Premier League predictions: Lawro v 'Man's Not Hot' star Michael Dapaah - aka Big Shaq
- Published
Liverpool dominated the head-to-head table between the Premier League's top six last season - but what sort of performance will we see from the Reds when they play Chelsea on Saturday?
Jurgen Klopp's side thumped Arsenal in September but that is their only win against the teams around them in the table so far in 2017-18, and they have had heavy defeats at Manchester City and Tottenham.
BBC Sport football expert Mark Lawrenson thinks home advantage will make a difference this time, though, and says: "I always expect Liverpool to raise their game against the big teams at Anfield."
Lawro is going for a 2-1 Liverpool win - 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 120 points in week 11, which leaves him in 2,277th place out of more than 270,000 users.
He will be making a prediction for all 380 top-flight games this season, against a variety of guests.
Lawro takes on comedian and rapper Michael Dapaah, aka Big Shaq, for this weekend's fixtures.
The man behind 'Fire in the Booth' has racked up more than 51 million YouTube views and 20 million streams, and his single 'Man's Not Hot' is in in the top 10 of the charts.
Michael's appearance on Fire in the Booth as Roadman Shaq went viral back in September., external
Neymar and Gabriel Jesus are among the footballers who have been filmed singing along to it and Dapaah told BBC Sport: "It is nice to know they are singing the track.
Big Shaq takes on 'King of predictions' Mark Lawrenson
"It was created for everyone to enjoy themselves. It is entertainment - banter and music fused together and it is great to see it touch different age groups in different locations."
Dapaah is friends with Manchester United star Paul Pogba and recently played Arsenal striker Danny Welbeck at Fifa.
"He won by the skin of his teeth," Dapaah explained. "But that is because he played Big Shaq. If he played Michael, it would have been a different story. I will get him next time."
Dapaah is a former stadium announcer at Selhurst Park but his local side Crystal Palace are not the only Premier League team he follows.
"I grew up supporting Manchester United but I am a south London boy from Croydon so I still love Crystal Palace as well," he added. "I am a bit split right now, in between the two."
Premier League predictions - week 12 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Result | Lawro | Dapaah | |
FRIDAY | |||
West Ham v Leicester | 1-1 | 1-1 | 2-1 |
SATURDAY | |||
Crystal Palace v Stoke | 2-1 | 1-2 | 1-0 |
Man Utd v Brighton | 1-0 | 2-0 | 4-1 |
Newcastle v Watford | 0-3 | 1-1 | 2-2 |
Swansea v Bournemouth | 0-0 | 0-2 | 1-0 |
Tottenham v West Brom | 1-1 | 2-0 | 2-0 |
Liverpool v Chelsea | 1-1 | 2-1 | 2-2 |
SUNDAY | |||
Southampton v Everton | 4-1 | 2-0 | 1-3 |
Burnley v Arsenal | 0-1 | 1-1 | 1-2 |
Huddersfield v Man City | 1-2 | 0-2 | 1-3 |
A correct result (picking a win, draw or defeat) is worth 10 points. The exact score earns 40 points.
LAWRO'S PREDICTIONS
All kick-offs 15:00 GMT unless otherwise stated.
FRIDAY
West Ham 1-1 Leicester
Lawro's prediction: 1-1
Dapaah's prediction: 2-1
SATURDAY
Crystal Palace 2-1 Stoke
Lawro's prediction: 1-2
Dapaah's prediction: 1-0
Man Utd 1-0 Brighton
Lawro's prediction: 2-0
Dapaah's prediction: 4-1
Newcastle 0-3 Watford
Lawro's prediction: 1-1
Dapaah's prediction: 2-2
Swansea 0-0 Bournemouth
Lawro's prediction: 0-2
Dapaah's prediction: 1-0
Tottenham 1-1 West Brom
Lawro's prediction: 2-0
Big Shaq's prediction: 2-0
Liverpool 1-1 Chelsea
Lawro's prediction: 2-1
Dapaah's prediction: 2-2
SUNDAY
Southampton 4-1 Everton
Lawro's prediction: 2-0
Dapaah's prediction: 1-3
Burnley 0-1 Arsenal
Lawro's prediction: 1-1
Dapaah's prediction: 1-2
Huddersfield 1-2 Man City
Lawro's prediction: 0-2
Dapaah's prediction: 1-3
Lawro was speaking to BBC Sport's Chris Bevan
How did Lawro do last time?
From the last round of games, Lawro got six correct results, including two perfect scores, from 10 matches, for a total of 120 points.
He beat actor Will Ferrell, who got three correct results, including one perfect score, giving him 60 points.
Total scores after week 12 | |
|---|---|
Lawro | 1090 |
Guests | 950 |
Lawro v Guests | |||
|---|---|---|---|
P12 | W6 | D1 | L5 |
SCORE | GUEST LEADERBOARD |
|---|---|
160 | Chris Shiflett |
130 | James Anderson** |
120 | Will Poulter, Moeen Ali |
100 | Cesaro & Seamus, Wretch 32 |
91 | Lawro (average after 12 weeks) |
70 | Brendan Foster*, Mark Strong |
60 | Will Ferrell, Non Stanford |
50 | Steve Cram, Channing Tatum, Osi Umenyiora and Jason Bell, Joe Root |
*Foster and Cram both provided predictions on week one, but only Foster's score contributes to the guest total.
**Anderson and Moeen both provided predictions on week nine, but only Anderson's score contributes to the guest total.
Lawro's best score: 150 points (week eight v Wretch 32)
Lawro's worst score: 40 points (week four v Umenyiora and Bell, and week five v Non Stanford)
+/- DENOTE POSITION DIFFERENCE BETWEEN LAWRO'S TABLE AND ACTUAL POSITION | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
POS | TEAM | P | W | D | L | PTS | +/- |
1 | Man City | 12 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 32 | 0 |
2 | Man Utd | 12 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 30 | 0 |
3 | Tottenham | 12 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 28 | +1 |
4 | Liverpool | 12 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 26 | +1 |
5 | Chelsea | 12 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 25 | -2 |
6 | Arsenal | 12 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 24 | 0 |
7 | Southampton | 12 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 20 | +7 |
8 | Bournemouth | 12 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 18 | +5 |
9 | Swansea | 12 | 5 | 0 | 7 | 15 | +10 |
10 | West Ham | 12 | 3 | 6 | 3 | 15 | +8 |
11 | Leicester | 12 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 14 | +1 |
12 | Everton | 12 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 12 | +4 |
13 | Stoke | 12 | 2 | 6 | 4 | 12 | +2 |
14 | Burnley | 12 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 11 | -7 |
15 | Crystal Palace | 12 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 11 | +5 |
16 | Newcastle | 12 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 10 | -5 |
17 | West Brom | 12 | 3 | 1 | 8 | 10 | 0 |
18 | Brighton | 12 | 1 | 3 | 8 | 6 | -9 |
19 | Watford | 12 | 1 | 3 | 8 | 6 | -11 |
20 | Huddersfield | 12 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 3 | -10 |