⛅ Friday Forecast: Title and top four races' meet the relegation scrap | OneFootball

The 2022/23 Premier League is into its final two weeks, and the title, top four and relegation are all still to be decided.

With so much at stake, here are our weekend predictions.

💪 Game of the weekend

Everton v Manchester City

The title race meets the fight against relegation at Goodison Park on Sunday in the pick of the weekend’s fixtures.

Manchester City are doing what Manchester City do in title run-ins: winning. Pep Guardiola’s side have reeled off 10 straight wins and reeled in and overtaken Arsenal as a result, leaving themselves in pole position for a third league title in a row.

They will come up against an Everton side which should be brimming with confidence after their best performance this season by far in Monday’s stunning 5-1 win at Brighton, a victory that saw them climb out of the relegation zone and breathe life into their survival bid.

The Toffees will be buoyed by their previous fixture with City this season, which saw them steal a 1-1 draw at the Etihad Stadium in one of Frank Lampard’s final games in charge.

With City potentially having one eye on their Champions League semi-final second leg with Real Madrid, could Sean Dyche’s claim a precious point or more? It seems unlikely given City’s form but anything would be a bonus at this point of the season.

📊 Fun fact: City have won their last five Premier League games away to Everton. A win on Sunday would make them the first side since Portsmouth (1948-1956) to win six in a row at Goodison Park.

🔮 Our Prediction: Everton 0-2 Manchester City

😨 Potential upset

Chelsea v Nottingham Forest

Chelsea officially sealed their Premier League status with a win in last weekend’s clash with fellow mid-table outfit Bournemouth. How’s that for a bizarre sentence?

The 3-1 victory saw Frank Lampard avoid becoming an unwanted 0-0-7 in his interim spell back at Stamford Bridge, and he will hope it can reignite the Blues for the last four games of the season, starting with, what is on paper, the easiest of the bunch as Nottingham  Forest visit west London.

Forest have lost their last seven Premier League games away from home — their worst run since 1961/62 — but Chelsea have not won at home in any of their last five games and confidence is brittle right now.

Steve Cooper’s side also have everything to play for, sitting just three points outside the relegation zone after Monday’s huge 4-3 win against Southampton. This is a complete contrast to the non-event that is Chelsea’s run-in with everyone just waiting for the season to end.

If Forest are to break their points drought away from home, this weekend seems like the perfect time and place to do so.

📊 Fun fact: Chelsea have lost at home to promoted sides in each of the last two seasons (5-2 to West Brom in 2020/21 and 4-1 to Brentford last season). Could they make it an unwanted three in a row this weekend?

🔮 Our Prediction: Chelsea 1-1 Nottingham Forest

👍 Big favourites

Leicester City v Liverpool

Liverpool’s quest to secure an unlikely Champions League berth for next season takes them to the King Power Stadium this weekend to face a Leicester City side staring down the barrel of relegation just seven years after winning the Premier League.

The Reds have finally kicked into gear of late, winning their last six league games, scoring 17 goals in the process. Just two of these games were away from Anfield and, although they were won, Jürgen Klopp’s side can still not be trusted on their travels, with eight losses this season to date.

Dean Smith’s promising start to life with the Foxes came to a shuddering halt last weekend with a damaging 5-3 loss at Fulham, which was only compounded by wins for Everton and Nottingham Forest.

Smith will need all of James Maddison’s magic and some rearguard action different to their previous encounter with Liverpool this season (Wout Faes’ double own-goal won’t be fast forgotten) if they’re to have any chance of a result here.

📊 Fun fact: Liverpool have lost on four of their last seven trips to the King Power Stadium, including the two most recent matches there.

🔮 Our Prediction: Leicester 1-3 Liverpool

🤔 Too close to call

Crystal Palace v Bournemouth

Barring a very unlikely chain of events, Bournemouth will be playing Premier League football next season, as will Crystal Palace, who hit the hallowed 40-point mark two weekends ago.

With both sides free from the fear of relegation and having little else to play for, their encounter this Saturday should hopefully be enjoyable as a result.

Palace are unbeaten at home since Roy Hodgson’s triumphant return, with two wins and a draw from three games, and hit West Ham for four on their last time out at Selhurst Park. The likes of Wilfried Zaha, Eberechi Eze and Michael Olise have the joy back in their games and will fancy their chances again this weekend.

However, Gary O’Neil’s men are flying with five wins from their last eight as they continue to defy the odds. They also won on their last trip to the capital, 3-2 at Spurs, and another at Palace would see them leapfrog their opponents and into the potential heady heights of 12th.

With all of this in mind, it’s probably the hardest game to call this weekend.

📊 Fun fact: Bournemouth have won their last three away league games, their best-ever run in the top-flight. They last won four in a row in April 2021 while still a Championship side.

🔮 Our Prediction: Crystal Palace 3-2 Bournemouth

🔥 Your Fantasy Football captain should be …

Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)

Liverpool’s return to form has unsurprisingly come alongside Mo Salah’s best spell all season, with the Egyptian scoring in five of the Red’s six wins on the spin, and seven in his last seven.

This makes him the obvious choice for Fantasy captain, particularly as Erling Haaland may be rested or taken off early given City’s Champions League semi-final second with Real Madrid is on a knife edge.

Adding to his case, Salah will come up against a Leicester side that has leaked goals all season, their 64 goals conceded only topped by three other sides. The 30-year-old should fancy his chances of adding to that total in the Monday night fixture.

One goal would make it 20 Premier League for the season, the fifth time Salah would have reached that milestone in his six seasons at Anfield – the other season he had 19.

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