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Premier League predictions: Lawro v Foo Fighters guitarist Chris Shiflett
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Two of the Premier League’s top three meet on Saturday when defending champions Chelsea host unbeaten leaders Manchester City.
BBC Sport’s football expert Mark Lawrenson does not see City leaving Stamford Bridge empty-handed, although he is expecting a hard-fought encounter.
Lawro said: “Chelsea beat City home and away on their way to the title last year but I think it is fair to say they rode their luck a bit to get six points out of those fixtures - I don’t see the same thing happening this season.”
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 picked up 80 points in week six, leaving him in 14,050th place out of a total of more than 215,000 users.
He will be making a prediction for all 380 top-flight games this season, against a variety of guests.
Lawro’s opponent for this weekend’s fixtures is Foo Fighters guitarist Chris Shiflett.
American Shiflett grew up in California but started supporting Arsenal through his love of punk rock.
He told BBC Sport: "I did not grow up with football but I got interested in it really through seeing bands wearing football shirts and scarves.
"At first it was like a style thing but then in the early 1990s when [former Sex Pistols singer] Johnny Rotten brought out his autobiography. There was a lot in it about growing up in north London and being an Arsenal fan.
"So, having no idea about what any of it meant, I just thought OK, that will be my team.
"I was sort of a fan from afar for a long time, but what really got me paying close attention is when my kids got into Arsenal.
"Now I go to games whenever I can. I went to watch Chelsea against Arsenal at Stamford Bridge earlier this month, which was the first time I had been there, and the first time I had been in the home section watching Arsenal at another ground.
“I had to kind of keep it down, but nobody rumbled me.”
You can hear more from Shiflett on Football Focus on BBC One and the BBC Sport website at 12:00 BST on Saturday.
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 yourself by playing the BBC Sport Predictor game.
All kick-offs 15:00 BST unless otherwise stated.
Huddersfield picked up another decent point last week against Burnley, but it has been a while since they won in the Premier League, which is obviously a concern.
The Terriers are still unbeaten at home this season, but I don’t think that will be the case for much longer.
At the moment, Tottenham are probably stronger on the road than they are at Wembley - and after wins at West Ham and Apoel Nicosia I think they will make it three away wins in seven days.
Shiflett’s prediction: Obviously Huddersfield are going to win this one because this is Tottenham we are talking about and they BLOW… no, no in all honesty I think Spurs will win. 0-2
I was at Leicester’s defeat by Liverpool in the league last week and to be quite honest, apart from Jamie Vardy, the Foxes did not do very much.
Take Vardy out of their team and they are looking quite average going forward - and their other problem is that they look like they have got a bit of a soft centre, as in their defence is easy to get at.
You could say the same about the Cherries of course, but that has not changed since they arrived in the top flight in 2015.
That is very much part of their attacking outlook under Eddie Howe - you look at their team and you think they are good going forward, but there is no way they are looking to keep things tight.
I am sure Leicester will find some form soon and I certainly don’t hold any fears for them in terms of relegation - but they have to be careful.
They should be doing much better with the players they have got but they need to start producing some better performances in order to climb away from the bottom of the table.
Crystal Palace did well against Manchester City at Etihad Stadium last week - well, for 44 minutes anyway.
Palace ended up being hammered, and the concern for their manager Roy Hodgson will be that the same thing happens when they return to Manchester on Saturday.
Manchester United are flying at the moment, especially striker Romelu Lukaku, who just keeps on scoring.
Hodgson will have had another week to work with his players on denying the opposition space, but I don’t see them keeping United and Lukaku out.
With Christian Benteke injured, it does not look good for the Eagles at the other end either, and their wait for a league goal might have to go on until after the international break.
Stoke have had a couple of very good results and performances this season - their win over Arsenal and their draw with Manchester United.
But they have also had some pretty poor ones, like their home defeat against Chelsea last time out, when the Blues took them apart - with a bit of help from the Potters.
Southampton played well against United last weekend and almost nicked a point, but I am expecting an improvement from Stoke, which is why I am backing them to win this one.
I don’t think I have ever said this about Mark Hughes in his time at Stoke before, but it is probably a result he needs.
It is not so much that his job is at risk - Potters owner Peter Coates is not the type to do anything silly - more the fact that three points would give everyone a big lift.
Shiflett’s prediction: These are both, in my opinion, spoiler teams but I think Stoke will do the business at home. 2-1
West Brom have gone four league games without a win but unlike say, Stoke, their performance level has not gone up and down much in that time.
The Baggies don’t score many goals, but they never concede many either and can grind out results to ensure they keep on picking up points. Wouldn’t Crystal Palace love to be able to do that at the moment?
Watford have got three away wins out of three in the league so far this season, and Marco Silva showed again what a good manager he is in the way his side responded to their heavy defeat against Manchester City with a victory over Swansea.
I have been very impressed by the Hornets but this is one of those games where West Brom will just find a way to win it.
I don’t see it being a thriller, though. There are seven games on Saturday and my other prediction is that I think this one might end up being seventh on Match of the Day.
West Ham did well to get back into the game in their 3-2 defeat by Tottenham last week, but the scoreline probably flattered the Hammers a bit.
Swansea also lost, at home to Watford, and I am a bit worried about them.
The Swans look flat going forward, and Renato Sanches has not supplied the spark people expected. On top of that, they have been poor at the back too.
Shiflett’s prediction: West Ham are not having a good time this season, but then again neither are Swansea. 1-0
Chelsea boss Antonio Conte has been complaining about his side’s lack of rest after their Champions League game at Atletico Madrid on Wednesday compared to Manchester City’s schedule.
He has a point, because there is no consistency at all. And while City, who played at home on Tuesday, have done better out of it this time, it will bite them at some point too - everyone is affected.
City are playing extremely well at the moment, although Benjamin Mendy’s injury is a blow.
They are short of cover for him at left-back but Fabian Delph did well against Shakhtar Donetsk and he could turn out be their equivalent to Chelsea’s Victor Moses.
When Moses started playing right wing-back last season I just thought that, as a winger, he would be good going forward but he has clearly taken to the defensive aspect of that role too.
It could be the same for Delph. As a central midfielder going to play on the left, it will feel to him like he has loads of time on the ball.
He is not getting many games in midfield for City so he will be happy to play there - and I think will do really well.
As for the game, well Chelsea have not been quite as spectacular as City in terms of the number of goals they have scored, but their opening-day defeat by Burnley seems a long time ago.
Since then it has been business as usual for the defending champions, really. Chelsea striker Alvaro Morata is not getting the same publicity as Lukaku and Harry Kane but he is scoring for fun.
As a team, City are doing that too, but both sides are full of quality and this is going to be very close.
Shiflett’s prediction: With the way Man City are playing, I am going for a big scoreline. 2-5
Brighton deserved their win over Newcastle last weekend but it is hard to see them getting anything at the Emirates.
The Seagulls will sit in - but that is not a problem for Arsenal because they have got so many players who are good on the ball.
It is when teams have a go at them that the Gunners wobble a bit, and that is not something I think Brighton will do much of.
Shiflett’s prediction: I just want to apologise before I make this pick to the guys in Royal Blood - I know you love your Brighton, but Arsenal are going to smash them into a million pieces. 4-0
Shiflett added: "Arsenal are having a rough time of it lately and had some bad results at the start of the season, but the past few games they have looked great.
"When I watched them against Chelsea they looked really disciplined, especially in defence - I was sitting just inside their half in the first half and you could see that perfectly straight back line moving up and down.
“So I would like to think they have righted the ship and it would be great to see them finish in the top four. I don’t see them winning the league but you can always hold out hope.”
It will be interesting to see who Everton manager Ronald Koeman picks up front, because Oumar Niasse deserves a start after rescuing them with two goals against Bournemouth.
Burnley are still unbeaten on the road but I just get the feeling the Toffees will continue their improvement and get another home win.
Shiflett’s prediction: I am going to go with Everton because they need a win. 2-0
After watching Newcastle’s defeat by Brighton last weekend, I was left thinking the Magpies have got a lot of work to do to stay in the Premier League.
Yes, Rafael Benitez’s side had won their previous three matches but they did not create much against the Seagulls, let alone show that they have got anything to trouble the big teams.
The Magpies are good at attacking set-pieces, and Liverpool are obviously not very good at defending them - but I think the Reds will keep a clean sheet too because other than free-kicks and corners, the home side might not offer very much.
Newcastle’s defence is going to have to be one of their strengths this season, and under Rafael Benitez it will be.
It will be fascinating to see how Benitez sets his team up, and they will be very competitive, but I don’t see them keeping his old club quiet.
If you offered Rafa a point now he would probably snap your hand off - but I think Liverpool will take all three.
Last week, Lawro got five correct results, including one perfect score, from 10 matches, for a total of 80 points.
That saw him beat actor Mark Strong, who got seven results correct but with no perfect scores, for a total of 70 points.
*Foster and Cram both provided predictions on week one, but only Foster’s score contributes to the guest total.
Lawro’s best score: 120 points (week one v Foster and Cram)
Lawro’s worst score: 40 points (week four v Umenyiora and Bell, and week five v Non Stanford)
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