Arsenal host Tottenham in the big Premier League showdown of the weekend, but who will come out on top?
BBC Sport’s predictions expert Mark Lawrenson has the first north London derby of the season to end in a draw. Elsewhere, Premier League leaders Liverpool head to Burnley while reigning champions Manchester City host Brighton.
Lawro is making predictions for all 380 top-flight matches this season, against a variety of guests.
His guest this week is Stephen Fry. The actor and comedian is starring in the theatre production Mythos: A Trilogy – Gods. Heroes. Men. In the trilogy of plays, Fry takes to the stage in the company of the Greek gods, heroes and men, whose gripping tales still echo today.
Away from the stage, the 62-year-old is a Norwich City fan.
“My favourite Norwich moment will be the favourite moment of most people of a certain age and that is the Jeremy Goss goal at Bayern Munich. That was extraordinary,” said Fry.
“We had a really good side at that time and it felt like we were getting bigger and bigger and then the Premier League arrived and at one point we were at the top of it. It was amazing. Maybe it will happen again.
“This season is very exciting because we have one of the youngest and most exciting teams for a very long time. We also have the greatest bargain currently playing in the Premier League in Teemu Pukki. He is incredible. You get players who are totally ordinary with other clubs and Pukki was but we got him on a free and he has fit into Daniel Farke’s system incredibly.”
| Premier League predictions – week three | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Lawro | Stephen Fry | |
| SATURDAY | |||
| Southampton v Man Utd | x-x | 1-2 | 0-2 |
| Chelsea v Sheffield United | x-x | 2-0 | 1-1 |
| Crystal Palace v Aston Villa | x-x | 1-1 | 1-1 |
| Leicester v Bournemouth | x-x | 2-0 | 0-1 |
| Man City v Brighton | x-x | 3-0 | 3-0 |
| Newcastle v Watford | x-x | 2-1 | 0-0 |
| West Ham v Norwich | x-x | 2-0 | 1-2 |
| Burnley v Liverpool | x-x | 1-1 | 0-2 |
| SUNDAY | |||
| Everton v Wolves | x-x | 2-0 | 0-0 |
| Arsenal v Tottenham | x-x | 1-1 | 0-2 |
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
Southampton v Man Utd (12:30 BST)
Lawro’s prediction: 1-2
Manchester United hopefully won’t get a penalty in this one!
Southampton winning last week turned them around a bit for the better after a difficult start. Manchester United’s problem is going to be against teams that sit in deep and I don’t see their midfield having great creativity at the moment.
There is something about United, though. I think they will be up and down all season but I think they will nick this one.
Stephen’s prediction: 0-2
Chelsea v Sheffield United
Lawro’s prediction: 2-0
I loved Chris Wilder’s post-match news conference last weekend. He has been like that with his players all the time and I think it is great. As he says, if you don’t work hard what is the point?
Chelsea got a good win at Norwich. Tammy Abraham got two goals and that will do him well. I think this is by far Sheffield United’s most interesting game in terms of seeing how they set up against one of the big six.
Stephen’s prediction: 1-1
Crystal Palace v Aston Villa
Lawro’s prediction: 1-1
Last weekend’s win at Manchester United was an excellent result for Crystal Palace, but then they failed to score against Colchester in the League Cup. But the thing with Roy Hodgson’s teams is that if they are not scoring they are still good defensively.
Aston Villa beat Everton last Friday but if I were to do a maths report on their season so far it would be six out of 10. There is room for improvement.
Stephen’s prediction: 1-1
Leicester v Bournemouth
Lawro’s prediction: 2-0
Leicester have had a good start to the season. They could, and should, have won against Chelsea. I really like James Maddison – he sees everything around him, he has great vision. He just needs to keep chipping away with goals.
Bournemouth are one of those strange teams. They drew at home to Sheffield United but then won away at Aston Villa. They are sat on four points and that is about what you expect from Bournemouth.
Stephen’s prediction: 0-1
Man City v Brighton
Lawro’s prediction: 3-0
Brighton have had a good start with a win at Watford and a draw at home to West Ham. They did lose to Southampton but were down to 10 men.
This is a bit like a free hit, but it will be interesting to see how they set up. Graham Potter likes to play out from the back but good luck doing that against Man City.
Stephen’s prediction: 3-0
Newcastle v Watford
Lawro’s prediction: 2-1
It was a great win for Newcastle at Tottenham and what I would say to Newcastle fans is just support the team. Steve Bruce got a great result at Spurs, get behind him. I have really liked what I have seen of Joelinton and Miguel Almiron. If they get the service they look like they can score goals.
For Watford, it is played three, lost three. I don’t think they will win this one but I don’t think they will be bottom of the table for too long.
Stephen’s prediction: 0-0
West Ham v Norwich
Lawro’s prediction: 2-0
I said at the start of the season Teemu Pukki would do well to get 10 goals but he is on five already!
My great worry about Norwich is defensively, they have conceded eight goals. You get so heavily punished in this league. They will rely on winning enough games and generally those wins come at home. They had chances at Anfield but you just worry about them away from home. If you are not right on it, you get punished.
Stephen’s prediction: 1-2
Burnley v Liverpool (17:30 BST)
Lawro’s prediction: 1-1
Burnley are a strange one. This is the kind of fixture two years ago you would look at and think would be tricky for Liverpool but you look at them now and it is very different.
Arsenal were naive last week against Liverpool in the way they let the full-backs get forward. Sean Dyche won’t make that mistake. Burnley have made a good start and don’t have the Europa League this season. After losing to Sunderland in the League Cup, Dyche will be looking for a reaction.
Stephen’s prediction: 0-2
SUNDAY
Everton v Wolves (14:00 BST)
Lawro’s prediction: 2-0
Wolves are now dealing with the Europa League. I know they have more players but it is just a funny thing playing Thursday and Sunday. They are at home against Torino and that will not be easy. It is also a balancing act for the manager and I think Wolves will be up and down this season.
Everton are generally good at home. They have a decent record. I like the way they played against Lincoln in the League Cup. I thought it was one of Everton’s better displays since Marco Silva has been there and I think they can build on that this weekend.
Stephen’s prediction: 0-0
Arsenal v Tottenham (16:30 BST)
Lawro’s prediction: 1-1
What has happened to Tottenham? They are there with four points but they were totally unconvincing against Newcastle.
We have mentioned Arsenal and I thought they were naive against Liverpool and I am sorry but a defence with David Luiz in it isn’t going to get you top three.
The situation with Christian Eriksen is also very interesting. Daniel Levy, you would argue, has come out on top of every deal he has done but this looks like one he will lose out on.
Stephen’s prediction: 0-2
Lawro was speaking to BBC Sport’s Gary Rose
How did Lawro do last week?
On the third weekend of the Premier League season, Lawro got five correct results, including two exact scores, out of 10 matches for a total of 110 points.
He beat rugby league star Stefan Ratchford. who got three correct results and only one exact score, for a tally of 60 points.
| +/- DENOTE POSITION DIFFERENCE BETWEEN LAWRO’S TABLE AND ACTUAL POSITION | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TEAM | P | W | D | L | PTS | +/- | |
| 1 | Liverpool | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 |
| =2 | Man City | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| =2 | Man Utd | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 7 | +2 |
| =2 | Tottenham | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 7 | +3 |
| 5 | Arsenal | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | -2 |
| =6 | Everton | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5 | +6 |
| =6 | Leicester | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5 | -3 |
| =6 | Wolves | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5 | +7 |
| =9 | Bournemouth | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | +2 |
| =9 | Brighton | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | -2 |
| =9 | Chelsea | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | +2 |
| =9 | Sheff Utd | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | -2 |
| =13 | Burnley | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | -7 |
| =13 | Norwich | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | +3 |
| =13 | Southampton | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | +3 |
| =13 | Watford | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | +4 |
| =17 | Aston Villa | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | -1 |
| =17 | Crystal Palace | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | -8 |
| =17 | West Ham | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | -5 |
| 20 | Newcastle | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | -1 |
GUEST LEADERBOARD 2019-20
| Score | Guest leaderboard |
|---|---|
| 110 (average score after three weeks) | Lawro |
| 100 | Adam Peaty |
| 90 | Helen Housby, Jo Harten |
| 60 | Stefan Ratchford |
