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 Mo 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 Manchester City. Sunderland has lost only one game in their last five, an away defeat to City at the Etihad, won one and drawn three. However, they have only scored two goals in that period. As for Spurs, they have two losses, two wins and a draw from their last five, piling more pressure on head coach Thomas Frank. The Lilywhites are currently sitting in 12th place in the league – something the Spurs management and fans won’t appreciate. 

Injury-wise, Spurs are still suffering with Dejan Kulusevski, James Maddison, Lucas Bergvall, Destiny Udogie and Dominic Solanke out with Xavi Simons suspended while Sunderland will miss Daniel Ballard and Ajibola Alese for this fixture. 

Though Spurs are quite dominant at home, Sunderland have shown that they can compete with the top teams by earning draws against Arsenal, Man City and Liverpool this season. However, two of these games were at home and their away form hasn’t been great. Hence, I think Spurs can grab a narrow win in this fixture. 

Score prediction: Spurs 1–0 Sunderland 

Everton vs Brentford

Everton’s recent form is a mixed one with two wins, two losses and a draw. The result away at Nottingham Forest would have given them a boost though. As for Brentford, their home record has been exceptional but their away record has been particularly woeful. In their last five, Brentford has two wins, two draws and one defeat that came against Manchester City at the Etihad. There was a lot of speculation and doubt around Keith Andrews but he has done a reasonably decent job with Brentford so far. 

Everton has a few key players away for AFCON as well as a couple of injuries. Jarrad Branthwaite, Michael Keane, Seamus Coleman, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Carlos Alcaraz won’t feature in this game. As for Brentford, Joshua Dasilva and Fabio Carvalho are out injured. 

While Goodison Park had been a fortress for the Merseyside Blues, they are still getting used to the new Hill Dickinson Stadium and therefore, their home record hasn’t been as good. Brentford’s away form though has been poor and I don’t see them getting anything more than a point from this game. For me, this could be another feisty affair, ending in a draw. 

Score prediction: Everton 1–1 Brentford 

Newcastle United vs Crystal Palace

Newcastle’s recent form consists of two wins, two losses and a draw while Palace has been struggling without a win in their last five. Palace has two losses and three draws. Especially away from home, their performances have been abysmal and St James’ Park is a really tough ground for a visiting team. 

Both teams have a massive injury headache with numerous players injured. Newcastle will miss Emil Krafth, Jamal Lascelles, Keiran Trippier, Sven Botman, Tino Livramento, Anthony Elanga and William Osula for this game while Crystal Palace has Chadi Riad, Rio Cardines, Caleb Kporha, Cheick Doucouré, Daichi Kamada, Daniel Munõz and Edward Nketiah all doubtful for this encounter. A few players might also be missing due to AFCON. 

Considering Palace’s recent struggles and lack of form, playing away at St. James’ Park just got tougher. The Geordies are a fairly dominant team at home and I do not see Palace getting a result from this game, Newcastle to win this comfortably. 

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. Manchester City also dropped two points against Sunderland at the Stadium of Light, giving Arsenal a four-point lead at the top now. Before this game, City had won their last four league games. As for Chelsea, their recent form has been poor according to their standards. Two wins, two draws and a loss against Villa at home may have led to the head coach’s departure. 

From a personnel availability perspective, City will miss John Stones, Oscar Bobb and Mateo Kova?i? while Chelsea has a slew of players out with Jorrel Hato, Levi Colwill, Marc Cucurella, Darrio Essugo and Romeo Lavia all out injured. The good news for City will be the return of Rodri after a long recovery. 

City would desperately want to win this fixture as they wouldn’t want Arsenal to extend the gap at the top further. As for Chelsea, this would be an important game as well if they want to remain in the shouts for Top four places. However, I believe City will have the upper hand in this fixture with the home advantage and superior form. I would predict a close battle which City will win. 

Score prediction: Man City 2–1 Chelsea