Premier League predictions: Lawro v Georgia, synth-pop singer-songwriter and former QPR & Arsenal youth player
- Published
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.
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.
"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
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
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
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."
SUNDAY
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
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.
+/- 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 |