Premier League predictions: Lawro v The Manor's Scotty Stacks

12 July 2020

Arsenal go into Sunday's north London derby on the back of a five-game unbeaten run in the Premier League and FA Cup - but will that revival survive the weekend?

BBC football expert Mark Lawrenson is not convinced by their upturn in form, saying: "I still don't trust Arsenal.

"Some people have got excited about their recent results and, yes, there has been some improvement - but it still feels like a bad performance is just around the corner."

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

This week he is up against The Manor's Scotty Stacks, whose latest track 'All Goes Cold' is out now.

Stacks is a Crystal Palace fan who was dreaming of Europe when he was part of the MOTDx Watchalong for the win at Bournemouth on 20 June, in what was their first game back as the Premier League restarted following the coronavirus shutdown.

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That win sent the Eagles ninth, and at that stage they were just four points behind fifth-placed Manchester United, but Roy Hodgson's side have lost all four of their games since, and it is safe to say Stacks is no longer looking up the table and thinking about midweek trips to Azerbaijan.

"What's gone wrong? How long have you got!?!" Stacks told BBC Sport. "We've got the job done this season when we've needed to, but our league position has never really told the full story.

"I think the Premier League been a pretty poor standard on the whole this year. There have been a few success stories - teams such as Wolves, Sheffield United and Burnley who have over-achieved and are pushing for Europe, but Liverpool have won it at a canter.

"There are a lot of teams with decent squads who haven't played as well as expected. So while it has been a pretty decent year for us to have an off-season, because we have never been in danger of going down, as a Palace fan it does feel like a missed opportunity for a European tour, when teams such as Arsenal, Tottenham and Everton have been in upper mid-table most of the time.

"It feels as if a couple more goals at different times and we could have been right in the mixer for the Europa League.

"At the same time, I don't think we'd have the squad to cope with that anyway. But would you risk a rainy Thursday night in Azerbaijan for a relegation dog-fight? I probably would, to be honest!

"It is frustrating because we are capable of it, but being a typical, cynical and pessimistic Palace fan, we're probably just as capable of getting relegated as we are getting into Europe.

The Manor

Palace fans have a reputation for being among the loudest in the Premier League, so how much has playing behind closed doors affected the Eagles' form? "We've definitely missed our fans at home and we take it away as well," says Stacks. "It might sound a bit hippyish of me but I feel as if there is a positive energy and a bond between the players, fans and the community. The players talk about it a lot and there has been something missing without our supporters when, on the flip side, some of the teams with less harmonious relationships have benefited because the pressure is off when grounds are empty."

Premier League predictions - week 35
	Result	Lawro	Scotty
SATURDAY
Norwich v West Ham	0-4	1-1	0-2
Watford v Newcastle	2-1	2-0	2-2
Liverpool v Burnley	1-1	2-0	2-1
Sheff Utd v Chelsea	3-0	1-1	1-3
Brighton v Man City	0-5	0-3	0-3
SUNDAY
Wolves v Everton	3-0	2-0	1-0
Aston Villa v Crystal Palace	2-0	1-1	1-1
Tottenham v Arsenal	2-1	2-0	3-3
Bournemouth v Leicester	4-1	0-2	0-3
MONDAY
Man Utd v Southampton	2-2	3-0	3-1

A correct result (picking a win, draw or defeat) is worth 10 points. The exact score earns 40 points.

LAWRO'S PREDICTIONS

Scotty's prediction: 0-3

Match report

MONDAY

BBC Sport

Man Utd 2-2 Southampton

Lawro's prediction: 3-0

Scotty's prediction: 3-1

Match report

Lawro was speaking to BBC Sport's Chris Bevan.

How did Lawro do last time?

From the midweek fixtures, Lawro got five correct results, including one exact score, for a total of 80 points.

He was beaten by DJ Joel Corry, who ended up with 90 points, thanks to six correct results, including one exact score.

BBC Sport

+/- DENOTE POSITION DIFFERENCE BETWEEN LAWRO'S TABLE AND ACTUAL POSITION
	TEAM	P	W	D	L	PTS	+/-
1	Man City	34	31	2	1	95	+1
2	Liverpool	34	30	4	0	94	-1
3	Chelsea	34	24	5	5	77	0
4	Tottenham	34	22	7	5	73	+5
5	Leicester	34	18	6	10	60	-1
6	Man Utd	34	16	9	9	57	-1
7	Arsenal	34	15	8	11	53	+1
8	Wolves	34	15	5	14	50	-2
9	Burnley	34	14	6	14	48	+1
10	West Ham	34	13	6	15	45	+6
11	Everton	34	11	9	14	42	0
12	Watford	34	12	5	17	41	+5
=13	Aston Villa	34	10	6	18	36	+6
=13	Bournemouth	34	11	3	20	36	+5
15	Newcastle	34	9	7	18	34	-2
=16	Sheff Utd	34	7	7	20	28	-9
=16	Southampton	34	7	7	20	28	-4
=18	Brighton	34	8	2	25	26	-3
=18	Crystal Palace	34	6	8	20	26	-4
20	Norwich	34	3	7	24	16	0

GUEST LEADERBOARD 2019-20

Score	Guest leaderboard
160	Gabriel Luna
140	Arnold Schwarzenegger
110	Aitch, Daisy May and Charlie Cooper
100	Adam Peaty
90	Avelino, Joel Corry, Helen Housby, Jo Harten, Bobby Seagull, Geraint Thomas
80	Tom Davis, Andy Murray, Stephen Graham
76	Lawro (average after 34 weeks)
70	David Baddiel, Richard Hawley, Kojo, Michael Johnson, Craig Mitch, Alex Scott
60	Sonny Bill Williams, Georgia, Al Greenwood, Katie Ormerod, Serge from Kasabian, Stefan Ratchford
50	Chelcee Grimes, Alex Horne, Reece Parkinson, Sam Warburton
40	Big Zuu, Stephen Fry, Hugh Grant, Tom Grennan, Neil Jones, Simon Neil, Tommy O'Dell, Steve Queralt
30	Sam Bird, Matthew McConaughey, Seth Rollins

Total scores after week 34
Lawro	2,580
Guests	2,290

Lawro v Guests
P34	W20	D4	L10