Premier League 2025/26 Gameweek 29: Preview and Predictions
After the league games last weekend, Gameweek 29 will take place midweek with the FA Cup games to be played in the upcoming weekend. With Arsenal and City both winning their respective fixtures, the title-race is heating up with nine games left to play. The Top four race is getting tougher with Manchester United and Liverpool continuing to win and fighting for European football. The relegation battle continues to get tighter with Nottingham Forest, West Ham and Spurs lying dangerously close to the bottom two.
Without further ado, let’s get into all the preview and predictions from Gameweek 29 –
Everton vs Burnley
Fresh off a superb away win against Newcastle, Everton will be the favourites going into this game. Burnley too fought well after going down 3-0 to Brentford and almost grabbed a late equaliser.
The Toffees had lost two back-to-back games before going to St. James’ Park last weekend and weren’t expected to win but they put up a great performance to get the better of the Geordies and came away with a big three points. As for Burnley, they also have only one win in their last five. They showed massive fight back against Brentford but would need much more to survive.
While Everton will miss Carlos Alcaraz and Jack Grealish for this game, Burnley has a long list of injured players. Marcus Edwards, Axel Tuanzebe, Connor Roberts, Zeki Amdouni, Jordan Beyer, Josh Cullen, Mike Tresor and Armando Broja are all doubtful for this encounter.
Everton have been really inconsistent this season and hence, it’s difficult to know how they will turn up. However, scoring should be easy against a Burnley side that has conceded 11 goals in their last five league encounters and it would be a travesty not to win at home. We believe Everton has an advantage and should comfortably win this fixture, marking back-to-back wins in the league.
Score Prediction: Everton 2-0 Burnley
Bournemouth vs Brentford
Bournemouth would be looking to continue their unbeaten streak against Brentford in this home fixture.
While the Cherries drew against Sunderland at home, the Bees played in a seven-goal thriller after having gone 3-0 up in the first half. However, Burnley scored three goals to equalise until Mikel Damsgaard saved Brentford with a late rescue act to grab all three points for his side. Bournemouth has been unbeaten in their last seven games now. Brentford is also doing fairly well with only one defeat in their last five with three wins and a draw.
Injuries have been a massive problem for Andoni Iraola with key players out all through the season. Currently Evanilson, Julio Soler, Justin Kluivert, Lewis Cook, Ben Doak and Matai Akinmboni are all on the sidelines. Their opponents, Brentford will miss the services of Vitaly Janelt, Aaron Hickey, Fábio Carvalho and Joshua Dasilva for this game.
Both Bournemouth and Brentford are playing well and this could be a tough encounter for both teams. However, Bournemouth missing Kluivert and Evanilson might be a hindrance in scoring goals and that is an area Brentford can exploit. This could be another entertaining encounter that may end in a draw.
Score Prediction: Bournemouth 2-2 Brentford
Leeds United vs Sunderland
After the home defeat to Manchester City, Leeds will be looking to return to winning ways against Sunderland.
Both promoted teams had done well but are starting to look jaded now. Both Leeds and Sunderland have only won one game in their last five league fixtures. Both teams are in a similar form and now lying in the bottom half of the table with Sunderland in 12th place with Leeds in 15th place.
Injury-wise, Leeds only has Noah Okafor missing but they have their head-coach Daniel Farke suspended from the sidelines for this fixture. Their opponents Sunderland are going to miss Dennis Cirkin, Nordi Mukiele, Reinildo Mandava, Brian Brobbey and Jocelin Ta Bi for this game.
With the Black Cats missing key players, this is a huge opportunity for Leeds to take advantage at home and grab three huge points going into the last eight games of the season. Sunderland’s great start to the season has now been lost with the Wearside team now looking vulnerable. This could be another feisty battle but we believe Leeds can grab a narrow win in this game.
Score Prediction: Leeds United 1-0 Sunderland
Wolverhampton Wanderers vs Liverpool
A resurgent Wolves will face Liverpool at the Molineux this midweek.
Wolves have turned around their form in recent weeks with only a solitary defeat in their last five. Their most recent result was a big three points against Aston Villa at home and this won’t be an easy fixture for the Reds. As for Liverpool, they have won all their games since the loss to Manchester City and thrashed West Ham 5-2 at home at the weekend, looking dangerous up front.
Wolves’ fitness issues are very limited with Andre and Hee-Chan Hwang out for this game while Liverpool has a fair few out, some even for the season. Conor Bradley, Geovanni Leoni and Wataru Endo have been declared out for the season while Florian Wirtz, Stefan Baj?eti?, and Alexander Isak will also miss this fixture.
Wolves are still bottom of the table but they are a tricky customer and will also be playing at home, it’s not going to be an easy game for Liverpool. However, Liverpool has its front-line firing along with the midfielders also contributing. Moreover, their Achilles heel – the inability to score from set-pieces and defend them has improved big time as they have done well in both areas. We believe this could be a tight game but Liverpool might prevail in a close game.
Score Prediction: Wolves 1-2 Liverpool
Brighton and Hove Albion vs Arsenal
A resurgent Seagulls will face league leaders Arsenal at the Amex Stadium this midweek.
Brighton has won back-to-back games in the league after the FA cup exit against Liverpool also breaking the losing streak in the league after two consecutive defeats as well. Arsenal has continued to secure wins against tough opponents as they did against 10-men Chelsea at the weekend. With nine games to go, the Gunners have the edge at the top with a five-point lead over Man City.
As for injuries, the South Coast side has Yasin Ayari, Adam Webster and Stefanos Tzimas on the sidelines while Arsenal has Ben White, Max Dowman, Declan Rice, Martin Ødegaard and Mikel Merino doubtful for this fixture.
Arsenal has shown defensive vulnerability and nerves in the few drawn games recently against Wolves and Brentford. Also, there has been a lack of scoring opportunities from open play for the Gunners. Brighton like to play open, attacking football but Arsenal’s defensive solidity could be an issue for them. Considering Arsenal’s form though, this is a game they should win to retain their lead at the top. However, they have had trouble against Brighton in recent seasons so it could be a tough game but Arsenal will grab the win courtesy of their set-piece prowess.
Score Prediction: Brighton 1-2 Arsenal
Manchester City vs Nottingham Forest
Manchester City is getting their title-race mentality back on with two crucial wins against Leeds and Newcastle in recent weeks. They will be playing Nottingham Forest at home this midweek.
City is the most in-form team at the moment with four wins and a draw in their last five and has reduced the gap at the top to five points with a game in hand. In contrast, Forest is perilously lying close to the bottom three, not having won a single game in their last five with two consecutive defeats in last two league games.
From an injury perspective, City will have some key players out in Joško Gvardiol, Nico O’Reilly, Erling Haaland, Mateo Kova?i? and Max Alleyne while Forest will miss Stefan Ortega, John Victor, Nicolo Savona, Willy Boly and Chris Wood for this game.
Even though City has been winning in recent weeks, they haven’t been at their dominant best and with Erling Haaland out, they will also miss their most prolific striker. Having said that, City still has great attacking quality and with Forest not in the best of form, this could be a game where they can make a statement. With Matz Sels back in the Forest goal, they will have additional insurance but the Tricky Trees have been dismal this season and would need to start getting results to avoid relegation. Even without Haaland, City should win this game as they have the home advantage and the better form.
Score Prediction: Man City 3-1 Nottingham Forest
Fulham vs West Ham United
After a confident win against Spurs at the weekend, Fulham will be looking to add three more points to their tally against the Hammers this midweek.
After three straight defeats, Fulham now have two consecutive wins in their last five league encounters and the Cottagers are currently sitting in the top half of the table. West Ham have struggled the entire season and were gaining a bit of momentum with a win and two draws in their last three games before they lost to Liverpool at the weekend. The East London side is still lying in the bottom three but there is now only two-point gap from 17th placed Forest.
Injury-wise, both teams are doing fairly better than others. While Fulham has Joachim Anderson, Harry Wilson and Kevin doubtful for this game, West Ham has Pablo out injured with Freddie Potts out suspended.
Fulham have produced some big results at home and they definitely have an advantage. As for West Ham, their away record hasn’t been great and with Fulham also beating them away in the reverse fixture, we believe the hosts will win this encounter as well and extend their winning streak to three games in a row.
Score Prediction: Fulham 2-1 West Ham
Aston Villa vs Chelsea
After the away defeat against derby rivals Arsenal, Chelsea would be looking for an important three points away at Villa Park to remain in the hunt for Champions League places.
Both Villa and Chelsea lost their respective games at the weekend – Villans away to Wolves and Chelsea away to Arsenal. With just a win in their last five, Villa has dropped to fourth place with Manchester United claiming third position now. As for Chelsea, they had been unbeaten until the recent defeat but have two draws and two wins in their last five, losing a bit of momentum in recent weeks.
As for their injury situation, Villa will miss Andres Garcia, Boubacar Kamara, Harvey Elliott, John McGinn and Youri Tielemans. Their opponents for this game, the Blues, will be without Levi Colwill, Marc Cucurella, Dario Essugo, Estêvão and Jamie Gittens with Pedro Neto suspended.
Both teams have looked poor in recent games and Chelsea has also been abysmal from a discipline point-of-view as they have received the most red cards in the league this season. Against Arsenal as well, Neto was seen getting a second yellow within a few minutes to put his team under pressure. Though Chelsea dominated in the final 15 minutes even with 10 men, this is a problem area their coach needs to address as this really affects the team adversely. As for Villa, they have a decent home record but are not in the best of form. The hosts will also miss Tielemans and McGinn in their midfield which could prove costly for them. Difficult to call this one and so we believe this game could be a tight one with both teams sharing the spoils.
Score Prediction: Aston Villa 1-1 Chelsea
Newcastle United vs Manchester United
The Magpies aren’t flying high in recent weeks, having lost form and momentum in the league. Their home defeat to Everton at the weekend further added to their misery as they would be looking to return to winning ways against an in-form Man United.
Newcastle has been dismal since the turn of the year, having lost four out of their five league games, surprisingly not being good at home as well. As for United, the appointment of Michael Carrick has completely rejuvenated them as they replaced Villa in third place with the win against Crystal Palace at the weekend. United now has four wins and a draw from their last five games.
From a personnel availability perspective, Newcastle will miss Emil Krafth, Fabian Sch?r, Tino Livramento, Bruno Guimarães and Lewis Miley while United will have Lisandro Martínez, Luke Shaw, Matthijs de Ligt, Mason Mount and Patrick Dorgu on the sidelines.
The game against Palace was a controversial one and after having conceded an early goal, United were able to make a comeback, managing to get the three points in the end. Travelling away to St James’ Park has been tough but not in recent months with the Geordies losing games at home to Villa, Brentford and Everton. Hence, we believe United can capitalise on the hosts’ poor and inconsistent form and come away with a narrow win.
Score Prediction: Newcastle United 1-2 Manchester United
Tottenham Hotspur vs Crystal Palace
A struggling Spurs side will welcome the Eagles to North London this midweek.
Spurs are lying dangerously close to relegation with four consecutive losses in their last five encounters. Igor Tudor’s appointment has hardly made a difference for the North Londoners as they continue their dismal form. Injuries to key players has been a mitigating factor as well. Palace has been inconsistent in recent months as well, two wins, two losses and a draw from their last five with the most recent loss coming away to United after being 1-0 up and losing the game from there. They also had Maxence Lacroix sent off in controversial fashion.
There’s no doubt Spurs have suffered massively due to injuries this season. Any team would struggle with a huge number of key players out throughout the season. Currently they have Djed Spence, Ben Davies, James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski, Mohammed Kudus, Destiny Udogie, Lucas Bergvall, Rodrigo Bentancur, and Wilson Odobert on the sidelines with Cristian Romero being suspended. As for Palace, they will miss the services of Edward Nketiah, Jean-Philippe Mateta, Jefferson Lerma and Cheick Doucouré due to injuries along with Maxence Lacroix suspended for this game.
Difficult to call this game as both teams have been below par but Palace has been somewhat better than Spurs on the basis of form. However, Spurs are playing at home, desperate to turn around their form and therefore, we believe they could nick the three points. This could be a really tough battle but our prediction would be a Spurs win by a solitary goal.
Score Prediction: Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 Crystal Palace
