicted Result: City 2-1 Brighton

Burnley vs Manchester United

Burnley were really threatening to end their winless streak towards the back end of December, but have since suffered two defeats. It’s almost pointless looking at the table because nothing has changed. They haven’t taken advantage of West Ham and Nottingham Forest’s bad patch of form and have actually left themselves just six points clear of Wolves. Things are only marginally better at Turf Moor, but it’s down to the simple fact of forcing quite mundane spectacles. Burnley have only scored 8 goals, which is the worst in the league, but have conceded 13 which leaves them in the middle of the pack. So, you might struggle to score, but you can be safe in the knowledge that Burnley will also struggle. Scott Parker hasn’t seen his side win a game since the 26th October. A run of 11 games.

Manchester United will be without Ruben Amorim after he was sacked at the weekend. It remains to be seen whether this will be a good move for United, but one thing is for sure, they have been playing a lot better this season. The Red Devils find themselves 6th in the league and can break into the top four with a win over Burnley. The away side have only lost once in five games, but that run includes just one win also. Draws are becoming a feature of United’s game and they now sit on seven, only Brighton and Sunderland have more. It’s hard to see where the United players will be in terms of a mental headspace. It’s something that Burnley could capitalise on.

Predicted Result: Burnley 1-1 United

Newcastle vs Leeds

Newcastle are beginning to pull themselves together. They’ve broken into the top 10 after winning two games in a row. If they win a third game in a row then they could rise to 6th. They’re also welcoming back more and more personnel to make a real challenge for that top four spot. However, form picking up has aligned with the absence of Champions League football, of which two league games still remain to be played in January. Eddie Howe needs to take each game as it comes and just ensure his side are picking up points as much as they can. The Geordie’s are known for a squeaky tight defence, but they’ve not been as strong this season. However, they’re 2nd in the league for xGA. This means predicted goals against and they have the 2nd lowest in the league, meaning they’re not giving away many chances. Only Arsenal have a better record. Much more like the Newcastle of old.

Leeds have been phenomenal since the start of December and it’s continued into 2026. They’re unbeaten since the 3rd December, picking up two wins and five draws. But, they’ve faced Liverpool twice, Sunderland away, Chelsea and Manchester United at home. To remain unbeaten throughout that stretch is incredible. The reverse of this fixture saw these sides reach a stalemate. However, Leeds’ away form has been atrocious as they’ve only picked up one win away from Elland Road. If Leeds were to win, they could leapfrog Bournemouth and put themselves seven points clear of Nottingham Forest. More importantly, they’d be 11 points clear of the relegation zone. Having said that, I don’t think this will be the game for Leeds. Newcastle are turning the screw on their form and I think this will be another win for Eddie Howe.

Predicted Result: Newcastle 2-0 Leeds

Arsenal vs Liverpool

Arsenal have had pretty much the perfect week. They won both their fixtures and were able to see all their rivals drop points, except from Aston Villa. They’re now six points clear at the top and don’t seem to be slowing down. It’s seven wins in a row for the Gunners as they’ve now firmly put the Villa Park game behind them. Mikel Arteta’s men top pretty much every metric going right now, apart from goals scored as they sit four behind Manchester City. They conceded the least amount of goals in the league, they have the best xG and xGA, the most clean sheets (tied with Manchester City), the list goes on. But, January will see them play nine games in total. 6 of which will be away from home, so this will be a huge test of resolve for the squad.

Liverpool aren’t particularly setting the league alight with their form again, but they’re avoiding defeats. They last lost in the league on the 22nd November, but it’s been four wins and four draws. The draws will be disappointing for Arne Slot giving how much of a knife edge those matches run on. The Reds haven’t been bad away from home, but they’ve dropped points in 60% of them. That percentage includes four losses. But, xG is certainly in their favour as they’re 3rd in the table for it. For comparison, Arsenal’s xG is 36.6. Liverpool’s is only 32. Not a great difference, considering one team is 14 points clear of the other. They’ll also be sweating on the availability of Hugo Ekitike, who they desperately need for this fixture. I can’t bet against Arsenal at the Emirates, but Liverpool will look much better than they have done recently. They have their backs to the wall and will be seeking a redeeming win. Arsenal are the perfect team to get that statement win against. But, I think Arsenal are just too strong at the moment, too many options to choose from to change the game.

Predicted Result: Arsenal 3-1 Liverpool