Premier League predictions: Lawro v boxer Dillian Whyte
- Published
Manchester United begin life under interim manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer with a trip to Cardiff on Saturday - but how will they fare?
BBC Sport's football expert Mark Lawrenson says: "Straightaway we will see a very different United performance because the players who had fallen out with Jose Mourinho will know the spotlight is on them, and they have got to perform.
"One or two of them need to look in the mirror and start to play because, whatever you think of Mourinho, they have not performed to their best level this season.
"Hopefully Solskjaer will just say 'go for it' to his team and this is a great opportunity for him.
"He does not have to worry about contracts because they are nothing to do with him - the only people knocking on his door will be the players who want to play.
"United's performances this season have been as dull as dishwater so he won't have to do much to get the fans enjoying themselves again, and I am expecting him to start with a win."
Lawro is making predictions for all 380 top-flight matches this season, against a variety of guests.
This week's guest is boxer Dillian Whyte, who fights Dereck Chisora in London on Saturday.
'Palace to beat Man City' - Dillian Whyte on Football Focus predictions
The 6ft 4in heavyweight used his size and strength when he played football as a boy, telling BBC Sport: "I played a little bit when I was growing up - I was a good goalkeeper and a very good defender."
Plenty of football players have watched Whyte in action, including Wycombe striker Adebayo Akinfenwa - aka 'The Beast'.
"The Beast is all right!" Whyte said. "He has come to a few of my fights and [Stoke and Wales defender] Ashley Williams has as well. I met him through a friend of mine.
"There are a few other players who come along as well but on fight night I am so focused I don't really see anyone - I am in the zone."
Could there be a career in boxing for 'The Beast' after football? Whyte is not sure...
"I don't know - kicking the ball and taking punches in the face are two different things. But if Andrew 'Freddie' Flintoff can do it, then why not?"
Premier League predictions - week 18 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Result | Lawro | Dillian | |
FRIDAY | |||
Wolves v Liverpool | 0-2 | 1-2 | 1-2 |
SATURDAY | |||
Arsenal v Burnley | 3-1 | 2-0 | 2-0 |
Bournemouth v Brighton | 2-0 | 2-0 | 1-0 |
Chelsea v Leicester | 0-1 | 2-0 | 3-0 |
Huddersfield v Southampton | 1-3 | 1-1 | 0-0 |
Man City v Crystal Palace | 2-3 | 3-0 | 0-1 |
Newcastle v Fulham | 0-0 | 2-0 | 3-0 |
West Ham v Watford | 0-2 | 0-2 | 3-1 |
Cardiff v Man Utd | 1-5 | 0-2 | 1-2 |
SUNDAY | |||
Everton v Tottenham | 2-6 | 1-1 | 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 stated.
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
Bournemouth v Brighton
Bournemouth have not been playing badly but they have lost seven out of their past eight games.
I still think they will beat Brighton though - the Seagulls' away form is poor and they don't carry much of a goal threat on the road.
Lawro's prediction: 2-0
Dillian's prediction: 1-0
Man City 2-3 Crystal Palace
Lawro's prediction: 3-0
Dillian's prediction: Palace are going to smash Man City. They are my local team, that's why I have to go with Palace. I am always the underdog so I am going to go with the underdog here too. 0-1
Newcastle 0-0 Fulham
Lawro's prediction: 2-0
Dillian's prediction: At school I had a teacher who was a massive Newcastle fan - I hope he sees this, because I am backing them to win. He used to rave on about Newcastle all the time and I used to think, 'Mate, I don't care - I am just here to hear the final bell so I can get out of school quickly!'. 3-0
SUNDAY
How did Lawro do last time?
From last weekend's Premier League games, Lawro got six correct results, with no perfect scores from 10 matches, for a total of 60 points.
He lost to former France winger David Ginola, who got seven correct results, including three exact scores, for a total of 160 points that puts him top of the guest leaderboard.
Total scores after week 17 | |
|---|---|
Lawro | 1,420 |
Guests | 1,360 |
Lawro v Guests | |||
|---|---|---|---|
P17 | W7 | D2 | L8 |
+/- DENOTE POSITION DIFFERENCE BETWEEN LAWRO'S TABLE AND ACTUAL POSITION | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
TEAM | P | W | D | L | PTS | +/- | |
1 | Man City | 17 | 15 | 2 | 0 | 47 | +1 |
2 | Man Utd | 17 | 14 | 3 | 0 | 45 | +4 |
3 | Liverpool | 17 | 10 | 7 | 0 | 37 | -2 |
4 | Tottenham | 17 | 10 | 5 | 2 | 35 | -1 |
=5 | Chelsea | 17 | 9 | 4 | 4 | 31 | -1 |
=5 | Leicester | 17 | 9 | 4 | 4 | 31 | +7 |
7 | Everton | 17 | 9 | 0 | 8 | 27 | +1 |
=8 | Arsenal | 17 | 8 | 2 | 7 | 26 | -3 |
=8 | Newcastle | 17 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 26 | +6 |
10 | Fulham | 17 | 6 | 3 | 8 | 21 | +10 |
11 | Crystal Palace | 17 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 20 | +4 |
12 | Bournemouth | 17 | 5 | 4 | 8 | 19 | -1 |
=13 | West Ham | 17 | 5 | 3 | 9 | 18 | -4 |
=13 | Wolves | 17 | 5 | 3 | 9 | 18 | -6 |
15 | Burnley | 17 | 4 | 5 | 8 | 17 | +3 |
16 | Watford | 17 | 5 | 1 | 11 | 16 | -6 |
17 | Southampton | 17 | 4 | 1 | 12 | 13 | 0 |
18 | Cardiff | 17 | 2 | 5 | 10 | 11 | -2 |
19 | Brighton | 17 | 2 | 4 | 11 | 10 | -6 |
20 | Huddersfield | 17 | 2 | 2 | 13 | 8 | -1 |
GUEST LEADERBOARD 2018-19
SCORE | GUEST LEADERBOARD |
|---|---|
160 | David Ginola |
140 | The 1975's Ross MacDonald |
120 | Joe Thomas |
90 | Karl Pilkington, Chris Stark |
84 | Lawro (average after 17 weeks) |
80 | Richard Ashcroft, Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill, Greg James, Mark Wahlberg |
60 | Idris Elba, Dolph Lundgren, Mumford & Sons |
50 | Bring Me The Horizon, Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre. |
40 | Tom Grennan, Josh Warrington |
Lawro's best score: 260 points (week seven v Karl Pilkington)
Lawro's worst score: 40 points (week three v Idris Elba, week eight v Chris Stark and week 12 v Mumford & Sons)