Premier League predictions: Lawro v singer-songwriter and Liverpool fan Jamie Webster

Everton have taken two points from their past eight games and managed only five goals in the process – but can they end their miserable run when they host Arsenal on Monday?

« Goodison Park is a fortress when the fans are buzzing and the team is doing well but right now there is mutiny in the air and it can have the opposite effect.

« One good result, especially at home, could change the mood. But it’s hard to see where it will come from at the moment. »

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

This week’s guest is singer-songwriter and Liverpool fan Jamie Webster.

A former electrician, Webster initially found success by providing the soundtrack to Liverpool’s 2019 Champions League triumph with his version of Allez Allez Allez, but his fanbase is now far bigger than just fellow Reds.

Webster’s new single, North End Kid, is out now, and he has just started a UK tour this week – something he is enjoying so much, he didn’t even mind missing Wednesday’s one-sided Merseyside derby.

« I was on stage in Newcastle for the second half, » he told BBC Sport. « It was a great result for us and my little brother used my ticket, so I am made up for him that he went and had a good time.

« I was a tiny bit gutted I wasn’t there myself but, having said that, the most favourite place for me to be in the world is on a stage with fans in front of me, singing my own songs. So, even for a win like that, I wouldn’t have swapped places to be there.

« There were a few people who must have been fans shouting the score out to me when I was on stage but I wasn’t even thinking about it because we had such a good night anyway.

« It’s been a great start to the tour. It was strange to come in to this through the football door but I am getting fans of all sorts of different clubs getting behind what I am doing, which is just amazing to see. »

There is only one club for Webster, though. His song about his home city, This Place, was used in a montage by Sky Sports on the night Liverpool lifted the Premier League trophy in July 2020 and has been streamed more than one million times on YouTube.

« I didn’t know that was happening and I was in the pub with my mates when it came on, » he added. « It was an unbelievable experience watching it and I was nearly in tears. My dad phoned me up and he sounded like he was nearly in tears too. »

There have been many more memorable moments, including when he played to 50,000 Liverpool supporters in Madrid on the afternoon of the 2019 Champions League final, and enjoyed a night out with Reds boss Jurgen Klopp.

« Jurgen walked in on one of my gigs when we were in America, and there was a video of that which was circulated quite a lot, » Webster explained.

« But then the year after, after we’d won the Champions League, he asked me to go for a pint with him in New York when we out there touring. We had a good night – we had a little bevvy and talked abut the successes of the season and stuff like that.

« I’ve always been made to feel really welcome by Jurgen and he is just as good a fella as he is a football manager as far as I’m concerned. Actually, he’s a better person than he is a manager, which tells you how good a person he is. »

	Result	Lawro	Jamie
SATURDAY
West Ham v Chelsea	x-x	0-2	1-1
Newcastle v Burnley	x-x	0-2	2-0
Southampton v Brighton	x-x	2-1	3-1
Wolves v Liverpool	x-x	0-2	0-2
Watford v Man City	x-x	0-3	0-2
SUNDAY
Leeds v Brentford	x-x	2-0	1-2
Man Utd v Crystal Palace	x-x	2-0	3-1
Tottenham v Norwich	x-x	3-0	1-0
Aston Villa v Leicester	x-x	1-1	2-1
MONDAY
Everton v Arsenal	x-x	1-2	2-1

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

LAWRO’S PREDICTIONS

Games kick off at 15:00 GMT unless otherwise stated

SATURDAY

West Ham v Chelsea (12:30 GMT)

It looks like the international break has halted West Ham’s momentum because they have not won any of their three Premier League games since – and I don’t see them ending that run here.

Chelsea were fortunate to win at Watford on Wednesday, and their manager Thomas Tuchel admitted it afterwards. I am expecting a reaction from them on Saturday – and a much-improved performance – because they rarely play poorly two games in a row.

Lawro’s prediction: 0-2

Jamie’s prediction: I’m going for a draw here because both teams are awkward to break down. 1-1

Jamie on the title race: It’s definitely a three-way battle this year – between us, City and Chelsea, and I think they all look really good. All three teams could drop points at any time, but equally all three of them could go on a mad unbeaten run. It’s going to be exciting and it is going to go to the wire.

Newcastle v Burnley

Burnley have turned themselves into draw specialists, with four in their past five games. They are still in the bottom three but they seem to be playing pretty well, and it feels like the results will come.

I’m not sure the same applies to Newcastle. Tuesday’s home game with Norwich was a must-win, and they didn’t win it. The more points they drop, even when they don’t lose, just makes it even harder for them to stay up.

They have left themselves a huge task to survive now – they will probably need to win at least 10 of their remaining 24 games, and I just don’t see that happening.

Lawro’s prediction: 0-2

Jamie’s prediction: 2-0

Southampton v Brighton

Both of these teams drew in midweek, with Saints pegged back twice by Leicester and Brighton equalising late on at West Ham.

The way both games went, I’d say Brighton’s result was the better one, but their problem is they keep on drawing and they are not scoring enough goals to win games.

Because of that, and because Southampton’s home record is actually quite decent – they have only lost one out of seven league games at St Mary’s this season – I think Saints might edge this.

Brighton’s current form is not a reason to boo manager Graham Potter or the team, though. If at the start of the season, you’d told any of their fans that they would be in the top eight after 14 games, then they would have been delighted.

But, because they started so well and are not getting the same results anymore, some supporters see things differently.

Lawro’s prediction: 2-1

Jamie’s prediction: 3-1

Wolves v Liverpool

Molineux is usually a happy hunting ground for Liverpool, who have won all of their past five visits there in the Premier League.

Wolves will give them a good game this time, but they can’t score at the moment. Finding the net is not an issue for the Reds though – they have averaged more than three goals a game in the league this season, which is a stunning record.

Lawro’s prediction: 0-2

Jamie’s prediction: This is a tricky game but we’ve got the quality to win it – if we turn up. 0-2

Watford v Man City (17:30 GMT)

Watford were very lucky against Chelsea in midweek. The very least they deserved was a point, if not all three.

But now they have to try to raise their game again, against the defending champions. I just don’t think it’s possible to do that twice in the space of four days.

Manchester City had to hold on for their win at Aston Villa on Wednesday but they can defend well when they have to, and we know how good they are going forward.

Lawro’s prediction: 0-3

Jamie’s prediction: Watford are a funny team but I can’t see them stopping City. 0-2

SUNDAY

Leeds v Brentford (14:00 GMT)

Leeds are still not in full-flow going forward but their results are steadily improving and I think they will continue to edge away from the relegation zone.

Brentford will keep on picking enough points to stay safe, especially at home, but I don’t see them getting anything at Elland Road.

Lawro’s prediction: 2-0

Jamie’s prediction: Brentford gave us a really good game earlier in the season and I think they’ve got what it takes to stay up. 1-2

Man Utd v Crystal Palace (14:00 GMT)

Ralf Rangnick takes charge of Manchester United for the first time on Sunday and I’m definitely expecting a reaction from their players.

There has already been an improvement in United’s performances since Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s departure, which is understandable – everyone is already playing for their place and even the ones who were out of the team think they might have a chance because all the players start afresh.

I think that improvement from United will continue. Crystal Palace will be trying to spoil the party at Old Trafford but they are another team who have had a bit of a blip since the international break and seem to have lost their momentum.

Lawro’s prediction: 2-0

Jamie’s prediction: 3-1

Tottenham v Norwich (14:00 GMT)

Norwich are on a nice little unbeaten run of four games, but I’ve seen this happen with teams near the bottom before – they have a few good results but it is never too long before they revert to type.

The Canaries have worked so hard to pick up those points, but I just feel that there is a bump in the road coming. Tottenham are at home and they have got the quality and work-rate to win this one comfortably.

Lawro’s prediction: 3-0

Jamie’s prediction: 1-0

Aston Villa v Leicester (16:30 GMT)

This should be a good game, because Villa are still on a high after Steven Gerrard’s appointment and Leicester seem to be having one of those spells where they seem to make life difficult for themselves.

Foxes midfielder James Maddison has hit a purple patch at the moment with his goals and assists but, so far under Gerrard, Villa strike me as having proper plans for every team they face.

That’s the same for every manager, of course, but Gerrard will leave no stone unturned. Maddison is Leicester’s most creative player so he will specifically stop him from providing for Jamie Vardy – or try to anyway.

Lawro’s prediction: 1-1

Jamie’s prediction: I’m backing Stevie G here! He has made a real impact since he has come in at Villa and I am really proud of him to see him as a manager in the Premier League. Good luck to him – as long as he doesn’t beat Liverpool next week! 2-1

MONDAY

Everton v Arsenal (20:00 GMT)

Everton are not getting any better.

We saw early on against Liverpool on Wednesday that the Toffees really can be got at defensively, and after going 2-0 down inside the first 20 minutes there was no way back from there.

I’m still not convinced by Arsenal on their travels, and the last time they came to Merseyside, a couple of weeks ago, they shipped four goals.

There is something still missing about the Gunners but the big difference is they are facing Everton this time, not Liverpool.

Lawro’s prediction: 1-2

Jamie’s prediction: I feel like Everton are going to pick up an unexpected three points somewhere to end this run and give them a bit of confidence. 2-1

Lawro was speaking to BBC Sport’s Chris Bevan.

How did Lawro do last week?

From the midweek Premier League games played from Tuesday to Thursday, Lawro got five correct results from 10 matches, including one exact score, for a total of 80 points.

He beat CBeebies presenter Ben Cajee, who got seven correct results but with no exact scores, for a total of 70 points.

	TEAM	P	W	D	L	PTS	+/-
1	Man City	14	11	3	0	36	+1
=2	Leicester	14	10	4	0	34	+8
=2	Liverpool	14	10	4	0	34	+1
=4	Chelsea	14	9	5	0	32	-3
=4	Man Utd	14	10	2	2	32	+3
6	Leeds	14	10	1	3	31	+9
7	Tottenham	14	7	5	2	26	-1
8	Aston Villa	14	7	3	4	24	+5
9	West Ham	14	6	4	4	22	-5
10	Arsenal	14	5	4	5	19	-5
11	Brighton	14	5	3	6	18	-2
=12	Newcastle	14	4	3	7	15	+8
=12	Wolves	14	4	3	7	15	-4
14	Southampton	14	3	2	9	11	+2
=15	Brentford	14	3	1	10	10	-4
=15	Burnley	14	3	1	10	10	+3
17	Everton	14	3	0	11	9	-3
18	Crystal Palace	14	2	2	10	8	-6
19	Norwich	14	0	4	10	4	0
20	Watford	14	0	3	11	3	-3

GUEST LEADERBOARD 2021-22

110	Friction, She Drew The Gun
80	Tom McFarland
79	Lawro (average after 14 weeks)
70	Ben Cajee, Elena Cole, Jelani Blackman
60	Haydn Craven
50	Aqib Khan, Shaun Thomas
40	Dan Haggis of The Wombats, Murray & Tav from FUR, Justin Young
30	Michael ‘Venom’ Page, Roger Taylor, Zuzu
10	Tom Hughes

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