Premier League predictions: Lawro v Grammy-winning producer and Leicester fan Fraser T. Smith
- Published
Two of the teams battling it out at the bottom of the Premier League meet on Tuesday when Burnley host Sheffield United.
"I don't think anyone should be expecting a feast of festive football but that won't matter to either side because the three points would be massive to both of them," said BBC football expert Mark Lawrenson.
"When I look at the table, it looks more and more like it is any three from the bottom five who are going down - it is hard to see anyone else being dragged into it."
Lawro is making predictions for all 380 Premier League matches this season, against a variety of guests.
This week, for the final set of Premier League fixtures of 2020, he is up against Grammy and Ivor Novello award-winning songwriter, producer and musician Fraser T. Smith.
Smith, who has worked as a producer for the likes of Adele and Stormzy, released his debut album '12 Questions' under the name Future Utopia earlier this year. His latest track 'Children of the Internet' is out now.
Away from music, Smith is a Leicester City season-ticket holder.
Smith celebrating on the day Leicester won the Premier League title in 2016
He grew up as a Foxes fan because of his dad, who is from Stamford, a short drive away from Leicester down the A47.
"I've been a Leicester fan since the Filbert Street days when we had Mark Wallington, Andy Peake, Alan Young and Jim Melrose in the team," Smith told BBC Sport. "We were managed by Jock Wallace in those days.
"So, I've seen a lot of ups and downs. We have been a yo-yo team between the top flight and second tier, and we have had some successes and also several disappointments where we have been down in the doldrums, so this period - the past few years - has been very special.
"Even the year before we won the title in 2016 was memorable. To go from being bottom at Christmas, in terrible form, to staying up and then winning the league the following year is just amazing when you look back on it.
"Another important thing for me is that it feels like we have maintained that level of excellence where we feel we can challenge the bigger clubs now.
"All of that has been brilliant to watch, so to not be able to be there while fans have not been allowed into games has been really difficult in the past few months. The King Power Stadium is not the same without us there, which might be one of the reasons why our away form is so much better than it is at home.
"Having said that, there has still been some amazing football to watch on TV, not just Leicester. I think we have been very lucky to be able to see so many Premier League games, and see so many goals go in. It has been such a topsy-turvy season, and is so entertaining because of that."
Fraser (left) worked with Dave to co-produce his 2019 Mercury Prize-winning debut album 'Psychodrama' and accompanied him for a performance of his track Black at this year's Brit Awards
Leicester fell away from the top four at the end of last season, finishing fifth and missing out on the Champions League places, but Smith is hopeful they can maintain their challenge this time.
"At that time, we were picking up injuries and it felt to me like we were looking really tired," Smith explained.
"What is interesting this season is that our injuries to people like Caglar Soyuncu and Ricardo Pereira, we have been forced to use players who probably would have only been on the bench otherwise - the likes of Luke Thomas and James Justin.
"They have really come through to the point where I feel like when those regulars come back, when they are tiring, instead of having replacements who haven't played, we have got real quality players who are going to see us through to the end of the season in a really strong way."
Premier League predictions - week 16 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Result | Lawro | Fraser | |
MONDAY, 28 DECEMBER | |||
Crystal Palace v Leicester | 1-1 | 1-1 | 0-3 |
Chelsea v Aston Villa | 1-1 | 2-0 | 2-1 |
Everton v Man City* | P-P | P-P | P-P |
TUESDAY, 29 DECEMBER | |||
Brighton v Arsenal | 0-1 | 1-2 | 1-1 |
Burnley v Sheff Utd | 1-0 | 2-0 | 2-0 |
Southampton v West Ham | 0-0 | 2-0 | 3-0 |
West Brom v Leeds | 0-5 | 0-2 | 1-3 |
Man Utd v Wolves | 1-0 | 2-1 | 4-0 |
WEDNESDAY, 30 DECEMBER | |||
Tottenham v Fulham* | P-P | P-P | P-P |
Newcastle v Liverpool | 0-0 | 0-2 | 0-5 |
*Everton v Man City & Tottenham v Fulham have been postponed.
A correct result (picking a win, draw or defeat) is worth 10 points. The exact score earns 40 points.
LAWRO'S PREDICTIONS
MONDAY, 28 DECEMBER
Crystal Palace 1-1 Leicester
Chelsea 1-1 Aston Villa
Everton P-P Man City
This match was postponed because of of an outbreak of coronavirus at Manchester City.
TUESDAY, 29 DECEMBER
Brighton 0-1 Arsenal
Burnley 1-0 Sheff Utd
Southampton 0-0 West Ham
West Brom 0-5 Leeds
Man Utd 1-0 Wolves
WEDNESDAY, 30 DECEMBER
Tottenham P-P Fulham
This match was postponed because of new coronavirus cases at Fulham.
Newcastle 0-0 Liverpool
Lawro's prediction: 0-2
Fraser's prediction: 0-5
Lawro was speaking to BBC Sport's Chris Bevan.
How did Lawro do last time?
From the games on 26 and 27 December, Lawro got four correct results from 10 matches, including one exact score, for a total of 70 points.
He beat singer Rick Astley, who got three correct results, with no exact score, for a total of 30 points.
+/- DENOTE POSITION DIFFERENCE BETWEEN LAWRO'S TABLE AND ACTUAL POSITION | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
TEAM | P | W | D | L | PTS | +/- | |
=1 | Chelsea | 15 | 11 | 3 | 1 | 36 | +7 |
=1 | Man City | 14 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 36 | +5 |
3 | Man Utd | 14 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 35 | +1 |
4 | Liverpool | 15 | 10 | 4 | 1 | 34 | -3 |
5 | Leeds | 15 | 10 | 1 | 4 | 31 | +7 |
6 | Tottenham | 15 | 9 | 2 | 4 | 29 | -1 |
7 | Leicester | 15 | 9 | 1 | 5 | 28 | -4 |
8 | Arsenal | 15 | 7 | 3 | 5 | 24 | +7 |
=9 | West Ham | 15 | 5 | 3 | 7 | 18 | +1 |
=9 | Wolves | 15 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 18 | +1 |
=11 | Brighton | 15 | 5 | 2 | 8 | 17 | +5 |
=11 | Southampton | 15 | 5 | 2 | 8 | 17 | -2 |
=13 | Burnley | 14 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 16 | +4 |
=13 | Everton | 15 | 3 | 7 | 5 | 16 | -11 |
=13 | Newcastle | 14 | 5 | 1 | 8 | 16 | 0 |
16 | Aston Villa | 13 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 13 | -9 |
17 | Crystal Palace | 15 | 3 | 3 | 9 | 12 | -3 |
18 | Sheff Utd | 15 | 2 | 3 | 10 | 9 | +2 |
19 | Fulham | 15 | 2 | 0 | 13 | 6 | -1 |
20 | West Brom | 15 | 0 | 2 | 13 | 2 | -1 |
GUEST LEADERBOARD 2020-21
Score | Guest |
|---|---|
110 | Sister Bliss, Amy Macdonald, Steve White |
90 | Adam Devonshire, Becky Hill |
80 | Raye |
75 | Lawro (average after 15 weeks) |
60 | Celeste, Caroline Weir |
50 | Declan McKenna, Paul Smith, DJ Target |
40 | Gavin 'Mo' Edgeley |
30 | Rick Astley |
20 | Dougie Payne |
0 | Rema |
Total scores after week 15 | |
|---|---|
Lawro | 1,120 |
Guests | 950 |
Lawro v Guests | |||
|---|---|---|---|
P15 | W9 | D0 | L6 |