Premier League predictions: Lawro looks at this weekend's top-flight games

Everton boss Marco Silva remains under pressure after taking three points from his side’s past six Premier League games – but will he fare any better against Tottenham on Sunday?

Spurs thumped the Toffees 6-2 at Goodison Park in December last year and BBC football expert Mark Lawrenson fears Silva could soon be facing another setback.

“Everton got battered in this fixture last time and they have not beaten Spurs at home since 2012,” Lawrenson said. “I don’t see that run ending this weekend.

“I just don’t see who is going to score the goals for them to beat a Tottenham team that are decent defensively.”

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

He will find out his opponent for this weekend’s games on Friday.

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 BST unless stated.

SATURDAY

Bournemouth v Man Utd (12:30 GMT)

Bournemouth are having a little bit of a goal drought, and have not found the net in any of their past three matches.

The Cherries are not on a bad run of results – they have only lost one of their past five league games – but it is not like them to be lacking in attack.

In contrast, Manchester United are looking dangerous again, and have also remembered how to win on the road – after going almost eight months without an away win in any competition, they now have three in a row.

Anthony Martial is very up and down as a player – he can be outstanding or insignificant in a game – but he has made a difference since returning to lead United’s attack, and they are full of confidence at the moment.

Lawro’s prediction: 1-2

Arsenal v Wolves

Wolves only levelled late on in last weekend’s draw at Newcastle but they played well enough to have won that game and had a good late chance to take the points too.

Nuno Espirito Santo’s side went out of the Carabao Cup at Aston Villa on Wednesday night but, in the Premier League, they are on a handy five-game unbeaten run and their poor start to the season is definitely behind them.

Arsenal have got some issues, including what to do with Granit Xhaka after his fall-out with the Gunners fans, but their home form is not usually one of them.

That’s why it was especially surprising that they let a 2-0 lead slip at home to Crystal Palace last week. We know they have defensive instability but we see it less often at Emirates Stadium than elsewhere.

Lawro’s prediction: 2-0

Aston Villa v Liverpool

Villa played all right against Manchester City last week, but still ended up being beaten 3-0.

I just have a feeling we might be saying similar things about their performance against Liverpool after the final whistle on Saturday, and with a similar outcome too.

If Jack Grealish is back from a calf injury then that will help Dean Smith’s side, but as Liverpool have shown against Manchester United and Tottenham in recent weeks, they are a difficult side to see off.

Grealish found it tough to make an attacking impact against Manchester City last weekend, and it could be the same story here.

But he has gone from being someone with lots of promise to actually being a top player. He has matured too and I am not surprised there is lots of talk about him getting an England call-up.

I only see a Liverpool win on Saturday, though.

The Reds deserved their victory over Tottenham last weekend, and it almost felt inevitable even when they were behind.

They wore Spurs down in the end, and they just seem to have this belief that they can come from any situation and rescue a result.

Lawro’s prediction: 0-2

Brighton v Norwich

Norwich are almost in freefall. Their injury crisis is easing slightly, but even Teemu Pukki has not scored for a while.

The Canaries got a 0-0 draw against Bournemouth to stop a bad run of defeats, but then they were lucky they did not get taken apart by Manchester United at Carrow Road.

Brighton will definitely fancy their chances against this Norwich team – yes, their win over Everton was assisted by VAR, but they are a team who create a lot of chances.

The Seagulls take a few risks, and play out from the back. They will lose a few games playing that way, but their fans are happy because they will win a few too.

Lawro’s prediction: 2-1

Man City v Southampton

I did not know Ralph Hasenhuttl’s assistant, Danny Rohl, had left for a role with Bayern Munich over the summer.

It might be a coincidence that Saints’ form has dropped away so badly since he left – but it might not be.

Their 9-0 defeat at home to Leicester means the pressure is on Hasenhuttl to turn things around and his side’s defence has to be his priority.

In total, Saints have conceded 17 goals in their past four games, which is not going to win them any prizes. A second trip to Etihad Stadium in the space of four days does not help much, either.

Pep Guardiola will pick a stronger team this time, and I think Manchester City will win by a bigger margin than their 3-1 victory in the Carabao Cup in midweek.

Lawro’s prediction: 4-0

Sheff Utd v Burnley

You can never accuse either of these teams of lacking effort or intensity, and I think this will turn out to be a cracking contest.

Sheffield United were poor early on in their draw with West Ham last week, but they turned it around after the break and I am sure Chris Wilder’s half-time team talk will have had something to do with it.

Burnley were outplayed by Chelsea last time out, but you know you are going to get a reaction from Burnley after a poor performance like that.

The Blades’ home record is actually not that great – they have lost three of their five league games at Bramall Lane so far this season – and I fancy the Clarets to edge this one.

Lawro’s prediction: 1-2

West Ham v Newcastle

Just when I thought West Ham were about to push on, they started a run that has brought only two points from their past four matches.

But while the Hammers are still horribly inconsistent, at least we know what to expect from Newcastle – they will come to London Stadium and try to park the bus.

Steve Bruce’s side cannot really do anything else, because they offer such little threat going forward – which is why I am backing West Ham, despite their poor form.

Lawro’s prediction: 2-1

Watford v Chelsea (17:30 GMT)

Watford have drawn a lot recently and are not conceding many goals at the moment, but it is a big ask for them to go from stopping teams playing to beating them, especially against a good side such as Chelsea.

I am sure the Hornets will get their first win of the season soon, but I very much doubt they will get it this weekend.

Lawro’s prediction: 1-2

SUNDAY

Crystal Palace v Leicester (14:00 GMT)

Leicester are absolutely flying at the moment.

Every time I see them, they look good – they are a powerful side with energy, pace and width, and everyone knows their jobs.

Crystal Palace have not made quite such a spectacular start but they are also in the top six and playing well too, and they have plenty of spirit in their side – they showed that with their fightback to draw with Arsenal last weekend.

The way I’d expect this game to go should suit the Eagles – Roy Hodgson’s side are not as good when they have to force things, but Leicester will come and attack them.

Palace are well organised and like to sit deep and break forward. I think they will get some joy from doing that on Sunday.

Lawro’s prediction: 1-1

Everton v Tottenham (16:30 GMT)

Tottenham did not do very much wrong when I saw them lose 2-1 to Liverpool at Anfield last Sunday.

If Son Heung-min had scored instead of hitting the bar as Spurs led 1-0 at the start of the second half, the outcome could have been different – but you have to remember the number of saves Paulo Gazzaniga had made to deny the Reds by that point.

Keeping Everton out is not such a difficult task and although Spurs have not been at their best recently, I still think they should have too much for the Toffees.

Where does that leave under-pressure Everton boss Marco Silva? I don’t know.

His immediate future depends on the outlook of the club’s owners, but if Everton don’t win this game, I would say that Silva definitely cannot afford to lose his next one, which is away at Southampton.

Lawro’s prediction: 0-2

Lawro was speaking to BBC Sport’s Chris Bevan

How did Lawro do last week?

Last weekend, Lawro got two correct results, with no exact scores, out of 10 matches for a total of 20 points – his worst tally of the season so far.

He lost to ‘Terminator: Dark Fate’ stars Arnold Schwarzenegger and Gabriel Luna.

Arnie got five correct results, including three exact scores, for a total of 140 points.

Luna was the top Terminator, however, with seven correct results, including three exact scores, for a total of 160 points that puts him top of the guest leaderboard.

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