Predictions: Jack's Round 18 Premier League Picks

Merry Christmas, all. The Boxing Day Premier League round is almost upon us so it's wise to get your predictions in now, like I am, to save any chance of forgetting to make them on Boxing Day morning!

Like most, my reaction to there being just 1 match on Boxing Day this season was not a positive one, but Saturday has a decent lineup with Chelsea vs. Villa at the Bridge set to be a cracker.

Last round

An average 5/10 where a lack of Exacts cost me. Predicting West Ham would score a goal looks very silly in hindsight, and I really wish Villa scored one more since so many went 2-1 for that game.

Here are my thoughts on Round 18.

Manchester United vs. Newcastle

We all know by now that you can't trust Newcastle away from home, but Manchester United are looking *short* of players right now and the absence of Bruno Fernandes is huge. It feels like a very good opportunity for Newcastle to win at Old Trafford again as they did last season, but I'm going to feel very silly when they don't take it. Prediction: Manchester United 1-2 Newcastle

Nottingham Forest vs. Manchester City

There's no stopping Manchester City at the moment. After such a difficult season last year, Pep Guardiola deserves real credit for putting a new team together (still without Rodri) and they're starting to show the kind of consistency where you just expect them to win a reasonably difficult away game like this. Forest aren't showing the attacking quality to match City's number of goals and I'm not sure they can stop them defensively either. Prediction: Nottingham Forest 0-2 Manchester City

Arsenal vs. Brighton

Brighton have gone off the boil slightly and aren't as much of a threat in attack now that Yankuba Minteh has faded a bit and Danny Welbeck is struggling with injury. Kaoru Mitoma's return could reignite things but I'm not sure the Emirates is the place for that to happen. Arsenal should win reasonably comfortably. Prediction: Arsenal 2-0 Brighton

Brentford vs. Bournemouth

This is a slightly strange one in that I think Bournemouth are quite a bit better than Brentford, but most signs point towards a Brentford win here including the head-to-head where the Bees are surprisingly dominant. Bournemouth are in desperate need of a win but this doesn't look like the matchup for them. Prediction: Brentford 2-1 Bournemouth

Burnley vs. Everton

Burnley proved last weekend that they're capable of ruining everyone's Superbru picks with a surprise late goal so they perhaps shouldn't be underestimated here. This is also a good time to play Everton given the players that they are missing but I'm just not sure Burnley have the attacking quality to break them down. Prediction: Burnley 0-1 Everton

Liverpool vs. Wolves

Even without Isak, Salah and Szoboszlai, Liverpool should stroll through this game. Many around Wolves will have felt that they might get something last weekend from a favourable home game (even if I wasn't brave enough to back them for a point) and so now that they haven't, morale must be at an all-season low. Prediction: Liverpool 2-0 Wolves

West Ham vs. Fulham

Over the last couple of rounds, Fulham have done an excellent job of getting the results they needed in games they'll have felt they ought to win, and the onus is now on West Ham to do the same and beat them. This is a huge match for the Hammers. With that motivation in mind, I'm going to gamble on a home win. I'm not fully convinced by Fulham on the road and West Ham have been scoring goals at home outside of the Liverpool game. Prediction: West Ham 2-1 Fulham

Chelsea vs. Aston Villa

A big match between 4th and 3rd and I think it should be a great watch, too. Despite Villa's remarkable run, I think I'm leaning towards Chelsea. The Blues have really got themselves up for recent big matches at Stamford Bridge and the crowd has responded to that so this will be a tough assignment for Villa. Reece James is a joy to watch when fully fit (which, touch wood, he has been for a while now) and Cole Palmer is reportedly now ready to play 90 minutes again too. Prediction: Chelsea 2-1 Aston Villa

Sunderland vs. Leeds

I'm tempted by a draw for this one simply because of the number of players Sunderland have lost to AFCON, but they seemed to cope really well at Brighton last week so I'm not sure I can go against them at home. Leeds deserve a lot of credit for their recent run but they still only have 1 away win thus far. Prediction: Sunderland 2-1 Leeds

Crystal Palace vs. Tottenham

My instinct is Palace win this game, but their home results really haven't been great this season and Thomas Frank has been getting the odd point when he really needs one such as at Newcastle so I'm wondering if this is a draw? Tottenham lost at Selhurst Park last season but otherwise have a relatively good record there. Prediction: Crystal Palace 1-1 Tottenham

Best of luck with your own Round 18 predictions and whether you're celebrating Christmas or not, I wish you all a fantastic few days.