Arsenal have already been beaten by one London team this season – newly promoted Brentford – so how will the Gunners fare against European champions Chelsea on Sunday?
“A lot of people might expect Chelsea to just roll Arsenal over but I feel like it will be a lot tighter than that,” said BBC football expert Mark Lawrenson.
Lawro is making predictions for all 380 top-flight matches this season, against a variety of guests.
For this weekend’s fixtures, he is up against The Wombats drummer Dan Haggis.
The Wombats’ new song If You Ever Leave, I’m Coming With You was deemed the Hottest Record In The World on BBC Radio 1’s Future Sounds show this week. Their fifth album Fix Yourself, Not The World is released at the start of next year and they begin a UK tour in April.
Dan is a lifelong Everton fan who is “reluctantly optimistic” that the club can recapture their glory days of the 1980s.
“I was born in 1984 and had a season ticket from 1992 onwards,” he told BBC Sport. “If you don’t know about Everton in the 1990s then – apart from our FA Cup win in 1995 – it wasn’t a great decade for us.
“We were regularly in the lower reaches of the table and I remember we would get back from the match on a rainy winter’s day in Liverpool, when we’d just been beaten at home by some other mediocre side, and I’d be so forlorn. My mum would be like, ‘what do you get out of going to the match?’, and I would be thinking ‘you don’t understand’.”
“Having got through that, I am quite happy with the way things are now. Maybe if I had been old enough to have known Everton when we were winning loads in the 1980s I would be saying ‘c’mon, we have to get back to that’.
“For me, though, if we are finishing in the top 10 then that is OK. I think we put unfair pressure on ourselves as Everton fans at times, when we expect more. I still get frustrated of course, but there is enough positivity for me to be excited about where the club is going – on and off the pitch.
“With us building a new ground and all the rest of it, it does seem as if we are heading in the right direction – we are going to win the league again in my lifetime, I am sure of it!”
Everton finished 10th under Carlo Ancelotti last season, so can they improve on that position under Rafael Benitez this time?
“I’m feeling pretty positive but we have to be realistic,” Dan explained. “We’ve got a pretty good squad, but all it takes is an injury to Richarlison or Dominic Calvert-Lewin and we are short up front.
“It’s our inconsistency that is the most annoying thing, though. I don’t even think that is down to the strength of our squad – it is more our mindset. We need to have the same mentality that the likes of Manchester City and Liverpool do.”
| Result | Lawro | Dan | |
| SATURDAY | |||
| Liverpool v Burnley | x-x | 3-0 | 3-0 |
| Aston Villa v Newcastle | x-x | 2-0 | 1-2 |
| Crystal Palace v Brentford | x-x | 1-2 | 0-1 |
| Leeds v Everton | x-x | 2-0 | 2-3 |
| Man City v Norwich | x-x | 3-0 | 4-0 |
| Brighton v Watford | x-x | 2-1 | 1-1 |
| SUNDAY | |||
| Southampton v Man Utd | x-x | 0-2 | 1-2 |
| Wolves v Tottenham | x-x | 1-1 | 1-3 |
| Arsenal v Chelsea | x-x | 1-1 | 1-2 |
| MONDAY | |||
| West Ham v Leicester | x-x | 1-1 | 1-1 |
A correct result (picking a win, draw or defeat) is worth 10 points. The exact score earns 40 points.
LAWRO’S PREDICTIONS
Games kick off at 15:00 BST unless otherwise stated
SATURDAY
Liverpool v Burnley (12:30)
I am at this game for LFC TV and it is going to be an unbelievably emotional day at Anfield as the club and fans pay tribute to the 97th victim of the Hillsborough disaster, Andrew Devine, who died in July.
The place would have been rocking anyway, because it is Liverpool’s first home game of the season, at a full stadium again and with Virgil van Dijk back in the team, but the occasion is going to make the atmosphere even more special.
Burnley won at Anfield in January, ending the Reds’ 68-game unbeaten run there in the league and starting a dismal run of home form.
I don’t see Sean Dyche’s side repeating that result this time though. We don’t know what is going on behind the scenes but I don’t really understand why the Clarets board are not backing him more in the transfer market.
Lawro’s prediction: 3-0
Dan’s prediction: I’ve never been one of those Blues where anything Liverpool do, I am against them. I have got so many friends who are Reds, so I was happy when they won the Champions League and the Premier League too. Don’t get me wrong, I still wind them up at derby time though. 3-0
Aston Villa v Newcastle
Both of these sides lost their opening games and I wonder if Newcastle will stick with the more attacking approach that saw them ship four goals at home to West Ham.
Aston Villa did not do too much better, conceding three at Watford and leaving their comeback too late, but I am expecting more from them this time, especially at Villa Park.
I am mentioning the crowd being back a lot in these early weeks of the season and I think they will make a huge difference to the home form of some sides, including Villa.
The other thing with Villa’s fans is that they will be looking forward to seeing how their new-look side is shaping up. On that side of things, I think we will see Villa improving as their new faces bed in.
Lawro’s prediction: 2-0
Dan’s prediction: Villa are still figuring out life after Jack Grealish and I actually fancy Newcastle here. I loved flair players like Anders Limpar and Andrei Kanchelskis at Everton, and with Allan Saint-Maximin Newcastle have got someone else I love to watch. On his day you just can’t get the ball off him. 1-2
Crystal Palace v Brentford
Crystal Palace were brushed aside by Chelsea last weekend, and I don’t see their new manager Patrick Vieira having much to smile about here, either.
Brentford were excellent in their win over Arsenal and will be absolutely flying confidence-wise.
I don’t think the Bees will see much of the ball, and Selhurst Park is going to be very noisy, but they won’t care about either.
Thomas Frank’s side work hard and have got goals in them – I fancy them to spring another surprise.
Lawro’s prediction: 1-2
Dan’s prediction: I think there’s going to be another away win here. Sometimes when teams come up to the Premier League there is just something about them – Brentford are clearly enjoying themselves and desperate to get stuck in. 0-1
Leeds v Everton
I am presuming Kalvin Phillips will return to Leeds’ starting line-up after missing their heavy defeat at Manchester United – they need him back in their midfield as soon as possible anyhow.
Everton had a very different day last time out, fighting back to beat Southampton, but I am expecting a big response from Leeds, especially at a full Elland Road.
Lawro’s prediction: 2-0
Dan’s prediction: This has got to be a high-scoring game, hasn’t it? Leeds can be so good, but given our away form last season I think we’ll just nick this one. 2-3
Manchester City v Norwich
By their standards, I thought Manchester City were ordinary in their defeat at Tottenham. They will surely offer far more in attack this time.
Norwich did OK in the early stages against Liverpool but they tried to play out from the back, which I am not convinced will work – especially at Etihad Stadium.
Lawro’s prediction: 3-0
Dan’s prediction: After last week’s defeat, Manchester City are just going to be thinking ‘right, that’s it, no more messing around’. Norwich played Liverpool last week, so this is a tough old start for them. 4-0
Brighton v Watford (17:30)
Both these sides were winners on the opening weekend but it is Brighton who I think will build on that here.
Watford surprised me against Villa but I don’t see them getting too many points on the road.
This might be one of the games the Hornets see as winnable, though, so it could turn out to be a little bit more open than people expect.
Lawro’s prediction: 2-1
Dan’s prediction: 1-1
SUNDAY
Southampton v Manchester United (14:00)
Last season, Manchester United made a habit of recovering to win after falling behind away from home and St Mary’s was one of the places they did it, thanks to two late Edinson Cavani goals.
I was there when United smashed Saints 9-0 at Old Trafford in February too. The scoreline won’t be anything like that this time, but the points are heading for Manchester again – whether Paul Pogba plays as well as he did against Leeds last week, or not.
I would never normally be worried about Southampton facing a relegation fight, but things are not looking great for them right now after losing two such key players from their spine in striker Danny Ings and centre-half Jannik Vestergaard.
Saints have to spend some of the money they got for them on strengthening their team – otherwise, it looks like it is going to be a tough season for them.
Lawro’s prediction: 0-2
Dan’s prediction: United looked really good last week. 1-2
Wolves v Tottenham (14:00)
This is a very early return to Molineux for Spurs boss Nuno Espirito Santo, and I think his old team will cause his new one a few problems.
Wolves lost at Leicester last time out, but I thought they played OK and they created a few chances. The big news was Raul Jimenez’s return after serious injury, which was great to see.
Spurs got a brilliant win against Manchester City but let’s see how they follow that up. This game is a very different test which will tell us a lot about where they are at.
Lawro’s prediction: 1-1
Dan’s prediction: Spurs were fantastic against City and I think they are going to win this one as well. 1-3
Arsenal v Chelsea (16:30)
It is going to be interesting to see how Chelsea’s new £97.5m striker Romelu Lukaku fits into their side, and whether Arsenal can stop him.
Mikel Arteta has not taken charge of many Gunners games in front of a full stadium and, the last time he did, he wasn’t under the same pressure he is facing now.
We don’t know which strikers Arteta has available, but I think he will be cautious anyway rather than trying to have a real go at Chelsea.
What he doesn’t need in his situation is to lose two consecutive matches, especially to two London clubs, which I always think makes it worse.
Lawro’s prediction: 1-1
Dan’s prediction: I think Chelsea are going to do really well this season and I noticed the Match of the Day pundits think the same. 1-2
MONDAY
West Ham v Leicester (20:00)
This is an interesting one. West Ham did the double over Leicester last season, with two Jesse Lingard goals inspiring their win at London Stadium.
There is no Lingard this time, although I am expecting the Hammers to be busy in the transfer market before the window closes at the end of the month.
West Ham got four goals away at Newcastle last week which will have given them a big lift, while Leicester did just enough to beat Wolves in their opener.
This time? You could make a case for both teams to win it, but I have a feeling the points will end up being shared.
Lawro’s prediction: 1-1
Dan’s prediction: I’m not surprised that David Moyes is doing so well as West Ham manager. I loved him at Everton, and his teams are always so well organised. Leicester are probably the better team, but I am sure Moyes will figure it out so West Ham can cancel them out. 1-1
Lawro was speaking to BBC Sport’s Chris Bevan.
How did Lawro do last week?
On the opening weekend of the new season, Lawro got six correct results from 10 matches, including one exact score, for a total of 90 points.
He was beaten by singer Louisa Roach, of psych pop band She Drew The Gun, who got five correct results but with two exact scores. That gave her a total of 110 points.
| TEAM | P | W | D | L | PTS | +/- | |
| =1 | Aston Villa | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | +10 |
| =1 | Brighton | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | +7 |
| =1 | Chelsea | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | +1 |
| =1 | Everton | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | +4 |
| =1 | Leicester | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | +8 |
| =1 | Liverpool | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | +2 |
| =1 | Man City | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | +12 |
| =1 | Man Utd | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| =9 | Arsenal | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | +8 |
| =9 | Brentford | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -3 |
| =9 | Newcastle | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | +6 |
| =9 | West Ham | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -5 |
| =13 | Burnley | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | -1 |
| =13 | Crystal Palace | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | +5 |
| =13 | Leeds | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | +7 |
| =13 | Norwich | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | +6 |
| =13 | Southampton | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | +3 |
| =13 | Tottenham | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | -3 |
| =13 | Watford | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | -6 |
| =13 | Wolves | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | +1 |
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