Premier League predictions: Lawro v rock band Editors

Manchester United will hope to close the gap on Premier League leaders Manchester City when they play Tottenham on Wednesday - but how will Jose Mourinho's side fare at Wembley?

BBC Sport football expert Mark Lawrenson says: "It will be tight, just like it was at Old Trafford in October when Romelu Lukaku flicked on a long ball for Anthony Martial to score a late winner for United.

"But Tottenham are on a good run at the moment and I think they might be the ones who edge it this time."

Lawro is going for a 2-1 Spurs win - do you agree?

You can make your 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 will be making a prediction for all 380 top-flight games this season, against a variety of guests.

This week, he takes on Russell Leetch and Ed Lay from rock band Editors, whose new album 'Violence' is out in March.

Bassist Russell is an Aston Villa fan, while drummer Ed supports Ipswich.

Russ (far left) does not make any boasts about his footballing ability while Ed (2nd right) says Justin (far right) is probably the best player in the band. "He keeps it under his hat a bit but I think he used to be a bit handy when he was at school," Ed explains. "You can see it when we are having a kickabout because he has got some nice moves without really trying too hard - he will do that kind of Matt le Tissier thing where he just stands there and pings balls about, but he will never run."

Editors are about to embark on a European tour and Ed says he tries to get a football fix while they are on their travels, even though it is hard for them to get to matches because of their gigs.

He said: "We went to see Inter Milan play in the San Siro once, which was pretty special because I am a sucker for a classic stadium,

"I tend to go running a lot when we are on tour and it is a nice way to see the towns or cities we are in.

"I always try to pinpoint where the football stadium is and try to run up to it and around it so I can take a look because, if I can't make it to the game, it is the next best thing."

Both Russ and Ed are seasoned spectators of their sides in the Championship, but only Russ is holding out much hope of a return to the Premier League anytime soon.

Villa are fifth in the Championship, three points off an automatic promotion spot. Ipswich? They are 12th, eight points off a play-off place.

"Villa have finally found some form, and results have been going our way so it is all good at the moment," Russ said. "Jack Grealish is starting to play well and John Terry has shown that he is total class - his positioning and his passing is brilliant.

"It is quite entertaining that he gets booed by the opposition fans in every single game, no matter who we are playing.

"But we need to keep trying to push for second place because I am desperate to avoid the play-offs."

The play-offs are a distant dream for Ed, whose side are the longest-serving team in the Championship having played at that level since 2002.

Ed said: "We should always aim for the play-offs at the start of every season but it is going to take a massive change in our financial situation for us to make it, or we somehow go on an incredible run.

"We managed that in 2000 but hat season was quite remarkable and I can't believe it was so long ago.

"My best day as an Ipswich fan was when we went to Wembley and beat Barnsley 4-2 in the play-off final, then I went across the way to watch Pearl Jam at Wembley Arena still wearing our orange away shirt. That was a nice little double-header for me."

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 19:45 GMT unless otherwise stated.

TUESDAY

Swansea 3-1 Arsenal

Lawro's prediction: 0-2

Russ' prediction: 0-2

Ed's prediction: Arsenal are very up down away from home at the moment, so I think Swansea might edge this one. 2-1

Match report

West Ham 1-1 Crystal Palace

Lawro's prediction: 1-1

Russ' prediction: I would love to see ex-Villa striker Christian Benteke score but it is more likely to be Wilfried Zaha who finds the net for Palace. 1-1

Ed's prediction: This is quite interesting because I like the rebirth of these two managers. Palace fans were not particularly excited when Roy Hodgson was appointed and Moyes was not a popular choice either.

So I am glad they have done well although, geographically speaking, West Ham are on the cusp of being Ipswich's rivals. I never wanted them to do well after the way they ended up with the Olympic Stadium either.

So good luck to Moyes, but I would like to think Palace will win it. 0-2

Match report

Huddersfield 0-3 Liverpool

Lawro's prediction: 1-1

Russ' prediction: Huddersfield were the best team I saw last season in the Championship when they came to Villa Park. They looked really tidy and I just liked the look of Aaron Mooy.

But I am going to back Liverpool, even if they do struggle against these sort of teams sometimes. 1-2

Ed's prediction: Liverpool will not keep a clean sheet but I think they will score a few. If Mohamed Salah is playing, he will get a couple. 2-5

Match report

WEDNESDAY

Chelsea 0-3 Bournemouth

Lawro's prediction: 2-0

Russ' prediction: 3-0

Ed's prediction: 0-0

Match report

Everton 2-1 Leicester

Lawro's prediction: 0-2

Russ' prediction: I am not a fan of the way Sam Allardyce's teams play football - I can't stand it. I know you roll the dice when you appoint a manager who tries to play football but the biggest advert for it working at the moment is Wolves and what they are doing at the top of the Championship under Nuno Espirito Santo. 1-2

Ed's prediction: Everton have made a few signings but they are still bedding in.

Theo Walcott could be good but he just looks so unhappy all the time. It is as if he has lost his love for football. Hopefully going to a club who really want him will be the spark to kick him on again but he just seems to be that player who unfortunately is never going to fulfil his potential. 1-2

Match report

Newcastle 1-1 Burnley

Lawro's prediction: 1-1

Russ' prediction: 1-1

Ed's prediction: 0-1

Match report

Southampton 1-1 Brighton

Lawro's prediction: 2-0

Russ' prediction: 1-0

Ed's prediction: 0-0

Match report

Man City 3-0 West Brom

Lawro's prediction: 3-0

Russ' prediction: 3-0

Ed's prediction: I like City's players because they don't have humongous egos. Their players just seem to get on with it when things go wrong. They play as a proper team and they have got something really special there. 4-0

Match report

Stoke City 0-0 Watford

Lawro's prediction: 2-1

Russ's prediction: Lambert started with a win against Huddersfield and I think he will win this one as well. I am not sure Gracia will get that bounce, and Watford look like they are in a bit of trouble. 2-0

Ed's prediction: 1-2

Match report

Tottenham 2-0 Man Utd

Lawro's prediction: 2-1

Russ' prediction: 0-0

Match report

Lawro was speaking to BBC Sport's Chris Bevan.

How did Lawro do last time?

On FA Cup fourth-round weekend, Lawro got 10 correct results, including four perfect scores, from the 16 ties for a total of 220 points.

He was up against Poet and Vuj, presenters on YouTube football channel Copa90.

Poet got six correct results, with no perfect scores, for a total of 60 points, while Vuj got seven correct results, with two perfect scores. That gave him a tally of 130 points.

Those scores do not count towards Lawro's total for the season from Premier League fixtures or appear on the guest leaderboard.

GUEST LEADERBOARD

* Shows weeks where Lawro had more than one guest, and only the highest score contributed to the guest total.

Lawro's best score: 150 points (week eight v Wretch 32 and week 24 v Pete Wentz)

Lawro's worst score: 40 points (week four v Umenyiora and Bell, week five v Non Stanford, week 21 v Darren Campbell and week 23 v Saric and Baynes)