Premier League 2025/26 Gameweek 18: Preview and Predictions
Premier League action marks a return this weekend after the midweek Christmas celebrations with all teams raring to go after the festive break. Some really tasty fixtures await us yet again with the Red Devils facing the Magpies, the Gunners welcoming the Seagulls and the Blues hosting the in-form Villans.
Let’s take a look at all the previews and predictions from Gameweek 18 of the Premier League –
Manchester United vs Newcastle United
Manchester United would look to return to winning ways against the Geordies at Old Trafford this weekend.
United suffered a close defeat to Aston Villa in their last game which has seen them fall down to seventh place in the league table. Before this game, United had won two games and drawn two from their last five. Newcastle played Chelsea at home last weekend and ended up sharing the spoils with the Blues. Their current run of form is similar to United’s but Newcastle is sitting in the bottom half of the table due to their abysmal away form.
Along with Bryan Mbeumo, Amad Diallo and Nassour Mazraoui missing due to the African Cup of Nations (AFCON), United also have a few key players out in the form of Bruno Fernandes, Harry Maguire, Matthijs de Ligt and Kobbie Mainoo who are all injured. Newcastle doesn’t have anyone on international duty but they have a long list of injuries causing a massive selection headache for coach Eddie Howe. Nick Pope, Dan Burn, Tino Livramento, William Osula, Sven Botman, Kieran Trippier, Emil Krafth and Jamal Lascelles are all doubtful for the trip to Old Trafford.
With Newcastle’s ability to play well on long balls and set-pieces, United will have to be wary of their aerial threat and physicality. A tough game to call but with Newcastle’s poor away form and also being decimated by injuries, I believe United could secure the three points with their attack linking up well.
Score Prediction: Manchester United 2-1 Newcastle United
Nottingham Forest vs Manchester City
After the weekend’s away defeat to Fulham, the Tricky Trees have a formidable and in-form opponent to face at home.
Manchester City has returned to their usual dominance in the league with five wins from their last five games and keeping the pressure on league leaders Arsenal. Forest have shown slight improvement from their early season form with three wins and two losses in their last five encounters. They have been very inconsistent as well, unable to string a run of positive results.
Ibrahim Sangaré and Willy Bolly from Forest and Omar Marmoush and Rayan Aït-Nouri from City are all away for AFCON. Additionally, Forest will miss Ola Aina, Ryan Yates and Chris Wood while City will have Oscar Bobb, John Stones, Mateo Kova?i?, Rodri and Jérémy Doku unavailable for this game.
Keeping the current form and squad quality in mind, Man City is the overwhelming favourite for this one. They have fixed their issues at the back as well after conceding four goals against Fulham and have three clean sheets in the league since then. Forest playing at home can’t be underestimated but with Haaland and Foden in top form, this is City’s game to lose.
Score Prediction: Nottingham Forest 0-2 Manchester City
West Ham United vs Fulham
Still languishing in the bottom three, West Ham will face inter-city opponents Fulham at home this weekend.
Winless in their last six games, West Ham lost away to Manchester City last weekend and only have two draws to call as positive results in their last five. Fulham’s recent form has been decent. With three wins and two defeats in the league, the Cottagers are currently sitting in 13th place. Their most recent win came against Nottingham Forest last weekend.
From an injury perspective, West Ham only have Oliver Scarles missing but they have Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Malick Diouf away for AFCON. Fulham will miss Calvin Bassey, Alex Iwobi and Samuel Chukwueze due to international duty along with Ryan Sessegnon and Rodrigo Muniz on the sidelines due to injury problems.
The Hammers haven’t been able to get going this season and already have 10 losses from 17 league games. Their home form isn’t much to boast about either. However, Fulham will also be missing crucial players and hence this could very well end in a draw.
Score Prediction: West Ham 1-1 Fulham
Brentford vs Bournemouth
The Bees will host the Cherries at the GTech Community stadium this weekend.
Both Brentford and Bournemouth have been in poor form in recent weeks. Though Brentford won against a relegation-bound Wolves, Bournemouth had to suffice with a draw against Burnley at home. Brentford has two wins, two losses and a draw from their last five but in their defence, they have played tough games against Spurs and Arsenal away from home. As for Bournemouth, they are winless in their last five with two losses and three draws.
Brentford will miss Dango Ouattara and Frank Onyeka away for AFCON with Reiss Nelson, Fabio Carvalho and Joshua Dasilva on the sidelines. Bournemouth on the other hand only have players missing due to injuries. Tyler Adams, Matai Akinmboni, Veljo Milosavljevic and Ben Doak are all unavailable for this game.
Brentford boast a decent record at home and haven’t lost a home game since October but they will be wary of the Cherries attacking prowess. This could be yet another end-to-end game which may end in a draw as there isn’t much to choose from either side.
Score Prediction: Brentford 2-2 Bournemouth
Liverpool vs Wolverhampton Wanderers
The Reds are now on a six-game unbeaten run that could extend to seven games as they face Wolves at home this weekend.
After six straight league defeats that saw them plummet to 10th place, Liverpool has been able to turn the tide. With three consecutive victories in all competitions, the Reds have definitely patched up their performances. As for Wolves, the season is going from bad to worse for them as they are still winless and with just two points from 17 games – the worst run of form in a season in the league’s history. Liverpool also has a superior head-to-head record against the Old Gold.
Injury issues are piling up for the Merseyside Reds as Alexander Isak suffered a long-term injury in their game against Spurs. In addition, Conor Bradley, Giovanni Leoni, Wataru Endo, Stefan Bajcetic, Joe Gomez and Cody Gakpo are all doubtful for this game with Dominic Szoboszlai suspended. Mohamed Salah will also miss the game due to international duty. Wolves too have a long list of injuries with Hugo Bueno, Toti Gomes, Daniel Bentley, Jean-Ricner Bellegarde, Marshall Munetsi and Rodrigo Gomes all out with injuries while Emmanuel Agbadou and Tawanda Chirewa are away on international duty.
Even with the injury issues, an in-form Liverpool may still prove too strong for a struggling Wolves side. Also playing at home, Liverpool is definitely the favourite to secure the three points comfortably with Wolves’ chances of causing an upset looking less likely.
Score Prediction: Liverpool 2-0 Wolverhampton Wanderers
Arsenal vs Brighton and Hove Albion
Having progressed through to the Carabao Cup semi-final midweek against Crystal Palace, the Gunners will look to maintain their lead at the top against the Seagulls this weekend.
Arsenal has only lost one game in their last five encounters but their recent form has been troubling as they haven’t been able to score freely in the league. Even away to Everton, they won narrowly, courtesy of a penalty and have conceded a goal in four of their last five games in all competitions. As for Brighton, they haven’t been consistent this season but a part of it could be attributed to constant injury issues to key players. Brighton has two draws, two losses and a win from their last five with their most recent result being a goalless draw against Sunderland at home.
Arsenal’s injury issues continue to trouble them with Ben White, Cristhian Mosquera, Gabriel Magalhães, Kai Havertz, Max Dowman and Piero Hincapié all on the sidelines for this one. Brighton will miss the services of Carlos Baleba due to AFCON duty along with Danny Welbeck, Jan Paul van Hecke, Adam Webster, Solly March and Stefanos Tzimas all out injured.
Arsenal is a formidable force at home as they haven’t lost a single home game this season. Also, they have already defeated Brighton at home in the league cup earlier this season and certainly have the edge. However, they should be wary of Brighton’s attacking prowess with Kaoru Mitoma and Yankuba Minteh a proper threat on the wings. Taking everything into account, it could be a tight game but Arsenal will grab the three points in this one.
Score Prediction: Arsenal 2-1 Brighton and Hove Albion
Burnley vs Everton
Languishing in the bottom two, Burnley will host Everton at the Turf Moor this weekend.
After six consecutive defeats, Burnley finally managed a point against Bournemouth last weekend to break their losing streak. Everton on the other hand have lost two in a row after two consecutive wins but the two defeats came in difficult games against Chelsea and Arsenal.
Burnley will have personnel issues with Lyle Foster and Axel Tuanzebe away on international duty and Maxime Estéve, Connor Roberts, Zeki Amdouni and Jordan Beyer out with injuries. Everton will miss their most crucial creative force in Iliman Ndiaye along with Idrissa Gueye due to the AFCON. In addition, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Seamus Coleman and Jarrad Branthwaite are also out due to injuries.
Scott Parker hasn’t been able to solve their issues and the draw against Bournemouth was a rare positive result with Bournemouth going through bad form themselves. Even with a few crucial players missing, Everton still have the firepower to win this game and could hand Burnley yet another home defeat.
Score Prediction: Burnley 0-2 Everton
Chelsea vs Aston Villa
Chelsea will face the most in-form team in the league at Stamford Bridge this weekend.
Chelsea is currently sitting in fourth place with two wins, two draws and a loss in their last five games, Aston Villa is on a dream run though with seven consecutive league wins, sitting in third spot being just three points behind league leaders Arsenal. They are also only the second team to defeat Arsenal this season.
Chelsea has a few players injured with Levi Colwill, Dario Essugo, Romeo Lavia, Liam Delap and Estêvão unavailable for this game. Villa will miss the services of Harvey Elliott being ill along with Pau Torres, Tyrone Mings and Ross Barkley out injured. Evann Guessand will also miss this game due to international duty.
Both teams have some really exciting attackers and it would be really difficult to call this game. While Chelsea has been inconsistent, they do have the forwards to hurt any team and with Cole Palmer back in the side, they are definitely stronger upfront. Villa has been great so far but they do have serious defensive issues that have been masked by the close wins. Hence, I see this game ending in a draw which will also end Villa’s run of ten consecutive wins in all competitions.
Score Prediction: Chelsea 1-1 Aston Villa
Sunderland vs Leeds United
Sunderland will welcome fellow promoted side Leeds United at the Stadium of Light this weekend.
Sunderland came away with a point against Brighton last weekend. The Black Cats have only lost one game in their last five, an away defeat to Man City. Similarly, Leeds have also lost only one game in their last five, that too came away against City. Both teams have lost one, drawn two and won two games and played against top opponents as well. However, Sunderland’s last game was a goalless draw while Leeds handed a crushing 4-1 defeat to Crystal Palace.
Coming to personnel availability, Sunderland has been left with a weak squad with a lot of their players away on international duty. Habib Diarra, Bertrand Traoré, Noah Sadiki, Chemsdine Talbi, Arthur Masuaku and Reinildo Mandava are all away for the AFCON. Also, Ajibola Alese is injured and Luke O’Nien is suspended. Fortunately for Leeds, they do not have players away on international duty and will only miss Sean Longstaff, Daniel James and Lucas Nmecha due to injury issues.
With quite a few key players missing, Sunderland would be significantly weakened and hence Leeds do have a great opportunity to grab the three points this weekend. Their massive win against Crystal Palace last weekend would have given them a lot of confidence and hence I think Leeds certainly have the edge in this game.
Score Prediction: Sunderland 1-2 Leeds United
Crystal Palace vs Tottenham Hotspur
The Eagles would like to get back to winning ways at home after the heartbreaking loss on penalties in the League Cup quarter-finals against Arsenal midweek.
Palace is going through a slump in form having won only one game in their last five with three defeats and two wins in the league. Their last league game was particularly humiliating as they lost 4-1 away to Leeds United. Their opponents haven’t fared much better with only one win, three defeats and a draw. Spurs’ last game against Liverpool was particularly feisty and dramatic with the hosts reduced to nine men in a foul tempered game rife with unnecessary tackles and fouls.
Both teams have their fair share of players missing either due to AFCON, injuries or suspension. Palace has Caleb Kporha, Chadi Riad, Cheick Doucouré, Chris Richards, Daichi Kamada, Daniel Munõz and Rio Cardines out with injury while Ismaïla Sarr is away to the AFCON. Spurs also have Pape Matar Sarr and Yves Bissouma away on international duty, Xavi Simons and Cristian Romero suspended and Kota Takai, Destiny Udogie, Dejan Kulusevski, James Maddison and Dominic Solanke unavailable due to injury issues.
Both teams have concerns regarding injury or absence of key players and their current form. Spurs manager Thomas Frank is under immense pressure to deliver results now but playing away at Selhurst Park isn’t easy either. This is a tough one to predict, I believe Spurs can nick a win in a tight game where Palace would play defensive tactics.
Score Prediction: Crystal Palace 1-2 Tottenham Hotspur
