SATURDAY Arsenal v Chelsea (1245 BST) I was at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday and I thought Chelsea did really well against Barcelona in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final. A 1-0 win is a great result and it doesn't matter that at times they had all 11 men behind the ball to get it because, if you try to play football against Barca, they will kill you. If Jose Mourinho had been Chelsea manager for that game, people would be raving about their tactics. The Blues hung on and it's a really good result, but I still think they will get absolutely hammered in the second leg at the Nou Camp. Roberto di Matteo will have to rotate his team because of the week they have had, with the Barca game and last Sunday's FA Cup semi-final, and with the return in Spain on Tuesday to consider too. It will be a balancing act for him but, at this stage of the season, that is what successful teams have to do. Arsenal's defeat by Wigan on Monday was very strange - the Latics got their early goals, then sat back and soaked everything up and, through the likes of Victor Moses, they could even have stretched their lead. It is in games like that one, and when they lost to QPR at the end of March, that you look at Arsenal and start to question them again. In terms of the race for the top four, I think avoiding defeat will be the main aim for Arsene Wenger's men here, so I can see this game being a deadly dull one. Looking at Arsenal's run-in, and also bearing in mind Chelsea's involvement in the cup and in Europe, I think their results in the league after this game will be better than Chelsea's, and that will ensure they finish above the Blues. Prediction: 1-1 Aston Villa v Sunderland I know there was a lot of controversy over the way Ashley Young won a penalty for Manchester United against Aston Villa last weekend, but I thought Alex McLeish's men were too easily beaten. They were never really in the game. Clearly the alarm bells have been ringing for Villa for a while now, with the teams below them picking up points and sucking them closer towards the relegation zone. One more Villa win will probably put them safe, and this is a big chance for them to get it. You could argue it is the biggest game of their season. Villa really need to banish those relegation fears on Saturday because their next game is against Bolton on Tuesday, and they need to keep some daylight between themselves and the bottom three. I think they will get the win they need here, although I am certainly not convinced by McLeish's side. Sunderland are playing as if their season has already finished but part of the reason it looks like they have tailed off a bit is because they have played above themselves in the last few months, since Martin O'Neill took over in December. O'Neill has probably learned more about his players in the last few weeks, when they have been a bit inconsistent, than he did when they were winning all those games and got him off to such a good start. Maybe with one or two of the players who have done so well for him so far, he is looking at them and asking whether they can do it over the course of the season. Prediction: 2-1 Blackburn v Norwich Blackburn's defeat by Swansea last week was their fifth in a row, and their problems have been exacerbated by Wigan's unexpectedly brilliant form. And, as with Aston Villa, I look at this fixture and I am thinking this is their biggest game of the season. They are up against a Norwich team who were really competitive for an hour or so against Manchester City last weekend, until Roberto Mancini's men found another gear in the last 20 minutes. Norwich are a well-drilled, competitive team and this should be quite a physical match, which might suit Rovers because they are at their best when they are in a match like that. Blackburn boss Steve Kean said last week that his side needed seven points from their last four games to stay up, although he conceded he might have to revise that total if other teams kept winning. It appears a big ask if you look at Rovers' run-in now, but you can never be sure how things will pan out. The dogfight at the bottom of the table has been absolutely fascinating in the last few weeks and some of the teams down there have picked up some incredible results. I still think there will be few more twists, and that the relegation battle - and Blackburn's fate - will go down to the last day of the season. Prediction: 2-0 Bolton v Swansea Bolton have a couple of games in hand over their relegation rivals and they know what they need to do with them - win. It will be important that they play a pressing game against Swansea, because we know how great the Welsh side are on the ball. When they are away from home, you have to pose them problems and make them hurry. The Swans are safe now, but they still have problems - Gylfi Sigurdsson scored again for them against Blackburn last week and he has probably done a bit too well for them. Because he has done so well during his loan spell from Hoffenheim, he has alerted teams in the top 10. His goals from midfield are absolutely priceless and you would understand it if teams like Newcastle were looking at him and thinking they could get him. The Magpies will certainly be able to offer higher wages than Swansea - assuming Hoffenheim, who have got a new manager in Markus Babbel, want to sell him. For me, that win over Rovers was the Swans' single biggest result of the season. It was so important for them that they bounced back from a bad run of defeats, because they were sinking a bit and they did not want to end the season with a whimper. Prediction: 2-1 Fulham v Wigan On the back of Wigan's last few results, it would probably make sense for me to just tip them to win this one and not say anything else. The Latics have been absolutely amazing in the last couple of weeks. They have timed their run to perfection and it is as good a sequence as results I have ever seen from a side near the bottom of the Premier League. Without being too down on them, my question to Roberto Martinez and his side would be "where on earth has this been all season?" Wigan's survival is in their own hands now, which is a big turnaround from how things were a few weeks ago when, with the fixtures they had to come, I thought they would be leaving it very late - how wrong I was! But, bearing in mind how they have struggled to score goals all season, nobody could have foreseen their results and performances against Liverpool, Manchester United and Arsenal. They could and should have beaten Chelsea too. Victor Moses particularly impressed me against the Gunners. We have always seen the potential he has and he is now finding an end product too - he looks a handful. Franco di Santo has improved as well and the 3-4-3 system seems to suit the Wigan defenders as much as their front players. Let's not get too carried away with ourselves, though. They are at Fulham on Saturday, and the Cottagers are very strong at home. Martin Jol's side have had a few days off since they drew with Chelsea on Easter Monday and maybe they will be lying in wait for the Latics, who are a big scalp now they are the form team in the Premier League. Prediction: 1-1 Newcastle v Stoke Speaking of form teams, Newcastle have put themselves in a great position at the top end of the table and, the way they are playing, I am going to have to go for another Magpies win here, which would be their sixth in a row. I was talking to their manager Alan Pardew this week and I asked him if he'd surprised himself. He just said "the players have been great" and he is dead right. The way Pardew plays, with his 4-3-3 formation, totally suits the players he has got. It's a perfect fit. I like their attitude too. Papiss Cisse has quite rightly got lots of publicity recently but Demba Ba has been great for them because he has moved out wide to the left to make room for Cisse and he has just got on with it. Ba could have had a hissy fit and complained that he had been playing in the centre - and scoring goals - until Cisse arrived but he didn't do that and, in general, it seems the spirit in their squad is spot on. They have got great belief and you have to say that, on their day, their front three of Hatem Ben Arfa, Cisse and Ba is as good as most in the top flight. Stoke's season has petered out a bit, but it has still been a good one for them. They are safe yet again and have had some European experience, which Tony Pulis and his side will build on. Prediction: 2-0 Here are all of Lawro's 2011-12 Premier League predictions, together with how the League Table would look like if all his forecasts were correct... Lawro's 2011-12 Predictions
QPR v Tottenham (Saturday, 17:30 BST) Tottenham's 5-1 defeat in the FA Cup semi-final flattered Chelsea and I don't care what anyone else says - awarding the Blues their second goal when the ball did not cross the line completely decided the outcome of that match. At the same time, Spurs are just not firing at the moment. All of a sudden they have started to make mistakes at the back and, whoever they play, they look very vulnerable. They did not look secure at Wembley, even though Scott Parker was back for that game. There are still some good individual performances but they are not quite clicking as a team and I just wonder if they have tensed up a bit, because it does happen sometimes at this stage of the season. Spurs played some absolutely brilliant football for weeks and weeks but they have not really looked like their old selves for a couple of months now. I don't buy the theory that they have slumped because of the speculation linking Harry Redknapp with the England job. It might have had a little effect but the biggest factor for me would be what has happened to them mentally. It is a bit like a golfer playing really well and leading a tournament going into the final day and, instead of relaxing and playing and showing everyone what a good player he is, he is trying to almost guide the ball around the course, which doesn't work. In a football sense, Tottenham are doing that. Every mistake they make tends to be punished and they are thinking about things a bit too much. It's unfortunate for them because, when they are confident and playing football at their best, they are a really good side to watch. QPR keeping winning then losing - but that is fine as long as it keeps their head above water. Djibril Cisse is back from suspension, which will help them here - as long as he manages to stay on the pitch this time. Rangers' run-in is particularly tough on paper but, like I said with Blackburn's fixtures, who is to know what will happen in the next few weeks? Chelsea have got the second leg of their Champions League semi-final to play before they play QPR, and they have got the FA Cup final the week after. Mark Hughes' side have to go to Manchester City on the last day, but City might not have anything to play for by then. Prediction: 1-1 SUNDAY Manchester Utd v Everton (1230 BST) This is a Manchester United team that has the bit between their teeth and I cannot see them faltering now. Everton are traditionally very tough opponents for United but it is going to be very tough for David Moyes' side between now and the end of the campaign following their FA Cup semi-final defeat by Liverpool. As a player, it is very difficult to raise yourself when you lose a semi-final, especially in Everton's situation when they might be thinking that their season is now over. For large parts of the game at Wembley, Everton looked a better team but I just thought they stopped playing when they went 1-0 up and ultimately that cost them. The only thing the Toffees have got to play for now is the chance of finishing above the Reds in the league table. That would be good, but if they are going to do it, you sense, the whole club - from the manager to the players to the supporters - needs a lift. I don't think they will get it at Old Trafford, though. From United's point of view, it was interesting that Sir Alex Ferguson came out and admitted Ashley Young "overdid it" with his tumble to win a penalty against Aston Villa on Sunday. He was absolutely right to say that because you cannot defend the indefensible, and my thinking is that will be the end of that and we won't see Young doing it again. I think when your own fans are embarrassed by it, as United's are with Young, it is a sign something needs to be done. Young is certainly not the only culprit, though, and we might be at the stage where the authorities have to start to take a look at ways of stopping it. I'd hate to go down the retrospective route of looking at incidents on Monday morning and deciding "dive or no dive" but something needs to be done because it is not a case of this kind of thing creeping into the English game, it is an avalanche. Prediction: 2-0 Liverpool v West Brom (1600 BST) In contrast to Everton, the Liverpool camp will be on a high. Obviously they have an FA Cup final to look forward to, and there will be competition for places too because all their players will want to play in that final. Andy Carroll looks like he has run into a bit of form, which is good and Daniel Agger and Glen Johnson are both back from injury which is another boost. I thought Luis Suarez was their outstanding player in the semi-final against Everton, and if he finishes the season in that form then they are going to win two or three of their remaining league games. Liverpool want to finish their league season strongly, and they want to finish above Everton and I think their luck has changed a bit of late. That started in the last hour of their draw with Aston Villa, when they created loads of chances, and carried on in their wins over Blackburn and the Toffees too, when they rode their luck a bit and won. It makes a difference to players when you feel you are getting the bounce of the ball like that. West Brom boss Roy Hodgson is back at Anfield again, of course, and he will no doubt want to show the Liverpool fans what a good job he has done at West Brom. But I cannot see anything other than a comfortable win for Liverpool. Prediction: 2-0 Wolves v Manchester City (1600 BST) Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini is likely to again launch Carlos Tevez and Sergio Aguero as his strike force at Molineux, and who can blame him after they scored five goals between them in City's 6-1 win over Norwich at Carrow Road? It's an absolute no-brainer, because it is quite obvious that they love playing with each other and, whatever you think about Tevez, you can never question his attitude and ability on the pitch. That is why I think City will go to the Black Country and win. Wolves will be competitive but they know they are already down. Of course they are making the right noises about staying up but they know they have gone and there is almost a kind of relegation pallor around the club. Keeper Wayne Hennessey's long-term injury is also a big blow. They might hold Mancini's men up for a bit but I am going for a City win to keep the pressure on United at the top, and they will be hoping Everton can do them a favour before this game kicks off. Prediction: 0-2 Here are all of Lawro's 2011-12 Premier League predictions, together with how the League Table would look like if all his forecasts were correct... Lawro's 2011-12 Predictions
I've always wanted to know what Mark Lawrenson's predictions are every week, and thanks to you THFC i don't even need to click on the BBC website. You're a hero amongst men THFC
