Premier League predictions: Lawro v Yizzy

Liverpool resume their title challenge with a home game against Leicester on Wednesday night, but can the Premier League leaders maintain their unbeaten record at Anfield this season?

BBC Sport's football expert Mark Lawrenson says: "With 15 games to go, I get the feeling Reds boss Jurgen Klopp sees his side's run-in as the last of the three laps of their title race.

"His message to his players is probably that they just need to keep doing what they have been doing so far this season and, if they do that against Leicester, they will beat them."

Lawro is making predictions for all 380 top-flight matches this season, against a variety of guests.

This week he is up against grime star Yizzy, who has a new single, the follow-up to 'Keep Chasing', coming out in February.

The 19-year-old MC is from south London and also has some Welsh roots but grew up an Arsenal fan thanks to the 'Invincibles' title-winning team of 2003-04.

"Sadly the current Gunners side cannot hold a candle to that team," Yizzy told BBC Sport. "The closest players we have got to that right now are Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette.

"That's not to say they are on the same level as Dennis Bergkamp and Thierry Henry but, player-wise, the nearest we have to that kind of standard are our strikers because, if I am honest, our defence is a shambles.

If Yizzy could sign one player for Arsenal it would be Chelsea midfielder N'Golo Kante. "We need seasoned defenders like Jerome Boateng and Mats Hummels and a bit of seniority in midfield too. If you look back, we had that with Mikel Arteta - he was not world class but he had that nous. One of the few people in the Premier League who is world class is Kante. He is sublime and so good at winning the ball, and he may not be that old but he knows what he is doing."

"We've only recently discovered a ball-winning midfielder in the form of Lucas Torreira who, for me, is like a hungry, young Patrick Vieira who can hassle people and also distribute it, which is great to see.

"But in terms of wingers, I don't think we will see the likes of Freddie Ljungberg, Robert Pires or Jose Antonio Reyes again.

"We may play Henrikh Mkhitaryan on the right sometimes, but he's not a winger. So, right through the side there is a lot of work to be done.

"Hopefully that will change. Obviously it is very early to judge Unai Emery as a manager but he has already shown a lot more willingness to strengthen different areas of the team than Arsene Wenger did in the past few years. We have got some hope now."

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 stated.

TUESDAY

Arsenal 2-1 Cardiff

Lawro's prediction: 2-0

Yizzy's prediction: 2-0

Match report

Fulham 4-2 Brighton

Lawro's prediction: 1-1

Yizzy's prediction: 1-1

Match report

Huddersfield 0-1 Everton

Lawro's prediction: 2-1

Yizzy's prediction: Everton are under pressure and I think that will spur them on. 1-2

Match report

Wolves 3-0 West Ham

Lawro's prediction: 2-0

Yizzy's prediction: 1-2

Match report

Man Utd 2-2 Burnley

Lawro's prediction: 2-0

Yizzy's prediction: Much as I'd like Burnley to spin United, I'm going to have to say 3-0 to United.

Match report

Newcastle 2-1 Man City

Lawro's prediction: 0-2

Yizzy's prediction: A big City win would not surprise me. I was a big fan of Pablo Zabaleta and Sergio Aguero has always been one of my favourite strikers so I am not opposed to City - I am anti-Tottenham, Chelsea and United a lot more. 0-4

Match report

WEDNESDAY

Bournemouth 4-0 Chelsea

Lawro's prediction: 1-2

Yizzy's prediction: I am going to have to give this one to Chelsea. 1-3

Match report

Southampton 1-1 Crystal Palace

Lawro's prediction: 2-1

Yizzy's prediction: 1-2

Match report

Liverpool 1-1 Leicester

Lawro's prediction: 2-0

Yizzy's prediction: This will be a very good game to watch. 2-1

Match report

Tottenham 2-1 Watford

Lawro's prediction: 1-1

Yizzy's prediction: Is this wishful thinking? Maybe! 0-3

Match report

Lawro was speaking to BBC Sport's Chris Bevan.

How did Lawro do last time?

In the third round of the FA Cup, Lawro picked the right result in six of the 16 ties played, with no exact results.

In the nine ties where he went up against Radio 1Xtra DJs Dotty and Reece Parkinson, Lawro got three correct results with no spot-on scores. Dotty got five correct results, again with no exact scores, while Reece did best of all with seven correct results, including one exact score. That means Lawro's haul of 30 points was easily surpassed by both of his opponents - Dotty registering 50 and Reece 100.

Those FA Cup scores do not count towards Lawro's Premier League total or the guest leaderboard.

From the last round of Premier League games, Lawro got eight correct results, with no perfect scores, from 10 matches, for a total of 80 points.

He lost to NBA star Mario Hezonja, who got six correct results, but with one exact score, for a total of 90 points.

GUEST LEADERBOARD 2018-19

Lawro's best score: 260 points (week seven v Karl Pilkington)

Lawro's worst score: 30 points (week 23 v Radio 1Xtra DJs Dotty and Reece Parkinson)