Premier League 2025/26: Gameweek 20 Preview and Predictions
The busy run of the festive season continues, with games coming thick and fast. After games in midweek, another set of Premier League fixtures await us this weekend, with Bournemouth hosting the Gunners, Fulham welcoming Liverpool, and the Cityzens hosting the Blues at the Etihad, among others.
Here, we present our preview and predictions for all matches of Gameweek 20 of the 2025/26 Premier League season.
Aston Villa vs Nottingham Forest
The Villans were on an incredible 11-game unbeaten run going into the big game against Arsenal, but they ended up getting crushed 4–1, with Ollie Watkins bagging a late consolation goal. Their opponents, Nottingham Forest, extended their streak of defeats to three games in the league after the midweek loss to Everton.
While Villa have injuries to Tyrone Mings, Amadou Onana, Pau Torres, and Ross Barkley, with Harvey Elliott out with illness, Forest too have a fair few players missing in Ola Aina, Chris Wood, Ryan Yates, and Dan Ndoye.
Even though Villa lost to Arsenal last time out, they’ve shown a tremendous turnaround from the start of the season and are difficult to play at home. Also, given Forest’s abysmal and inconsistent form this season, Villa should be ending this game grabbing all three points.
Score prediction: Villa 3–1 Forest
Brighton & Hove Albion vs Burnley
Brighton missed a great opportunity to get a win against West Ham in midweek, with the Hammers managing to salvage a draw at home in a game that had goals conceded from three first-half penalties. The Seagulls are currently without a win in their last five games, having only managed three draws and two losses.
Burnley, meanwhile, were showing slight signs of improvement with two consecutive draws but lost at home to Newcastle United recently, further reducing their chances of survival.
From an injury perspective, Brighton may miss the services of Adam Webster, Solly March, Stefanos Tzimas, and Yankuba Minteh. In the other camp, the Clarets have a long list of injured personnel; Connor Roberts, Zeki Amdouni, and Jordan Beyer are long-term absentees, with Josh Cullen, Joe Worrall, and Maxime Estève out for a short duration.
Though Brighton’s form has been dismal this season, they are still a quality outfit. With a few of their key players coming back to the first-team fold, they have a great chance here to bag their first win in the league since November.
Score prediction: Brighton 2–1 Burnley
Wolverhampton Wanderers vs West Ham United
Wolves ended their streak of 11 consecutive losses with a draw at Man United, which must have given them some much-needed confidence boost. West Ham, meanwhile, salvaged a draw against Brighton in a game riddled with penalties. However, the Hammers are still lying in the relegation zone, four points adrift of 17th-placed Nottingham Forest.
Injuries to Leon Chiwome, Rodrigo Gomes, Daniel Bentley, Marshall Munetsi, Jean-Ricner Bellegarde, Toti Gomes, and Santiago Bueno have added to Wolves’ woes, while West Ham will only miss Jean-Clair Todibo due to injury in this game.
Without a doubt, both the teams are struggling, but West Ham have a relatively better squad than Wolves, who are on their way to register a historically bad league campaign. Even though Wolves escaped Old Trafford with a draw, the likes of Jarrod Bowen and Lucas Paquetá could cause their defence a lot of trouble, which makes a win for Nuno Espírito Santo and Co very likely here.
Score prediction: Wolves 1–2 West Ham
Bournemouth vs Arsenal
Andoni Iraola’s men are currently struggling and have not won any of their last ten games. They last won in late October against Nottingham Forest at home, though away draws against Man United and Chelsea in recent weeks would’ve given them some confidence.
The Gunners, on the other hand, are flying, having delivered a crushing 4–1 blow to the chasing Villans, which also ended their 11-game unbeaten streak. That said, Arsenal’s defence hasn’t been as solid as it usually is, having conceded in four of their last five league games.
For this game, Bournemouth will miss Ben Doak, Milosavljevic, Matai Akinmboni, and Tyler Adams, while Arsenal has Cristhian Mosquera, Max Dowman, Riccardo Calafiori, and Declan Rice out injured.
Looking at the form and quality of the two teams, Arsenal are the overwhelming favourites for this game. While Bournemouth can’t be underestimated at home, they have sufficient defensive vulnerabilities for Arsenal to exploit. The North London outfit should be able to secure all three points comfortably.
Score prediction: Bournemouth 0–2 Arsenal
Leeds United vs Manchester United
Leeds United are currently on a six-game unbeaten run, having won one and drawn four. In the same period, Man United have won two, drawn two, and lost one.
From languishing in the bottom three in the early part of the season to pulling off wins against Chelsea and Crystal Palace, having also earned respectable draws against Liverpool twice, Daniel Farke’s men have turned around their form big time. As for United, their inconsistent performances continue.
For this game, the Red Devils have a few players away at AFCON, while Harry Maguire, Matthijs de Ligt, Bruno Fernandes, Kobbie Mainoo, and Mason Mount are injured. Leeds, on the other hand, will miss the services of Sean Longstaff, Daniel James, and Joe Rodon.
Looking at their recent home performances, Leeds have played well at Elland Road and have also come back from losing positions to draw games. It’s not going to be an easy game for Ruben Amorim and Co; Leeds will try to keep their defensive structure intact with the intent to hurt them through long balls and quick turnovers. Man United do have a potent attack, but their vulnerable defence makes it very likely that they’ll drop points in this Battle of the Roses.
Score prediction: Leeds United 1–1 Man United
Fulham vs Liverpool
Liverpool played out a goalless draw against Leeds United last time out and didn’t offer much in terms of goal threat. Fulham, meanwhile, came back from an early setback to grab a draw, though they could also have won in the end had they taken their chances.
Arne Slot’s men are now unbeaten in their last five games and looking better defensively, though they haven’t looked impressive at all at the other end. Compared to last season, there’s nothing much to write home about for Fulham as well; Marco Silva and Co have been highly inconsistent so far.
From an injury viewpoint, Liverpool are without Stefan Bajcetic, Giovanni Leoni, Alexander Isak, who are the long-term absentees, with Joe Gomez and Wataru Endo out for a short duration and Mohamed Salah away at AFCON. The Cottagers, meanwhile, have Rodrigo Muniz and Ryan Sessegnon out with injury, with Samuel Chukwueze, Alex Iwobi, and Calvin Bassey away at AFCON.
Though both teams have been inconsistent and well below their level from last season, both have shown improvement in the last month. This could be a feisty end-to-end encounter that may end in a draw.
Score prediction: Fulham 1–1 Liverpool
Tottenham Hotspur vs Sunderland
Both teams played out goalless draws in their respective fixtures midweek. While Spurs faced Brentford away, Sunderland earned a massive point against mighty Man City.
The Black Cats have lost only one game in their last five, which was an away defeat to City at the Etihad, having won one and drawn the other three. However, they’ve only scored two goals in that period. As for Spurs, they have two losses, two wins, and a draw from their last five, which has piled more pressure on their head coach, Thomas Frank. The Lilywhites are currently in 12th in the league table, something the Spurs management and fans won’t appreciate, especially after last season’s 17th-place finish.
Injury-wise, Spurs are still without Dejan Kulusevski, James Maddison, Lucas Bergvall, Destiny Udogie, and Dominic Solanke, with Xavi Simons suspended. Sunderland, meanwhile, will miss Daniel Ballard and Aji Alese for this fixture.
Though Spurs are quite dominant at home, Sunderland have shown that they can compete with the top teams, having earned draws against Arsenal, Man City, and Liverpool this season. However, two of those games were played at the Stadium of Light, and on the road their away form hasn’t been great. Spurs may be able to sneak their way to a win here.
Score prediction: Spurs 1–0 Sunderland
Everton vs Brentford
Everton’s recent form has been mixed, with two wins, two losses, and a draw, though the result away at Forest would have given them a boost.
As for Brentford, their home record has been exceptional, but their away record has been woeful. In their last five, the Bees have managed two wins, two draws, and one defeat, which arrived at the Etihad. However, given the amount of speculation and doubt that surrounded Keith Andrews in the summer, he has done a reasonably decent job with Brentford so far.
Everton have a few key players away at AFCON, as well as a couple of injuries. Jarrad Branthwaite, Michael Keane, Séamus Coleman, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, and Carlos Alcaraz won’t feature in this game. As for Brentford, Joshua Dasilva and Fábio Carvalho are out injured.
While Goodison Park usually used to be a fortress for the Merseyside Blues, they are still getting used to the new Hill Dickinson Stadium, and understandably their home record hasn’t been as good. Brentford’s away form has been poor, though, and it’s hard to see them getting anything more than a point here.
Score prediction: Everton 1–1 Brentford
Newcastle United vs Crystal Palace
Newcastle’s recent form reads two wins, two losses, and a draw in their last five outings, while Palace have been struggling and are without a win in their last five, having managed two losses and three draws. Oliver Glasner and Co have been particularly abysmal away from home, and St James’ Park is a particularly tough ground for any visiting team.
Both teams have massive injury headaches coming into this game. The Magpies will miss Emil Krafth, Jamal Lascelles, Kieran Trippier, Sven Botman, Tino Livramento, Anthony Elanga, and William Osula for this game, while Palace will definitely be without Chadi Riad, Rio Cardines, Cheick Doucouré, Daichi Kamada, Daniel Muñoz, while Chris Richards, Caleb Kporha, and Edward Nketiah are doubtful, and Ismaïla Sarr is away at AFCON.
Considering Palace’s recent struggles and lack of form, playing at St James’ Park is the last challenge they’d want to tackle. Eddie Howe and Co are a fairly dominant outfit at home, and it’s hard to see how they fail to grab all three points from this one.
Score prediction: Newcastle 2–0 Palace
Manchester City vs Chelsea
With the news coming in about Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca leaving after the Bournemouth draw, this game becomes even more difficult for the Blues. That said, Man City are coming into this game having dropped two points at the Stadium of Light, giving Arsenal a four-point lead at the top.
Before the Sunderland draw, City had won their last four league encounters. As for Chelsea, their recent form has been poor according to their standards. Two wins, two draws, and a loss against Villa at home undoubtedly contributed to Maresca’s dismissal.
From a personnel availability standpoint, City will miss John Stones, Oscar Bobb, and Mateo Kovacic, while Chelsea have a slew of players out in Jorrel Hato, Levi Colwill, Marc Cucurella, Dário Essugo, and Roméo Lavia. The good news for City is the return of Rodri after a long recovery.
Pep Guardiola and Co will desperately want to win this fixture, not wanting Arsenal to extend the gap at the top any further. As for Chelsea, this is an important game as far as their hopes for Champions League qualification are concerned, especially now that they are searching for a new boss for the dugout. That said, City clearly have the upper hand in this fixture given the home advantage as well as their superior form. They should be able to win here and keep pressure on the table-topping Gunners.
Score prediction: Man City 2–1 Chelsea
