Premier League 2025/26: Gameweek 17 Preview and Predictions

The Premier League returns this weekend with another set of exciting fixtures.

The big games this weekend involve the Magpies hosting the Blues, Spurs taking on Liverpool, Everton going up against the Gunners, and the Villans welcoming the Red Devils.  

Here, we present our preview and predictions for all matches of Gameweek 17 of the 2025/26 Premier League season.

Newcastle United vs Chelsea

After the defeat to rivals Sunderland last weekend, Newcastle United are sitting in the bottom half of the league table, which is mostly down to their abysmal away form. The Magpies only have two wins from their last five. However, they’ve reached the Carabao Cup semi-finals after their midweek 2–1 victory over Fulham.

On the other hand, after three poor results, Chelsea are back on track with two consecutive wins, their latest of which — a 3–1 victory over Cardiff City away from home — helped them also secure a League Cup semi-final berth. 

The Blues continue to have injury problems, with Liam Delap, Estêvão, Roméo Lavia, Dário Essugo, and Levi Colwill all out for this game. Newcastle also have a fair few out, with William Osula, Sven Botman, Kieran Trippier, Emil Krafth, Nick Pope, and Dan Burn unavailable for this fixture. 

While Newcastle have had a poor away record so far this season, they are a dominant force at home regardless of the opposition. Chelsea do possess the attack to hurt the Newcastle defence, but owing to the home advantage, this could result in a narrow win for the hosts. 

Score prediction: Newcastle 2–1 Chelsea 

Wolverhampton Wanderers vs Brentford

If not for a heartbreaking late own goal, Wolves could have salvaged a draw at the Emirates last weekend and ended their losing streak. Their stoic performance would be some consolation coming into this fixture, but they have lost each of their last five fixtures. In fact, the last time they got anything out of a game in any competition was when they got a point against Brighton in early October.

As for Brentford, they are coming into this game having lost their last three away fixtures. The Bees have lost seven out of their last eight away fixtures, a dismal away record that they need to improve upon.

For this game, Wolves will miss the services of Rodrigo Gomes, Marshall Munetsi, Jean-Ricner Bellegarde, and Daniel Bentley due to injuries, with Yerson Mosquera suspended. Brentford, meanwhile, have one long-term absentee in Fábio Carvalho, who is out for the season, with Joshua Dasilva and Reiss Nelson set to miss this fixture.

Despite their poor away record, Brentford are clearly the better side here. With Igor Thiago in top form, they should be able to take away all three points from their trip to the Black Country and pile more misery on the Old Gold.

Score prediction: Wolves 1–3 Brentford 

Manchester City vs West Ham United 

With Erling Haaland grabbing a brace, the Cityzens comfortably beat Crystal Palace away last weekend and are now breathing down Arsenal’s neck. City also won midweek, joining Newcastle and Chelsea in the EFL Cup semis. Unbeaten in their last five, having conceded only one goal in their last four, Pep Guardiola seems to have solved his side’s issues at the back.

The Hammers, on the other hand, suffered a narrow defeat to Villa after two consecutive draws and are currently 18th in the league table, three points behind 17th-placed Leeds United. 

City will miss Omar Marmoush and Rayan Aït-Nouri, who have departed for the Africa Cup of Nations, with John Stones, Mateo Kovacic, Rodri, and Jérémy Doku set to miss due to injuries. West Ham, meanwhile, will miss AFCON-bound Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Malik Diouf. 

With the kind of form Man City are in, the most West Ham can expect from this game is a point, but even that seems unlikely. City’s attacking threat, with Haaland looking particularly lethal, will make sure they outscore Nuno Espírito Santo’s men for all three points here.

Score prediction: Man City 4–1 West Ham

Brighton & Hove Albion vs Sunderland 

Without a win in their last three, Brighton face Sunderland at the weekend. With Kaoru Mitoma returning to the first team, they’ll look much stronger in attack. As for Sunderland, they won narrowly against bitter rivals Newcastle at home, with their performance far from convincing.

The Seagulls still have massive personnel availability issues, with Tom Watson, Stefanos Tzimas, and Solly March out with injuries, Lewis Dunk and Diego Gómez suspended, and Carlos Baleba on international duty at AFCON. Sunderland, too, will miss a host of players, with Bertrand Traoré, Chemsdine Talbi, Noah Sadiki, Arthur Masuaku, and Reinildo Mandava away on international duty, while Habib Diarra, Aji Alese, and Leo Hjelde are yet to recover from injuries. Luke O’Nien is out due to suspension.

With so many of their first-team players missing, on paper Sunderland are the weaker side here, giving Brighton a great chance of securing three crucial points at the Amex, especially since Régis Le Bris and Co haven’t been particularly impressive on the road anyway.

Score prediction: Brighton 2–1 Sunderland 

Bournemouth vs Burnley

The Cherries salvaged a draw in a thrilling 4–4 encounter at Old Trafford on Monday night. With back-to-back draws in their last two outings, they’ll be looking for a win at home.

Burnley, meanwhile, are still looking for a point as they look to break their seven-game losing streak. Their most recent defeat came against Fulham, where they performed well but lost 2–3. 

Coming into this game, Bournemouth will be without Tyler Adams, Ryan Christie, Ben Doak, Matai Akinmboni, and Veljko Milosavljevic due to injury issues, while the Clarets have Bashir Humphreys, Connor Roberts, Zeki Amdouni, and Jordan Beyer out with injuries, with Lyle Foster and Axel Tuanzebe on international duty and Hannibal Mejbri suspended. 

Bournemouth haven’t been in the best of form, but on paper they remain a superior team to Burnley. With home advantage further working in their favour, they’ll be heavy favourites for three points here.

Score prediction: Bournemouth 3–1 Burnley 

Tottenham Hotspur vs Liverpool

The hosts come into this game after a defeat to Nottingham Forest last weekend, while Liverpool beat Brighton last time out. The Reds have not lost a game in their last five outings and boast three wins and two draws, while Spurs have two losses, two wins, and a draw from their last five games.

Both teams have injury pile-ups, with Spurs set to miss Dominic Solanke, James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski, Yves Bissouma, Destiny Udogie, Kota Takai, and Radu Dragusin, with Pape Matar Sarr off to AFCON. Liverpool, meanwhile, will be without Dominic Szoboszlai, Joe Gomez, Giovanni Leoni, Jeremie Frimpong, Stefan Bajcetic, Wataru Endo, and Cody Gakpo, with Mohamed Salah off to AFCON.

Spurs haven’t been consistent both at home and on the road, but they still are a dangerous side capable of causing massive issues to the Liverpool defence. However, due to their recent head-to-head record, and Liverpool showing some consistency in their form, Thomas Frank and Co may be in for another rough outing.

Score prediction: Spurs 1–2 Liverpool 

Leeds United vs Crystal Palace

Playing against Chelsea and Liverpool, Leeds produced a win and a draw, respectively, even coming back from a 2–0 deficit to draw against the defending champions. However, they drew against Brentford in their last game. Now back at home, they will look to go for the maximum. Crystal Palace, meanwhile, were on a three-game winning streak across all competitions before Man City thrashed them at home.  

Leeds will have Sean Longstaff, Dan James, and Lucas Nmecha unavailable due to injuries for this game, while Palace will miss the services of Daichi Kamada, Chadi Riad, Caleb Kporha, Cheick Doucouré and Daniel Muñoz due to injuries, with Ismaïla Sarr off to AFCON. 

This is a tough one to call, as Leeds have shown decent form and great mentality. But Palace under Oliver Glasner are a tough nut to crack and have been impressive on the road. That said, given they are missing a fair few of their vital players, Palace could find it difficult to create chances and may have to contend with a draw.

Score prediction: Leeds United 1–1 Crystal Palace 

Everton vs Arsenal 

Everton have two defeats and three wins from their last five games, with their most recent result being an away defeat at Stamford Bridge. Arsenal, meanwhile, have been slightly below par in their last two league games, having lost at Villa Park before winning unconvincingly against a poor Wolves side.

In terms of player availability, Everton have Jarrad Branthwaite, Séamus Coleman, Merlin Röhl, and Jack Grealish out, with Iliman Ndiaye and Idrissa Gueye off to AFCON. Arsenal, on the other hand, will miss the services of Gabriel Magalhães, Cristhian Mosquera, Max Dowman, and Kai Havertz.

Playing Everton at home isn’t easy for any opposition, but given they’re missing key forwards in Grealish and Ndiaye, the Toffees’ attacking threat is significantly weakened, giving Arsenal a massive advantage here. Even though the Merseyside outfit will look to defend stoutly, Arsenal should be able to win this comfortably.

Score prediction: Everton 0–2 Arsenal

Aston Villa vs Manchester United 

Aston Villa have lost just one of their last ten fixtures are currently the most in-form team in the league. However, their recent victory over West Ham was a close one, suggesting defensive issues.

Man United, on the other hand, have managed two draws, two wins, and a loss in their last five, with their recent result being a thrilling 4–4 draw against Bournemouth. 

Aston Villa have injury problems, with Ross Barkley, Pau Torres, Tyrone Mings, and Emi Martínez out injured, while Jadon Sancho won’t be able to play against his parent club. United, meanwhile, will also miss a host of players, with Bryan Mbeumo, Amad Diallo, and Noussair Mazraoui off to AFCON, while Harry Maguire and Matthijs de Ligt are out injured. 

Villa do have defensive weaknesses, and winning close games isn’t sustainable. However, United’s attacking threat would be relatively weakened due to the likes of Diallo and Mbeumo missing. We may be in for another exciting draw featuring Ruben Amorim and Co.

Score prediction: Aston Villa 2–2 Man United

Fulham vs Nottingham Forest

The Cottagers have been inconsistent this season, unable to find a run of positive results. They have three defeats and two wins from their last five games. Similarly, Forest have not been able to replicate last season’s form and have two defeats and three wins from their last five outings, though they registered a great result last weekend when they defeated Spurs at home. 

From an injury viewpoint, Fulham have forward Rodrigo Muniz out for long, with Ryan Sessegnon out injured until late December. Forest have also been decimated by injuries this season, with Ryan Yates, Chris Wood, Ola Aina, Taiwo Awoniyi, Matz Sels, and Nicolás Domínguez out injured, while Willy Boly and Ibrahim Sangaré are off to AFCON. 

This is a difficult game to call, given there’s little to differentiate the two sides in terms of form and squad quality. However, with so many of their crucial players out, it will be difficult for the Tricky Trees to win away, which gives Fulham the edge in this fixture to go out and grab all three points. 

Score prediction: Fulham 2–1 Forest