Gameweek 21 of the 2025/26 Premier League season arrives this midweek with another set of interesting and exciting fixtures. League leaders Arsenal face off against Liverpool, the Eagles are up against the Villans, while the Cityzens clash with the Seagulls in the key fixtures.
Here, we present our preview and predictions for all matches of Gameweek 21 of the 2025/26 Premier League season.
The Hammers became the first team this season to lose to bottom-of-the-table Wolves, who crushed them 3–0 at home last time out. As for Forest, they were beaten comfortably by the in-form Aston Villa. Both teams are in danger of relegation, with Forest having lost four consecutive games after a win and West Ham without a win in their last nine games, both having been abysmal both home and away.
As for personnel availability for this game, West Ham will miss Jean-Clair Todibo, Lucas Paquetá, and Lukasz Fabianski, with Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Malick Diouf away at AFCON, while Forest will miss Chris Wood, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Dan Ndoye, John Victor, and Ryan Yates due to injury and Ibrahim Sangaré and Willy Boly through AFCON duty.
With both teams struggling this season and lying within a four-point gap of each other, it’s difficult to call a winner here. West Ham should have a slight edge given the home advantage and a manager who knows Forest well, but this is poised to be an even contest that could end in a draw.
Score prediction: West Ham 1–1 Forest
The Eagles have been struggling and are without a win in their last five games, having managed three losses and two draws, while Aston Villa have been in terrific form with only one loss and four wins in their last five. In the last round of fixtures, Palace suffered a 2–0 defeat at St James’ Park, while Villa beat Forest 3–1 at home.
Palace have also been decimated with injuries, with Jefferson Lerma, Chadi Riad, Chris Richards, Rio Cardines, Caleb Kporha, Cheick Doucouré, Daichi Kamada, Daniel Muñoz, and Eddie Nketiah all sidelined, and Ismaïla Sarr away at AFCON. Villa also have injury concerns, with Pau Torres, Tyrone Mings, Amadou Onana, Ross Barkley injured, while Harvey Elliott is ill and Evann Guessand is away at AFCON.
Looking at recent form and the number of injuries troubling Crystal Palace, this is Aston Villa’s game to lose. Even though Palace aren’t an easy team to score against, Villa have a dangerous forward line, especially now that Ollie Watkins has hit a purple patch. Palace could definitely score against a vulnerable Villa defence, but Unai Emery’s men remain the likelier side to bag all three points here.
Score prediction: Palace 1–2 Villa
Both Fulham and Chelsea played tough opponents in Liverpool and Manchester City, respectively, last weekend, yet both grabbed a point each in stoppage time.
The Cottagers have one defeat, two wins, and two draws in their last five games and are still not showing the level of consistency they did last season. As for the Blues, their recent form has been abysmal, with only one win, one loss, and three draws. The game last weekend was also their first game since the departure of head coach Enzo Maresca, with interim boss Calum McFarlane taking charge for the Man City game.
Injuries have weakened both squads. Fulham are set to miss Kenny Tete, Ryan Sessegnon, Joshua King, and Rodrigo Muniz through injury, with Samuel Chukwueze, Alex Iwobi, and Calvin Bassey off to AFCON. Chelsea have their own problems, with Marc Cucurella, Wesley Fofana, Robert Sánchez, Levi Colwill, Dárrio Essugo, and Roméo Lavia out for this game.
Looking at the form of both sides, there isn’t much to choose from, but Chelsea do have a far superior squad on paper, with particularly lethal forwards. The late draw against City could galvanise them to perform better, but Fulham aren’t an easy team to face at Craven Cottage, making an entertaining draw very likely here.
Score predictions: Fulham 2–2 Chelsea
Brentford have been a surprise package this season. With their key players and head coach leaving in the summer, many expected them to fall, but they have shown great character to notch up important wins and have competed well so far. The Bees have only one loss in their last five games. Sunderland, meanwhile, are unbeaten in their last five games but have only one win to show for their resolve. They have also found it difficult to score both home and away in recent fixtures.
For this game, Brentford will miss Dango Ouattara and Frank Onyeka, who are at AFCON, while Fábio Carvalho and Joshua Dasilva are long-term absentees due to serious injuries. Sunderland’s inability to score goals can also be attributed to a long list of players away on international duty. Habib Diarra, Bertrand Traoré, Noah Sadiki, Chemsdine Talbi, Arthur Masuaku, and Reinildo Mandava are all away at AFCON, with Aji Alese and Wilson Isidor injured.
Brentford’s home form has been particularly impressive, with Igor Thiago in impressive form. With Sunderland missing many key players, this could be a great opportunity for the Bees to grab an all-important win and climb further up the league table, ending the Black Cats’ unbeaten run in the process.
Score prediction: Brentford 2–0 Sunderland
Though they played valiantly against Arsenal, Bournemouth ended up losing 2–3 at home in their previous game, while Spurs played out a tepid 1–1 draw against Sunderland at home. The Cherries are definitely struggling and are winless in their last five with three draws and two losses, while Spurs’ recent form has also been dismal, with only a win in their last five alongside two losses and two draws piling more pressure on Thomas Frank.
Spurs have also been a bit unfortunate, with a lot of their key players injured this season. Mohammed Kudus, Dejan Kulusevski, Destiny Udogie, James Maddison, and Dominic Solanke are all out for this game, with Yves Bissouma and Pepe Matar Sarr away at AFCON. Bournemouth, meanwhile, also have a few players missing; Matai Akinmboni, Tyler Adams, Ryan Christie, Ben Doak, and Veljko Milosavljevic are all on the sidelines.
Both teams have been struggling, though Bournemouth have looked better in recent weeks, which hands them the edge for this home game. Even though Spurs are an unpredictable side and could very well win here, Bournemouth have the upper hand for this potentially dramatic affair at the Vitality.
Score prediction: Bournemouth 3–2 Spurs
City have now drawn back-to-back games, dropping four points in consecutive outings. As a result, they’re now six points behind the league leaders, Arsenal. Prior to that, they had won their last three games. As for Brighton, they ended their six-game winless run by beating Burnley at home last weekend. Before that, they had two draws and two losses to their name.
From an injury perspective, City have a fair few players out for this game. Joško Gvardiol, John Stones, Nico González, Rúben Dias, Savinho, Mateo Kovacic, and Oscar Bobb are injured, while Rayan Aït-Nouri and Omar Marmoush are at AFCON. Brighton, meanwhile, will miss Yankuba Minteh, Adam Webster, Mats Weiffer, Solly March, and Stefano Tzimas, who are injured, with Carlos Baleba at AFCON.
Man City cannot afford to drop any more points if they want to remain in the title race, making a win here imperative for Pep Guardiola and Co. Moreover, City have been unbeaten at home in their last eight league games; knowing that Brighton won’t play defensive football, they’ll be able to find spaces to exploit the vulnerable Seagulls defence.
Score prediction: Man City 2–0 Brighton
Everton’s recent form is getting to concerning levels, as they only have one win in their last five with three losses and a draw. Their home form has been particularly poor, and their only win in this period arrived away at Nottingham Forest. As for Wolves, they finally grabbed their first win of the season against West Ham last weekend, which must have massively boosted their sagging confidence and may lead to a positive run of form for once.
The Toffees’ troubles with injuries have grown as well, with key players missing in Carlos Alcaraz, Jarrad Branthwaite, Séamus Coleman, and Keirnan Dewsbury-Hall, while Idrissa Gueye and Ilman Ndiaye are away for AFCON. As for Wolves, Daniel Bentley, Toti Gomes, Jean-Ricner Bellegarde, Marshall Munetsi, and Rodrigo Gomes all are out with injuries, with Emmanuel Agbadou away at AFCON.
Even though Everton are up against a poor Wolves side, their recent results suggest that this isn’t going to be a cakewalk for the hosts. Wolves have some young forwards who are starting to perform well, and they could cause Everton some scares. Without their most creative player (Ndiaye), Everton could struggle to score, making it likely for Wolves to get something out of another game.
Score prediction: Everton 1–1 Wolves
Burnley only have three wins from their 20 league games this season and look likely to go down to the Championship unless they miraculously turn around their form. They have two draws and three losses in their last five. United’s poor form, meanwhile, has led to the departure of their head coach, Ruben Amorim. The Red Devils have only managed a solitary win from their last five, alongside three draws and a loss.
Both teams have massive injury struggles. Burnley are set to miss Connor Roberts, Zian Flemming, Joe Worrall, Jordan Beyer, Maxime Estève, Josh Cullen, and Zeki Amdouni, with Axel Tuanzebe away at AFCON. Man United also have key players out due to injuries and international duty. While Noussair Mazraoui, Amad Diallo, and Bryan Mbeumo are away at AFCON, Harry Maguire, Matthijs de Ligt, Bruno Fernandes, Kobbie Mainoo, and Mason Mount are sidelined with injuries.
Even though Man United are missing key attacking players, they still possess the firepower to breach the Clarets’ defence. However, if Burnley do sit back in a low block, which they most likely will, it could prove to be a big challenge for United again. Nevertheless, United should be able to win here in the end.
Score prediction: Burnley 0–2 Man United
After a comfortable win against Crystal Palace last weekend, Newcastle will be looking to secure another three points at home against Leeds United, who have gone unbeaten in their last six encounters. The Magpies have lost only one game in their last five, having managed three wins and a draw, while Leeds have four draws and a win, having also managed draws against Liverpool and Man United in their last two games and conceding just one goal across those two fixtures.
From an injury perspective, Dan Burn, Emil Krafth, Jamal Lascelles, Anthony Elanga, and William Osula will be unavailable for Newcastle, while Leeds United will miss Joe Rodon and Dan James.
St James’ Park has become a fortress for Newcastle United in recent years and one of the toughest away fixtures for any opposition. Leeds have shown great character in the last month or so, but this is going to be a highly challenging encounter. With Newcastle not dropping many points at home, and their attack delivering goals at Tyneside, it’s hard to see the hosts dropping any points in this game.
Score prediction: Newcastle 2–0 Leeds
Arsenal have returned to winning ways after the Villa defeat and have five wins out of their last five, though their last game was a challenging away win against the Cherries. The Gunners are accumulating important wins and have a healthy lead at the top. As for Liverpool, while they are currently on an eight-game unbeaten run in the league, they still don’t look convincing. After three consecutive wins, they have drawn against Leeds and Fulham in recent weeks.
Arsenal’s injury list has reduced significantly over the past month, and only Cristhian Mosquera, Riccardo Calafiori, and Max Dowman are sidelined for this fixture. The defending champions, on the other hand, do have a couple of important players missing: Hugo Ekitike, Alexander Isak, Wataru Endo, Stefan Bajcetic, and Giovanni Leoni are unlikely to feature, while Mohamed Salah is away at AFCON.
With three of their important forward players missing, the Merseyside Reds won’t be going to the Emirates with much confidence. Moreover, Arsenal are unbeaten at home this season and in far superior form, making it very likely that Liverpool’s unbeaten streak comes to an end here.
It’s difficult to call the tactics for this one, but both sides may start cautiously in the first half and then go all out in the second. Alternatively, Arsenal could go all out on attack early on and look to defend a slim lead later. Even though Mikel Arteta’s defence isn’t as solid and is prone to conceding, it’s hard to see the hosts dropping any points here.
Score prediction: Arsenal 2–1 Liverpool
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