Premier League predictions: Lawro v Bend it like Beckham actor Frank Harper

Liverpool have not lost in the league at Wolves for almost 30 years - a game Mark Lawrenson remembers well - but will they extend that unbeaten record at Molineux on Monday night?

"Their last defeat was August 1981, and it was my Liverpool debut," said BBC football expert Lawrenson. "Mike Matthews got the Wolves winner, and it wasn't my fault by the way.

"This time? It's going to be close, but that unbeaten run should survive, as long as I don't turn up."

Lawro is making predictions for all 380 Premier League matches this season, against a variety of guests.

For this weekend's fixtures, he is up against Bend it Like Beckham actor Frank Harper, whose new film Nemesis is out at the end of this month.

Harper is a lifelong Millwall fan who last saw the Lions in the top flight in 1990. Will they be back anytime soon? "It's always going to be hard for us. The Championship is probably the most competitive league in the world, and is a very high standard too."

Frank is known for his hardman roles like his part in Nemesis, Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, This is England and Silent Night, but in Bend it like Beckham he played the father of a football-loving teenage girl (Keira Knightley) in the 2002 film which inspired a generation of female footballers, including England defender Alex Greenwood.

"What a lot of people don't realise is that when Bend it like Beckham came out, women's football was the most-watched female team sport in the United States," Harper told BBC Sport.

"That's why the film did so well there, not because of the title - no-one in the United States really knew who David Beckham was back then, and soccer was well down the pecking order for male sports. But, because it was about women's football, it went massive.

"Almost 20 years on, it is absolutely brilliant to see how women's football has taken off over here in the UK too.

"Some of the girls who played in the matches in Bend it like Beckham played for real, and were semi-pros here. I remember going to watch the women's FA Cup final at Selhurst Park in 2003 and there were about 10,000 people there.

"Now, it's fully professional and the women's FA Cup final is at Wembley, with crowds of around 45,000, and the England team are playing there and selling it out.

"That speaks volumes for how much its profile has increased in the past 20 years or so and the standard has come on leaps and bounds too, in terms of their technique and ability on the ball. That's one of the benefits of it being fully professional now, and it's going to keep on improving."

Frank Harper and a young Jordan Pickford in 2006? No, it's his This is England co-star Thomas Turgoose

Harper supports Millwall, one of the clubs his dad, Dave Harper, played for in a 14-year professional career between 1957 and 1971.

Frank explained: "It wasn't just because he played for them - I grew up in south London and all of my dad's side of my family came from Peckham. Millwall was always their team - my grandad took my dad to the Den too, and my great grandfather was a Millwall fan too, so it was a generational thing.

"He played for Orient too, and I remember being stood out the dressing room when they had won the old Third Division in 1970 - he came out and gave me his winners' medal. My brother has got that now, but I have got his medal from when Millwall won Division Four in 1962, before I was born."

"A lot has changed since then, and not many of the grounds in London that he used to play at are still there - and if they are, most of them have been changed beyond recognition.

"You can't turn back time, but I do miss the old grounds that have gone. When I've been to the new Wembley for games with my daughter, she's said 'this is amazing' but it can never compare to the old one, and the unique history it had. When it was knocked down, which should never have been allowed to happen, every iconic footballer in the world that had ever lived had played there."

Frank's favourite Millwall team is the one that won promotion to the top flight in 1988. "Teddy Sheringham and Tony Cascarino both scored over 20 goals apiece that season which was one of the main reasons we went up. We were quite unplayable and that lasted most of that first season in Division One as well because people didn't quite know what to make of them. We also had one of Millwall's ultimate cult figures, Terry Hurlock, in midfield."

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

LAWRO'S PREDICTIONS

FRIDAY

Newcastle 1-1 Aston Villa

Lawro's prediction: 1-1

Frank's prediction: 0-2

Match report

SATURDAY

Leeds 0-0 Chelsea

Lawro's prediction: 2-1

Frank's prediction: 1-1

Match report

Crystal Palace 1-0 West Brom

Lawro's prediction: 2-0

Frank's prediction: 2-1

Match report

Everton 1-2 Burnley

Lawro's prediction: 2-0

Frank's prediction: 3-1

Match report

Fulham 0-3 Man City

Lawro's prediction: 0-2

Frank's prediction: 0-3

Match report

SUNDAY

Southampton 1-2 Brighton

Lawro's prediction: 1-1

Frank's prediction: 1-1

Match report

Leicester 5-0 Sheff Utd

Lawro's prediction: 2-0

Frank's prediction: 2-0

Match report

Arsenal 2-1 Tottenham

Lawro's prediction: 0-2

Frank's prediction: 1-2

Match report

Man Utd 1-0 West Ham

Lawro's prediction: 2-1

Frank's prediction: 3-1

Match report

MONDAY

Wolves 0-1 Liverpool (20:00 GMT)

Lawro's prediction: 1-1

Frank's prediction: 3-1

Match report

Lawro and Frank were speaking to BBC Sport's Chris Bevan.

How did Lawro do last time?

From last weekend's Premier League games, Lawro got five correct results from 10 matches, including four exact scores, for a total of 170 points.

He beat singer-songwriter Ben Howard, who got four correct results, with no exact scores, giving him a total of 40 points.

Lawro also picked up 10 additional points for predicting Manchester City would beat Southampton on Wednesday. He went for a 3-0 scoreline, and they ended up winning 5-2.

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