After a weekend off to play the FA Cup fifth round, we’re back for matchweek 28. There’s a selection of tasty fixtures to choose from, beginning with the lunchtime kickoff between Forest and City on Saturday—and the headliner this weekend, Arsenal traveling to United on Sunday evening. The race for the top 4 seems to be bottlenecking, and this weekend may prove pivotal for some of the sides that find themselves in and amongst the chaos. You’ve made it through another week, so kick your feet up, grab a pint, and get stuck into some Matchweek 28 predictions.
Nottingham Forest vs. Manchester City
12:30, Saturday, March 8th, The City Ground
Nuno’s Tricky Trees welcome Pep’s City in what is shaping up to be the opening act in a fight to the death to finish in the Champions League places. If you had uttered that phrase in late July, you very well may have found yourself hooded, restrained, and tossed into a windowless room by men in white coats. I believe that Nuno should be a no-brainer for manager of the year—and that’s coming from one of the most biased minds that walks this Earth. That being said, Forest struggled mightily against City the first time these teams met, and for me, City are one of the few sides that Forest just do not match up well against. I think this game may surprise some, and as much as I’d like to see Forest come away from the game with something, I think it’s highly unlikely.
Prediction: 2-0 City
First Goal Scorer: Erling Haaland
Anytime Goal Scorer: Omar Marmoush
Liverpool vs. Southampton
15:00, Saturday, March 8th, Anfield
After the emotion of the smash-and-grab win in Paris on Wednesday, I can’t think of a better opponent this weekend. Following 87 minutes of chasing shadows and watching Alisson all but scribble his name on my firstborn son’s birth certificate, it will be refreshing to remember what playing with the football feels like. I’ve been harsh on Southampton this season—and rightly so, they’re absolutely appalling—but I’ll go no further than that this week. Get through the 90 with no injuries, enjoy yourselves, and the rest should take care of itself. Just win, and keep it rolling—happy days.
Prediction: 3-0 Liverpool
First Goal Scorer: Mohamed Salah
Anytime Goal Scorers: Diogo Jota, Wataru Endo (why not)
Brighton & Hove Albion vs. Fulham
15:00, Saturday, March 8th, The Amex
I’ll be the first to hold my hands up and say: Fulham have absolutely terrored me this year in match predictions—I genuinely don’t know if I’ve gotten a game that they’ve been involved in correct thus far. When I think they’ll turn up, they look as though they’ve never seen a football, and when I think they’ll get battered, they become 2008 Barcelona. So your guess is as good as mine here, to be honest. I’ve been impressed by Brighton lately—particularly in the resolve they showed at the weekend after going one behind at Saint James’ Park. The Seagulls leveled the score—and went on to find the winner deep into stoppage time to take them through to the quarter-finals of the FA Cup. I fancy them to have a relatively comfortable weekend here—but where Fulham is involved, you just can never be certain.
Prediction: 2-0 Brighton
First Goal Scorer: Joao Pedro
Anytime Goal Scorer: Yankuba Minteh
Crystal Palace vs. Ipswich Town
15:00, Saturday, March 8th, Selhurst Park
Ipswich are still yet to win a game in the league in 2025, and although they still remain just 5 points from safety, I have less confidence in their ability to stay in the league each time I watch them play. To put it plainly, it’s been dire from the bottom three, and it seemingly is only getting worse. The Tractor Boys will be facing a weakened Palace squad, following the Jackie Chan-style kung-fu kick to the face that JP Mateta suffered last weekend. Regardless, I’ve just lost any confidence in the ability of Ipswich to produce anything positive. Palace are flying, particularly after the 4-1 demolition of Villa at Selhurst Park last time out in the league, and I could see a similar result come Saturday.
Prediction: 3-1 Palace
First Goal Scorer: Eddie Nketiah
Anytime Goal Scorer: Eberechi Eze, Daniel Munoz, Liam Delap
Brentford vs. Aston Villa
17:30, Saturday, March 8th, Gtech Community Stadium
While this match pits the current 10th and 11th place sides in the table against one another, this game may have serious implications in terms of securing European football for either side next season. The bottleneck for top 4 essentially runs from 3rd to 10th, with only 5 points separating the positions. Emery and Villa already have a foot in the UCL quarters, following a 3-1 victory in Bruges on Tuesday night, but losing concentration in the league could prove to be costly. Villa were hammered 4-1 at Selhurst Park last time out in the league, and the Gtech can quickly turn into a house of horrors if your side isn’t up to it on the day—don’t ask me how I know. Given Villa’s form in the league, and the second leg of their UCL tie to come on Wednesday, I can see Brentford finding a way here.
Prediction: 2-1 Brentford
First Goal Scorer: Bryan Mbuemo (x2)
Anytime Goal Scorers: Ollie Watkins
Wolverhampton Wanderers vs. Everton
20:00, Saturday, March 8th, Molineux
If the bottom three weren’t as atrocious as they are, Mattheus Cunha’s decision to recreate the fight scene from the 2011 film Sherlock Holmes on Milos Kerkez at the weekend may have been the final nail in the coffin on Wolves’ run in the top flight. (Link at end of prediction.) As poor as Wolves have been, Cunha always provided a constant threat—and without him now for the foreseeable future, it will undoubtedly become a fight for survival. David Moyes has the Toffees playing like it’s 2013, throw a wig on Beto, and he just may be able to pass for Marouane Fellaini. The Toffees haven’t lost a league game since mid-January, and while there may be a few too many draws for some supporters’ liking in recent weeks, it sure is a monumental improvement over what we had seen earlier in the campaign. I don’t see this trend changing this weekend.
Link to video
Prediction: 1-0 Everton
Only Goal Scorer: Carlos Alcaraz
Chelsea vs. Leicester City
14:00, Sunday, March 9th, Stamford Bridge
Maresca’s Blues return to Stamford Bridge to take on Leicester in a game that should bolster Chelsea’s hopes of returning to the top 4. Given how poor Leicester have proven themselves to be in recent weeks, the result seems to be a foregone conclusion, but Chelsea have shown their share of wobbles at home this season. That being said, Leicester have won just 2 out of their previous 14 in the league, and I’d be willing to gamble my scant life savings on that number not becoming 3 of 15 on Sunday afternoon.
Prediction: 2-0 Chelsea
First Goal Scorer: Cole Palmer
Anytime Goal Scorer: Pedro Neto
Tottenham Hotspur vs. Bournemouth
14:00, Sunday, March 9th, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
Bournemouth come into this match as the bookies’ favorites to take all three points, which I do find a bit surprising. Spurs’ performance away at AZ on Thursday is undoubtedly a driving factor—a match in which Spurs struggled mightily—and once again lost Dominic Solanke to injury. The Cherries have lost their last two games in the league—at home to Wolves, and away to Brighton—and while Spurs’ fortune in the league seems to have changed course for the better, I think either side would be doing well to come away with all three points in this one. I think there will be goals; I just can’t see anything to separate the pair at full time.
Prediction: 2-2
First Goal Scorer: James Maddison
Anytime Goal Scorers: Son Heung-Min, Dean Huijsen, Antoine Semenyo
Manchester United vs. Arsenal
16:30, Sunday, March 8th, Old Trafford
Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Ineos will be dreading the late afternoon kickoff, with the threat of having to provide players and staff with TWO meals on Sunday at the club’s expense. United found a way to eek by powerhouses Ipswich in the League 3-2 in their last game in the league, before going out with a whimper to Fulham at Old Trafford in the FA Cup last weekend. Arteta and Arsenal were able to take 3 years’ worth of frustration from finishing second out on PSV in the UCL round of 16 on Tuesday—firing 7 past the Dutch side in Eindhoven. The curse again seemed to work a charm last week—so why change now? The league already looks a far cry for the Gunners, but anything less than a win at Old Trafford this weekend would surely be curtains.
Prediction: 2-1 Arsenal
First Goal Scorer: Rasmus Hojlund
Anytime Goal Scorers: William Saliba, Gabriel
West Ham United vs. Newcastle United
20:00, Monday, March 9th, London Stadium
Graham Potter has seemed to find his feet nicely in East London—or at least a lot smoother than Lopetegui seemed to have done. He’s got the Irons playing some decent football as of late, and this trip to the soulless bowl may prove to be a tricky one for Jason Tindall (& Eddie Howe’s) men. Alexander Isak seems to be fit again, after coming off late on against Brighton in the Cup at the weekend, but the Toon will have to make do without Lewis Hall and Anthony Gordon. Add to the list of absentees the fact that Newcastle’s eyes may already be on the Carabao Cup Final against Liverpool next weekend, and I think that West Ham may just be able to nick something from this one.
Prediction: 1-1
First Goal Scorer: Jarrod Bowen
Anytime Goal Scorer: Jacob Murphy
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