Premier League predictions: Lawro v BBC NFL Show analysts Osi Umenyiora and Jason Bell
- Published
It's back! The Premier League resumes on Saturday after the international break, and so does your chance to make some predictions.
Will Manchester United continue their 100% winning start when they go to Stoke? Will Bournemouth, Crystal Palace or West Ham get off the mark?
The first match of the weekend is a tasty one, with Manchester City and Liverpool meeting at Etihad Stadium on Saturday.
Liverpool have not lost to City in five matches since Jurgen Klopp was appointed Reds manager in October 2015, including their 4-1 win at Etihad Stadium just after he took over.
BBC Sport's football expert Mark Lawrenson said: "I think that run will continue, although I am going to go for a draw which I think would suit Liverpool more than City."
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 110 points in week three, meaning he has moved up the rankings and is now just outside the top 2,000 - out of a total of more than 174,000 people who have signed up to play.
Can he push on further? There is still a long way to go - he will be making a prediction for all 380 games this season, against a variety of guests.
Lawro's opponents for this weekend's fixtures are BBC NFL Show analysts Osi Umenyiora and Jason Bell.
The NFL Show is back for 2017-18 and you can watch Osi and Jason preview the new campaign here. or read some of their predictions here.
Osi v Jason: How well do they know each other?
Osi scored 100 points when he took on Lawro in February, registering the fifth-highest guest score in 2016-17, so is Jason confident he will help him, rather than hinder, him this time?
"I feel pressure that I am on his team," Jason told BBC Sport. "But the thing is, you have got to know where your leadership comes from, you have got to follow the guy who has won before - and he has won."
"I did win," added Osi. "I beat Lawro - I defeated him soundly, and I am going to do it again. Let's get it done."
You can hear more from Osi and Jason on Football Focus at 12:00 BST on Saturday on BBC One and the BBC Sport website.
Premier League predictions: NFL duo predict big win for Man Utd
Premier League predictions - week 4 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Result | Lawro | Osi & Jason | |
SATURDAY | |||
Man City v Liverpool | 5-0 | 1-1 | 2-3 |
Arsenal v Bournemouth | 3-0 | 2-0 | 2-0 |
Brighton v West Brom | 3-1 | 1-1 | 0-4 |
Everton v Tottenham | 0-3 | 0-2 | 1-3 |
Leicester v Chelsea | 1-2 | 1-1 | 0-3 |
Southampton v Watford | 0-2 | 2-0 | 2-1 |
Stoke v Man Utd | 2-2 | 0-2 | 0-4 |
SUNDAY | |||
Burnley v Crystal Palace | 1-0 | 2-1 | 2-1 |
Swansea v Newcastle | 0-1 | 2-0 | 3-2 |
MONDAY | |||
West Ham v Huddersfield | x-x | 2-1 | 4-2 |
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.
LAWRO'S PREDICTIONS
All kick-offs 15:00 BST unless otherwise stated.
SATURDAY
Man City 5-0 Liverpool
Lawro's prediction: 1-1
Osi and Jason's prediction: 2-3
Arsenal 3-0 Bournemouth
Lawro's prediction: 2-0
Osi and Jason's prediction: Osi: "I like the Bournemouth keeper Asmir Begovic, he is a friend of mine - but I have to go with Arsenal." 2-0
Everton 0-3 Tottenham
Lawro's prediction: 0-2
Osi and Jason's prediction: Jason: "I like Harry Kane, and I am going to go with Tottenham." 1-3
SUNDAY
MONDAY
West Ham v Huddersfield (20:00 BST)
Huddersfield have made a super start to the season, in total contrast to West Ham, who have really struggled.
Terriers fans will be confident they can keep that good start going, but I don't see it being as easy as that.
David Wagner 'happy & proud of humble' Terriers
This is West Ham's first home game of the season, and I am expecting a big improvement from them.
I think Hammers boss Slaven Bilic has to make a big decision about midfielder Mark Noble, however. He is a top professional and has been a brilliant player for them, but does he still warrant a place in their side?
Based on recent performances, I would have to say no.
Lawro's prediction: 2-1
Osi and Jason's prediction: 4-2
Osi says West Ham striker Marko Arnautovic is the Premier League player he thinks would have the best chance of making the grade in the NFL.
He said: "Christian Fuchs [of Leicester] was a really good kicker and I've seen Harry Kane do that too - he seems to have a pretty strong leg.
"But the guy who impressed me the most was Arnautovic. I had to cover him, and he was so quick. He made some really good plays."
Lawro was speaking to BBC Sport's Chris Bevan.
How did Lawro do last time?
In the round of games before the international break, Lawro got five correct results, including two perfect scores, from 10 matches, for a total of 110 points.
He beat actor Channing Tatum, who also got five results correct but with no perfect scores, for a total of 50 points.
Total scores after week 3 | |
|---|---|
Lawro | 300 |
Guests | 240 |
Lawro v Guests | |||
|---|---|---|---|
P3 | W2 | D0 | L1 |
SCORE | GUEST LEADERBOARD |
|---|---|
120 | Will Poulter |
100 | Lawro (average after three weeks) |
70 | Brendan Foster* |
50 | Steve Cram, Channing Tatum |
*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: 70 points (week two v Poulter)
+/- DENOTE POSITION DIFFERENCE BETWEEN LAWRO'S TABLE AND ACTUAL POSITION | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
POS | TEAM | P | W | D | L | PTS | +/- |
1 | Man City | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 9 | +3 |
2 | Man Utd | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 9 | -1 |
3 | Tottenham | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 9 | +6 |
4 | Arsenal | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 7 | +12 |
5 | Southampton | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 7 | +3 |
6 | Bournemouth | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | +12 |
7 | Chelsea | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | -1 |
8 | Liverpool | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5 | -6 |
9 | Crystal Palace | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | +10 |
10 | Watford | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | -3 |
11 | Everton | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | +1 |
12 | Huddersfield | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | -9 |
13 | Leicester | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | +2 |
14 | Newcastle | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
15 | West Brom | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | -10 |
16 | Burnley | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | -6 |
17 | Stoke | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | -5 |
18 | West Ham | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | +2 |
19 | Brighton | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | -2 |
20 | Swansea | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | -7 |