Premier League Round 18 Predictions!

Football's never boring, and this week has been even more entertaining than most! We now have a fantastic Champions League knockout stage to look forward to after Monday's draw (the Europa League has also now arrived at Superbru for the knockout stages!), a hectic couple of weeks of Premier League action coming up and a Manchester United legend returning as a caretaker manager following the departure of Jose Mourinho.

If it wasn't anyway, United's trip to the Cardiff City stadium is definitely now the headline game of Round 18 which also includes a couple of potential banana skins for Superbru players and the usual tough to call lower-table clashes. Personally, I was disappointed to only manage the average of 6 out of 10 correct picks in R17 with just the one exact. I'm keen to bounce back this week so here are my predictions for each of this weekend's games.

Wolves vs. Liverpool

This will be a tricky game for Liverpool on Friday night. Wolves have won three on the bounce, will play with confidence and look like scoring goals a little more than they did earlier in the season. However, I expect the Reds to come through this match and sit top of the table at Christmas as a result. Things were pretty easy for them against United at Anfield last time out but the fact they hadn't beaten their rivals at home for such a long time will provide Klopp's team with yet another confidence boost. Prediction: Wolves 1-2 Liverpool

Arsenal vs. Burnley

I'm annoyed with myself for not picking Arsenal's loss last week as I saw it coming and mentioned in the R17 picks article that they'd have a very tough time. Now that there's been another loss against Spurs in the Cup, the long unbeaten run suddenly feels a little while ago and Emery needs to get straight back to winning ways as the games now pile up even more over Christmas. Burnley showed promise last week against the other North London side, digging in with the kind of display that we became used to up until this season. If they can perform the same way this week then they have a chance of a point but I expect Arsenal's pace to break them down more quickly than Spurs did. Prediction: Arsenal 2-0 Burnley

Bournemouth vs. Brighton

Bournemouth's potential fatigue from a midweek Cup game may be a factor here but they usually win at home against the sides outside of the top six so I'm siding with them for this one. Howe made a few changes and still saw his side put in a respectable display at Stamford Bridge but they could really do with some Premier League momentum after suffering 6 defeats in 7 during a tough run of games in the league. Brighton won't make this easy and never tend to get thrashed so my margin is narrow. Prediction: Bournemouth 2-1 Brighton

Chelsea vs. Leicester

Leicester did well to take Man City to penalties on Tuesday but why didn't they play their best XI when there was a chance to get to a Cup semi-final? It seems a really strange decision from Puel when they're safe in the league and Chelsea also played (a day later) in midweek. This match is far more of a free swing for the Foxes than the quarter-final against City was but I can't see them winning even with their main players back starting. They've been poor in their last two league games and Stamford Bridge is among the toughest places to go in the Premier League. Prediction: Chelsea 2-0 Leicester

Huddersfield vs. Southampton

I expect Southampton to keep improving under Hasenhüttl - especially after that big win over Arsenal - and can see them winning at Huddersfield. The Terriers are missing some key midfielders and will be for a while so you have to fear the worst for them. They still look short of goals and so I can actually see them playing more openly here to try and force more attacking success against another struggling side but that will likely play in to the Saints' hands. Let's go with a fairly bold, high scoring prediction just in case I'm right. Prediction: Huddersfield 1-3 Southampton

Manchester City vs. Crystal Palace

Not a very nice Christmas present for Palace. Fair play to them, they picked up a great win over Leicester last week but they aren't winning this match unless Guardiola really does feel like handing them a gift. City have won 9/9 at home, most of them by plenty. It's very difficult to nail an exact for City at home but I'll go for 3 goals as Palace seem to keep conceding that many in recent away games. Prediction: Manchester City 3-0 Crystal Palace

Newcastle vs. Fulham

There isn't really a bad pick here as all outcomes are possible. The only thing that you can say with a fair amount of confidence here is that Fulham are unlikely to keep a clean sheet but this game is kept interesting by the fact that Newcastle have looked more solid away from home than they have at St James'. This will be a battle and Fulham need to start picking up points soon but they let me down last week at home and Benitez will see this as a huge opportunity for 3 points.Prediction: Newcastle 2-1 Fulham

West Ham vs. Watford

The only hesitation I have about picking West Ham here is when do they ever win 5 games in a row!? I've looked it up and the last they won 5 on the bounce in the Premier League was in 2006 so my concern is justified but things are starting to feel different under Pellegrini. Though Watford deserve respect and will be a solid mid-table team this season as they have been for a few years now, West Ham have the better form and manager and should win this game. Prediction: West Ham 2-1 Watford

Cardiff vs. Manchester United

United's decision to axe Mourinho was probably fair enough, just as their decision to bring in a Club great to bring back the feel good factor also makes sense. However, having an interim manager at Old Trafford feels strange and ultimately epitomises the lack of good decisions that have been made by the Club's hierarchy over the past few years.

Solskjaer will of course have respect from the players and I expect his arrival to trigger the likes of Pogba and Lukaku into better form but it's hard to know how long the buzz of this appointment will last. It would be unfair of me to judge Solskjaer's managerial ability but he does lack the experience required for this job and there's a long way to go in the season. I think United will win this Saturday but it won't be easy to heal the defensive issues over night or indeed between now and May without squad additions and a more established manager. Prediction: Cardiff 1-3 Manchester United

Everton vs. Tottenham

Everton have won 5 out of 9 so far this season at home but that record should probably be better considering the teams they've failed to beat at Goodison are Huddersfield, West Ham, Newcastle and Watford. In fact, this is the first 'top team' they'll be playing at home this season, so it'll be interesting to see how they fare and how Silva sets up. Spurs have had another good week and the smart pick is an away one for this game. Everton are more than capable of putting in a performance against big sides as they showed against Chelsea and Liverpool but they didn't win either of those games and there's not enough reason to believe they'll be victorious on Sunday. Prediction: Everton 0-2 Tottenham

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Best of luck to all. Let me know how your own predictions compare in the comments. There are a few that will split opinion this week!