Premier League predictions: Lawro v Georgia, synth-pop singer-songwriter and former QPR & Arsenal youth player

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Lawro's predictionsImage source, BBC Sport

Manchester City's bid to retain their Premier League title is all but over, but their hopes of securing a top-four place - and Champions League football - for a 10th straight season appear a whole lot healthier.

City are 17th points clear of fifth-placed Manchester United and sixth-placed Spurs, whom they play at the weekend.

BBC football expert Mark Lawrenson said: "I just think that after seeing City get beaten by United in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday, their manager Pep Guardiola will have them at it for this one.

"Spurs have a decent record against City in the recent past but, without the injured Harry Kane, they are just not firing properly at the moment."

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

This week he is up against synth-pop singer-songwriter Georgia, whose new album 'Seeking Thrills' is out now.

Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,

"Football is an important part of my life," said Georgia. "It's who I am, really. I love sport and I always try to keep up to date with football. I really loved being a playmaker - my heroes were people like Paul Scholes, and his vision with the balls he used to put in. I loved the creative side of the game, and I scored my fair share of goals too."

Before embarking on her musical career, Georgia - full name Georgia Barnes - played as a left-winger for QPR and Arsenal's youth teams, although she is a Manchester United fan.

She told BBC Sport: "I grew up in central London and in the flats where I lived, we had a massive courtyard where kids would play football.

"I guess from an early age I expressed an interest in hanging about with other people and kicking a ball around. From there, I went on to playing football in the parks, and just getting stuck in during games with boys.

"I remember one day in Regent's Park a guy walked up to me and said 'I'm a scout for Queen's Park Rangers, I've just watched you play football and I think you'd be really good - come down to a training session and see how you get on'.

"I was like 'wow' so suddenly I found myself in a training session for QPR girls' under-15s, or whatever, and then I was in the team, so it was training Wednesday and then game Sunday.

"That went on for quite a few years before the team sort of dispersed and I found myself at Arsenal doing a couple of training sessions.

Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,

Georgia has enjoyed seeing the successes of the Lionesses in recent years - "It has been amazing, so emotional, hearing about Wembley selling out for their games," she said. "I feel very nostalgic thinking about it because I think about all the girls I trained with and the work and the dedication and discipline it takes to be a footballer. Women are putting as much hard work in as the men do, and we are finally seeing it paying off and people appreciating it."

"It was mad really. For a while, all I wanted to be was a footballer but back then it was quite hard for women's football. There was still a struggle about whether it could be a career.

"There were quite a few players I looked up to, like Rachel Yankey - I remember meeting her at one of Arsenal's award ceremonies. She was the person who had made it but there were so many others who just did it as a hobby.

"At that time there were doubts whether the women's game had a future or not, so I am so chuffed that it is now where it is at, and girls can now have a future and a career in it.

"I still play when I can. I was in San Francisco recently and one of my crew members, Tristan, had this app on his phone and we met up with this group of people by the Golden Gate Bridge for a game.

"It was wicked. It was a full-on game and I was not quite prepared for it really - I was in agony for days afterwards."

Premier League predictions - week 25

Result

Lawro

Georgia

SATURDAY

Leicester v Chelsea

2-2

2-0

3-1

Bournemouth v Aston Villa

2-1

1-2

2-0

Crystal Palace v Sheff Utd

0-1

1-1

0-0

Liverpool v Southampton

4-0

3-0

3-0

Newcastle v Norwich

0-0

2-0

2-2

Watford v Everton

2-3

1-1

1-2

West Ham v Brighton

3-3

1-0

2-1

Man Utd v Wolves

0-0

1-2

2-0

SUNDAY

Burnley v Arsenal

0-0

2-1

1-1

Tottenham v Man City

2-0

0-2

2-1

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.

SATURDAY

Image source, BBC Sport

Leicester 2-2 Chelsea

Lawro's prediction: 2-0

Georgia's prediction: 3-1

Match report

Image source, BBC Sport

Bournemouth 2-1 Aston Villa

Lawro's prediction: 1-2

Georgia's prediction: Bournemouth are in my heart because my mum is from there and my Uncle Mike is a season-ticket holder. 2-0

Match report

Image source, BBC Sport

Crystal Palace 0-1 Sheff Utd

Lawro's prediction: 1-1

Georgia's prediction: 0-0

Match report

Image source, BBC Sport

Liverpool 4-0 Southampton

Lawro's prediction: 3-0

Georgia's prediction: 3-0

Match report

Image source, BBC Sport

Newcastle 0-0 Norwich

Lawro's prediction: 2-0

Georgia's prediction: 2-2

Match report

Image source, BBC Sport

Watford 2-3 Everton

Lawro's prediction: 1-1

Georgia's prediction: 1-2

Match report

Image source, BBC Sport

West Ham 3-3 Brighton

Lawro's prediction: 1-0

Georgia's prediction: This is for my dad, who is a West Ham fan. 2-1

Match report

Image source, BBC Sport

Man Utd 0-0 Wolves

Lawro's prediction: 1-2

Georgia's prediction: 2-0

Why does she support United? "I have always loved United since I was a young kid. I know I am a Londoner and I get a lot of stick for it - I should support QPR! - but ever since my dad sat me down when I was seven or something, watching United win the treble in 1999, I just thought they were one of the greatest teams. I loved the era of Sir Alex Ferguson."

Match report

SUNDAY

Image source, BBC Sport

Burnley 0-0 Arsenal

Lawro's prediction: 2-1

Georgia's prediction: Sorry, Gooners. 1-1

Match report

Image source, BBC Sport

Tottenham 2-0 Man City

Lawro's prediction: 0-2

Georgia's prediction: This is a tricky one, it is going to be a tight game but on behalf of half of my family I am going with Spurs. 2-1

Match report

Lawro was speaking to BBC Sport's Chris Bevan.

How did Lawro do last week?

From FA Cup fourth-round weekend, Lawro got eight correct results, with two exact scores from the 16 ties.

Lawro also correctly predicted Liverpool would beat West Ham 2-0 on Wednesday night, giving him an extra 40 points to add to his score in week 18.

Before that game was played, Lawro had 'lost' that week by 60-40 to Serge from Kasabian (who predicted a 1-1 draw) but now can claim an 80-60 win instead.

Image source, BBC Sport

+/- DENOTE POSITION DIFFERENCE BETWEEN LAWRO'S TABLE AND ACTUAL POSITION

TEAM

P

W

D

L

PTS

+/-

1

Man City

24

23

0

1

69

+1

2

Liverpool

24

21

3

0

66

-1

3

Tottenham

24

17

5

2

56

+3

4

Chelsea

24

17

4

3

55

0

=5

Arsenal

24

11

7

6

40

+5

=5

Man Utd

24

11

7

6

40

0

7

Leicester

24

11

5

8

38

-4

=8

Burnley

24

9

4

11

31

+5

=8

Watford

24

9

4

11

31

+11

=8

West Ham

24

9

4

11

31

+9

11

Everton

24

8

6

10

30

+1

12

Bournemouth

24

9

2

13

29

+6

13

Aston Villa

24

8

4

12

28

+3

14

Wolves

24

8

3

13

27

-7

15

Newcastle

24

7

2

15

23

-1

16

Southampton

24

6

3

15

21

-7

17

Brighton

24

6

2

16

20

-2

18

Sheff Utd

24

5

3

16

18

-10

19

Crystal Palace

24

4

5

15

17

-8

20

Norwich

24

2

7

15

13

0

GUEST LEADERBOARD 2019-20

Score

Guest leaderboard

160

Gabriel Luna

140

Arnold Schwarzenegger

100

Adam Peaty

90

Avelino, Helen Housby, Jo Harten, Bobby Seagull, Geraint Thomas

80

Tom Davis, Andy Murray, Stephen Graham

78

Lawro (average after 24 weeks)

70

David Baddiel, Richard Hawley, Kojo, Michael Johnson, Craig Mitch, Alex Scott

60

Sonny Bill Williams, Serge from Kasabian, Stefan Ratchford

50

Chelcee Grimes, Reece Parkinson, Sam Warburton

40

Stephen Fry, Hugh Grant, Neil Jones, Tommy O'Dell, Steve Queralt

30

Matthew McConaughey, Seth Rollins

Total scores after week 24

Lawro

1,880

Guests

1,640

Lawro v Guests

P24

W17

D2

L5