Premier League 2025/26 Gameweek 28: Preview and Predictions
After the European competition midweek, Premier League returns at the weekend with Gameweek 28 fixtures. Some really exciting matchups await us with Arsenal hosting London rivals Chelsea, Liverpool welcoming relegation strugglers West Ham, the Cityzens travelling to Leeds and the Magpies facing-off with the Toffees this weekend.
Let’s take a look at all the preview and predictions from Gameweek 28 –
Wolverhampton Wanderers vs Aston Villa
Wolves’ form has improved over the past few weeks having also drawn against Arsenal in dramatic fashion. However, they lost away to Palace last weekend and are still sitting bottom of the table.
In contrast, Aston Villa has lost a bit of momentum in recent weeks and have a solitary win in their last five games. Key players being injured could also be a factor in their poor run off late. This is a vital game for Wolves as they are nine points off 19th placed Burnley and losing a home game could be detrimental to their chances of survival.
Wolves do not have many injury concerns with only Hee-Chan Hwang doubtful for this fixture with a knock while Ladislav Krejci is suspended. As for Villa, they have several key players out with John McGinn, Youri Tielemans, Boubacar Kamara, Harvey Elliott, Andres Garcia and Alysson Edward.
While the Old Gold have shown improvement in the past month, Villa is still a far stronger side and it would be difficult for Wolves to contain their forwards. This is a great opportunity for Villa to get back in form and we believe that the Villans would pile more pressure on Wolves with a win in a tightly fought battle.
Score Prediction: Wolves 1-2 Aston Villa
Bournemouth vs Sunderland
The Cherries will clash with the Black Cats in an intriguing matchup at the Vitality stadium this weekend.
Bournemouth has been unbeaten in their last five with three wins and two draws – probably their best run of form this season. As for Sunderland, they suffered a home defeat to Fulham last weekend and have lost three games out of their last five now. The Wearside team has also shown a loss of momentum in recent weeks with a couple of poor results.
As for injuries, Bournemouth has a fair few out with Julio Soler, Matai Akinmboni, Justin Kluivert and Ben Doak on the sidelines. Sunderland will likely miss Reinildo Mandava, Bertrand Traoré and Jocelin Ta Bi for this fixture.
Bournemouth is a very aggressive team who likes to play attacking football while Sunderland is defensively solid and likes to play on the counter with their pacy forwards. It’s going to be an exciting matchup with two contrasting styles of play but we believe the hosts have an advantage with better form and would bag the three points in this fixture.
Score Prediction: Bournemouth 2-1 Sunderland
Liverpool vs West Ham United
This is a vital game for Liverpool as they stay in the hunt for Top four places and need to capitalise after their late win at the City Ground last weekend. West Ham drew at home to Bournemouth and are still in the drop zone.
The Reds have certainly seen an upturn in their form and have four wins and a defeat in their last five while West Ham haven’t done too badly as well. The West London club has two wins, two draws and a single defeat in their last five.
Liverpool do have problems in personnel availability though. They are playing without a genuine right-back as both their RB options Conor Bradley and Jeremie Frimpong are out with injuries. Liverpool will also be without Geovanni Leoni, Alexander Isak, Wataru Endo and Stefan Bajcetic. West Ham is in a better position with respect to injury problems with only one player out in Pablo along with Freddie Potts out suspended.
Liverpool has been vulnerable at home this season unlike the previous seasons when Anfield has been an absolute fortress. Having said that, their recent form has been quite decent and with Florian Wirtz back in the team, the Reds will have creativity upfront to trouble the Hammers and hence our prediction for this game would be a comfortable Liverpool win.
Score Prediction: Liverpool 2-0 West Ham
Newcastle United vs Everton
Fresh off their Round of 16 qualification in the Champions League, the Magpies will go into this fixture with a lot of confidence.
Newcastle United have been in top form in recent weeks as they have won four out of their five games in all competitions. Barring the away defeat to Manchester City, Newcastle has improved on their away form with two massive away wins against Villa and Spurs. In contrast, Everton has been beaten in their last two consecutive fixtures and need to return to winning ways to stay in the top half of the table.
Injuries have troubled Newcastle this season with key players out for considerable duration as well. Fabian Sch?r, Emil Krafth, Tino Livramento, Lewis Miley and Bruno Guimarães will miss this home fixture for Newcastle while Everton has only one injury but an unfortunate one as Jack Grealish is out for the long-term with a broken foot.
St. James’ Park is a tough place to visit and going there on the back of two consecutive defeats is hardly convenient. Everton were also thrashed at home in the reverse fixture this season which doesn’t bode well for them. With their forward line in great form, the Geordies should be able to secure a win in this game and move into the Top 10 in the league table.
Score Prediction: Newcastle United 3-1 Everton
Burnley vs Brentford
Relegation threatened Clarets will face the Bees at Turf Moor this weekend.
Sitting in 18th place in the league table, Burnley really need to gear up if they want to survive in the top flight. While Burnley earned a respectable point at Stamford Bridge last weekend, they have to start winning some games if they want to stay in the top division. As for Brentford, they just lost their three-game unbeaten run in the league as they suffered a home defeat to Brighton last weekend.
Burnley continue to suffer with injuries with about 6-7 injuries in their side. Zeki Amdouni, Axel Tuanzebe, Connor Roberts, Jordan Beyer, Josh Cullen, Mike Tresor and Armando Broja will all miss this fixture. Brentford will more likely miss Aaron Hickey, Fabio Carvalho and Joshua Dasilva for this game.
Burnley are desperate for the three points at home and would more likely play an open game instead of the low-block style that they usually do which could play into Brentford’s hands. Also, the visitors are particularly dangerous from set-piece situations, something Burnley will have to be careful about. This could be an entertaining end-to-end affair that could end in a draw.
Score Prediction: Burnley 2-2 Brentford
Leeds United vs Manchester City
The Whites will welcome the Cityzens to Elland Road this weekend. The reverse fixture was a particularly entertaining one and going into the business end of the season, City won’t take any opposition lightly.
City is in a rich vein of form with four wins and a draw in their last five league fixtures, also having defeated Liverpool away to get closer to Arsenal in the title-race. Their victory last weekend against Newcastle United put them five points behind Arsenal with a game in hand. Leeds have only one win from their last five with one defeat and three consecutive draws. Their most recent result was an away draw to Villa.
From an injury perspective, Leeds is better off with only Noah Okafor out with a hamstring injury while City has a few injury concerns with Josko Gvardiol, Jeremy Doku, Mateo Kovacic and Max Alleyne sitting out this fixture.
Leeds have performed well at home this season and secured some really impressive results. However, their form hasn’t been great and therefore City has the upper hand even while playing away. Leeds will find it difficult to contain the City front line and therefore we think City will cut the deficit at the top with a comfortable win.
Score Prediction: Leeds United 0-2 Manchester City
Fulham vs Tottenham Hotspur
The Cottagers will take on an out of sorts and horribly out of form Spurs at the Craven Cottage this weekend.
While Fulham earned a massive three points at the Stadium of Light last weekend, Spurs suffered a humiliating 4-1 defeat in the North London derby. Spurs have now lost three consecutive games and need to return to winning ways. Though Fulham won against Sunderland, their form has been concerning as they lost three straight games before last weekend.
Fulham will miss Kevin, Sasa Lukic and Samuel Chukwueze due to injuries while Spurs still have a long list of unavailable players. James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski, Wilson Odobert, Ben Davies, Destiny Udogie, Pedro Porro, Lucas Bergvall, Rodrigo Bentancur and Mohammed Kudus will all be on the sidelines with Cristian Romero missing due to suspension.
Spurs are hovering uncomfortably close to the relegation zone and therefore, need to return to winning ways before the alarm bells start ringing. Difficult to call as both teams have shown inconsistent form all season. This could be a tight affair as neither team would want to lose by being too open at the back. We believe this could end in the sharing of the spoils.
Score Prediction: Fulham 1-1 Tottenham Hotspur
Arsenal vs Chelsea
This game could prove to be critical to the title-race as the Gunners have dropped four points in their last three fixtures before thrashing Spurs last weekend. As for the Blues, it’s important for them to win as well as there’s stiff competition for the top four-five places.
Chelsea is currently tied on points with Liverpool in fifth and have been in decent form, though they have dropped points against Burnley and Leeds. Arsenal is unbeaten in their last five, albeit their draw against Wolves showed a rare vulnerability as they dropped two points after being 2-0 up.
Injury-wise, both teams have a couple of players out with Arsenal missing Kai Havertz, Ben White, Max Dowman and Mikel Merino for this game while Chelsea will be without Levi Colwill, Filip Jörgensen, Marc Cucurella, Dario Essugo and Jamie Gittens with Wesley Fofana suspended.
This is an important game for both teams and one neither would want to lose. However, if we look at their head-to-head encounters in recent years, Arsenal should be the overwhelming favourites as Chelsea hasn’t been able to defeat them in the last few seasons. Having said that, Arsenal has looked shaky at the back and the toll of a title-race is showing in their performances so the Blues do have a chance to grab a win and stay in the hunt for Champions League qualification. Considering recent form and the fact that Arsenal is playing at home, the hosts have a slight edge in this fixture but we feel this could be a feisty affair that may end in a draw.
Score Prediction: Arsenal 1-1 Chelsea
