Premier League matchweek 13: Staff picks and predictions
By Staff
The FanSided soccer staff make their predictions for the weekend’s Premier League games, including Liverpool vs. Chelsea at Anfield.
Manchester City may be running away with the Premier League through the first quarter of the season, but the race for the rest of the top four spots is getting very interesting following Arsenal’s win in the north London derby last week, with only four points separating second-place Manchester United and seventh-place Burnley.
This weekend, two matches pit top-seven teams against each other. In the first, Liverpool host Chelsea at Anfield. The Reds can pull level on points with Chelsea if they win, and jump above them in the table if they win by three goals, but will need to refocus following a collapse in the Champions League on Tuesday, when they let a 3-0 lead against Sevilla slip in the second half.
The result once again increased scrutiny on the quality of Jurgen Klopp’s defense and, in particular, Alberto Moreno, who was at fault for Sevilla’s first two goals and then replaced by James Milner. Perhaps Klopp’s biggest decision ahead of the Chelsea match will be which of those two players starts at left-back against a Blues side rounding into top form.
The second top-seven clash of the weekend sees Arsenal travel to Burnley on Sunday. The Clarets have been the surprise package of the season so far, and despite scoring only 12 goals in 12 matches, find themselves level with Liverpool and Arsenal on 22 points, only one shy of fourth-place Tottenham.
The other standout fixtures of the weekend see David Moyes welcome Leicester to the London Stadium in search of his first points as West Ham boss; Manchester United host Brighton at Old Trafford; Tottenham travel to West Brom, who will be under the charge of interim manager Gary Megson; and Manchester City look to continue their dominant form, away to Huddersfield.
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FanSided’s soccer staff will be competing in a weekly picks league all season. The rules are simple: three points for a correct score, one for a correct result and none for an incorrect result. Here are the picks for matchweek 13:
There’s not much agreement on the Liverpool-Chelsea match, with three of our writers going for a home win, four going for an away win and one going for a draw. Arsenal, in contrast, are big favorites against Burnley, with five of our writers predicting them to win and the other three picking a draw. Here’s how the picks table stands heading into the weekend:
