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Premier League predictions: Lawro v England cricketers Moeen Ali & James Anderson
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Manchester United suffered their first defeat of the season last weekend - but could they lose more ground on Premier League leaders Manchester City when they face in-form Tottenham on Saturday?
BBC Sport football expert Mark Lawrenson says: "United flunked at Huddersfield and, as bad as Liverpool were at Wembley, Tottenham played very well to beat them 4-1.
“But I don’t see United losing again. They rolled over in the first half against the Terriers but there is no way Jose Mourinho is going to let Spurs beat his side at Old Trafford.”
Lawro is going for a 1-1 draw - do you agree? You can make your own predictions now, take on Lawro and other fans, create your own league and try to make it to the top of the table by playing the new-look BBC Sport Predictor game.
Lawro scored 70 points in week nine, which saw him slip to 3,152nd place out of more than 240,000 users.
He will be making a prediction for all 380 top-flight games this season, against a variety of guests.
Lawro, who beat Joe Root last week, takes on two of his England cricket team-mates for this weekend’s fixtures - all-rounder Moeen Ali and bowler James Anderson, who will make their predictions on Friday.
A correct result (picking a win, draw or defeat) is worth 10 points. The exact score earns 40 points.
Remember you can try to beat Lawro by playing the BBC Sport Predictor game.
All kick-offs 15:00 BST unless otherwise stated.
I was at United’s defeat at Huddersfield last week and the worrying thing for me about it was that Mourinho’s side had no fight about them in the first half.
It was a horrible day in the wind and rain and, to begin with, the Terriers were the only team that turned up. They got really tight on United and, apart from David de Gea in goal, no-one performed for them - they were like the invisible team.
United were better on Tuesday in their win over Swansea in the Carabao Cup, though, and I am expecting another improvement from them this weekend.
This is a little bit of a crossroads game for United, more than it is for Spurs. Mourinho’s side made a really good start and had 20 points from their first eight games, including their draw at Anfield - which I thought was a decent result by the way.
But then they lost at Huddersfield and if they fall over again here then they could be eight points behind City, who go to West Brom on Saturday.
Tottenham, who are level on points with United, have title aspirations of their own of course - and this is a big week for them as they host Real Madrid in the Champions League on Wednesday.
A draw at Old Trafford would be a good result for them. For any of the top six teams. if they can go away to one of their direct rivals and get a point, I think they will be happy with that.
I thought Arsenal were got a bit lucky with some of the refereeing decisions that went their way in their Carabao Cup win over Norwich on Tuesday.
The Gunners are not looking totally convincing at the moment, but they are scoring goals and winning games - and they demolished Everton last weekend.
Swansea usually try to shut up shop when they go away from home - they have only conceded one goal in four away league games so far this season.
They will probably try that tactic again but I don’t see them holding out at Emirates Stadium, and it is hard to see them causing many problems at the other end.
The Welsh side lost at home to Leicester last time out, and again their lack of cutting edge was evident.
Swansea are in the bottom six at the moment, and it looks like they will staying there for the duration.
West Ham’s win over Tottenham in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday was a super result for them and their under-pressure manager Slaven Bilic.
If the reports at the start of the week that Bilic had two games to save his job are true, then he needs a similar outcome at Selhurst Park on Saturday.
Bilic would definitely settle for a repeat of what happened this time last year, when West Ham went to Palace after taking one point from their previous five Premier League games - and won.
I don’t see it happening, though.
Crystal Palace were unlucky to lose at Newcastle in their last game - they had enough of the play, and enough chances, to take something from the game but could not convert any of them.
If the Eagles play like that again, they will get something out of this one.
I have got it wrong when I have backed Liverpool recently - but this is definitely a game I expect them to win.
What is more important than my prediction is what Reds boss Jurgen Klopp does with his team after their heavy defeat at Tottenham.
Will he stick with his defenders and goalkeeper and say to them: ‘You were awful last week, but go and prove to me you are better than that?’
Huddersfield were fantastic against United, and got exactly what they deserved - but I am expecting to see a reaction from Liverpool, which is why I am backing them again this week too.
I am starting to get a bit worried about Stoke, whose problems continued with a home defeat by Bournemouth last week, and Potters boss Mark Hughes is another Premier League manager who badly needs a win.
I don’t think Hughes will get it at Watford, though. Yes, Stoke might get some joy against the Hornets defence but I don’t see them holding out for a clean sheet, because they are making too many mistakes at the back.
West Brom are another side on a bad run. They have not won in the league since August, while Manchester City are the last Premier League team to remain unbeaten this season.
I don’t see City losing here, although I do not see West Brom boss Tony Pulis letting them run up a cricket score against the Baggies.
The problem for West Brom is they have no chance of getting a result if they are all over the place defensively.
Pulis has built his team on being very solid at the back, but they cannot score or even create many opportunities.
Bournemouth remain in the relegation zone despite their win at Stoke, and I think they will stay there for at least another week.
Chelsea beat Cherries comfortably home and away last season and should be too strong this time too.
The Blues showed plenty of fight to come back to beat Watford last week, which you would expect with Antonio Conte in charge.
They are not going to seriously challenge for the title, but they are not just going to disappear - and I would back them to definitely finish in the top four again.
This is the first time this particular south coast derby has been played in the top flight since 1983 and there will be a great atmosphere, although neither side would count the other as their main rivals.
Southampton have got more quality in their squad, especially up front. They already look comfortable in mid-table and I don’t see them dropping much further than that.
Brighton got a great win against West Ham last time out, and they just keep ticking along nicely - and keep picking up points, especially at home.
Both sides would probably be happy with a draw, which is exactly what I think they will get.
I understand why Leicester have gone for Claude Puel as their new manager because he is so experienced, including his time in the Premier League with Southampton.
I don’t know who Everton will go for to replace Ronald Koeman but, in the meantime, it will be interesting to see how their caretaker boss, David Unsworth, looks to try to change things.
It is going to be hard for anyone to change things before the transfer window opens in January.
I don’t think the Toffees’ fortunes will improve here and, whoever gets the job, they look like they will be facing a season of firefighting,
I have been very impressed by Newcastle, who have been doing much better than I have been predicting they will.
Much like Burnley, the Magpies are well organised and well drilled, and are difficult to beat.
This game is going to be very close, but I am backing Newcastle to come out on top - just.
Last week, Lawro got four correct results, including one perfect scores, from 10 matches, for a total of 70 points.
He beat England cricket captain Joe Root, who got five results correct but with no perfect scores, for a total of 50 points.
*Foster and Cram both provided predictions on week one, but only Foster’s score contributes to the guest total.
Lawro’s worst score: 40 points (week four v Umenyiora and Bell, and week five v Non Stanford)
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