Premier League predictions: Lawro v Shepherd star and Man Utd fan Tom Hughes

Lawro's predictions

Newcastle have got some very rich new owners, but will their results be any different now the club has changed hands?

"I know there will be a wave of happiness at St James' Park when they play Tottenham on Sunday," says BBC football expert and former Liverpool defender Mark Lawrenson.

"But, for now, it is just a case of watch this space with Newcastle. They still have the same players they did before the international break, and they have the same manager too."

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

This week's guest is actor Tom Hughes, whose new film Shepherd had its world premiere at the BFI London Film Festival.

Shepherd star Tom Hughes
Hughes plays Eric Black in Shepherd, which is released in the UK on 26 November

Hughes, who has also starred in Victoria, Red Joan and BBC drama The Game, is a Manchester United fan who is firmly behind manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

"I'm still a believer," Hughes told BBC Sport.

"Ole has had a lot of stick for his tactics at times, but it is player errors that have cost him - like they did during the defeat by Young Boys last month, for example.

"I am still into him. I like him and he has also brought the enjoyment back to watching United.

"It's the first time since Sir Alex Ferguson was in charge where we've had a team that I kind of enjoy supporting. I think that's a big part of it with football - the romance of it. I want to just enjoy supporting my team and get excited about the game.

"Obviously you want to win too but I love the whole kind of ceremony of it - it's part of supporting United. The football under Jose Mourinho was dire, with David Moyes and Louis van Gaal too. It was so laboured, so it is just nice to have a football team that I look forward to watching.

"Then when you throw in a bit of spice with Cristiano Ronaldo on top of that, and it is exciting.

"There could be fireworks, you never know with United now - and that is the way it should be. It is one of those clubs where there should be a bit of magic or stardust in the team. I think that is what made me fall in love with them, so it's great that we've got that back again."

Shepherd star Tom Hughes
Hughes did not know whether to follow his dad (an Everton fan) or his brother and grandad (both Liverpool) when he chose which team to support, so went his own way. "I remember watching the 1995 FA Cup final with my dad and I was thinking 'look at this team, the plucky underdogs that have just lost the league on the last day of the season and have now lost the FA Cup final too. They are my kindred spirits so I am going to support them'. And then we won… everything. It's the best decision I ever made."
Premier League predictions - week 8
ResultLawroTom
SATURDAY
Watford v Liverpool0-50-22-1
Aston Villa v Wolves2-32-11-1
Leicester v Man Utd4-21-11-3
Man City v Burnley2-03-00-7
Norwich v Brighton0-01-10-2
Southampton v Leeds1-00-20-2
Brentford v Chelsea0-10-21-1
SUNDAY
Everton v West Ham0-11-22-1
Newcastle v Tottenham2-31-10-3
MONDAY
Arsenal v Crystal Palacex-x2-01-2

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 BST unless otherwise stated

SATURDAY

Watford v Liverpool

Watford 0-5 Liverpool

Lawro's prediction: 0-2

Tom's prediction: 2-1

Match report

Aston Villa v Wolves

Aston Villa 2-3 Wolves

Lawro's prediction: 2-1

Tom's prediction: 1-1

Match report

Leicester v Man Utd

Leicester 4-2 Man Utd

Lawro's prediction: 1-1

Tom's prediction: 1-3

Match report

Man City v Burnley

Man City 2-0 Burnley

Lawro's prediction: 3-0

Tom's prediction: 0-7

Match report

Norwich v Brighton

Norwich 0-0 Brighton

Lawro's prediction: 1-1

Tom's prediction: 0-2

Match report

Southampton v Leeds

Southampton 1-0 Leeds

Lawro's prediction: 0-2

Tom's prediction: 0-2

Match report

Brentford v Chelsea

Brentford 0-1 Chelsea

Lawro's prediction: 0-2

Tom's prediction: 1-1

Match report

SUNDAY

Everton v West Ham

Everton 0-1 West Ham

Lawro's prediction: 1-2

Tom's prediction: 2-1

Match report

Newcastle v Tottenham

Newcastle 2-3 Tottenham

Lawro's prediction: 1-1

Tom's prediction: 0-3

Match report

MONDAY

Arsenal v Crystal Palace

Arsenal v Crystal Palace (20:00 BST)

I like the way Crystal Palace have come together under Patrick Vieira, and their pressing playing style is very effective too.

This is a big moment for Vieira, who is taking his new team back to his old club. He will get a great reception but Arsenal are on a roll and I think they will create enough chances to win this one quite comfortably.

Lawro's prediction: 2-0

Tom's prediction: This is tricky, because you never know which Arsenal are going to turn up. I like Conor Gallagher at Palace - he has got a bit of class about him and good hair - so I am going to go with a bit of a shock here. 1-2

Lawro was speaking to BBC Sport's Chris Bevan.

How did Lawro do last week?

In the last set of games before the international break, Lawro got five correct results from 10 matches, including two exact scores, for a total of 110 points.

He beat MMA fighter Michael 'Venom' Page, who got three correct results, with no exact scores, for a total of 30 points.

Lawro's League Table graphic
+/- DENOTE POSITION DIFFERENCE BETWEEN LAWRO'S TABLE AND ACTUAL POSITION
TEAMPWDLPTS+/-
1Man Utd770021+3
2Leeds760118+14
=3Leicester752017+10
=3Man City7520170
=5Aston Villa750215+5
=5Liverpool743015-3
7Brighton742114-1
8Chelsea734013-7
9Tottenham733112-1
10West Ham732211-1
11Newcastle72238+8
=12Arsenal71427-1
=12Wolves721470
14Everton72056-9
=15Brentford71154-8
=15Burnley71154+3
17Southampton710630
18Watford70252-3
=19Crystal Palace70161-5
=19Norwich70161+1

GUEST LEADERBOARD 2021-22

ScoreGuest
110Friction, She Drew The Gun
87Lawro (average after seven weeks)
80Tom McFarland
50Aqib Khan, Shaun Thomas
40Dan Haggis of The Wombats, Justin Young
30Michael 'Venom' Page
Total scores after week seven
Lawro610
Guests460
Lawro v Guests
P7W5D1L1
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