Predictions: Arsenal, Man Utd, Spurs & more backed

Mark Holmes
Arsenal: Backed to beat Chelsea and stay top of Premier League

Arsenal: Backed to beat Chelsea and stay top of Premier League

Arsenal, Leicester City, Manchester United, Stoke City and Tottenham have been backed to win at the weekend – join our prediction league.

As well as Mark and some of our other writers, a different band or artist will also be making their predictions each week, giving you the chance to not only beat the TEAMtalk journalists but also some famous faces from the world of music.

This week we have predictions from Stoke City fan Rich Maitland, lead singer of Manchester-based band The Watchmakers

Week 20 Predictions

West Ham v Liverpool: Mark 2-2, Rich 1-1

Arsenal v Newcastle United: Mark 2-0, Rich 3-0

Leicester City v Bournemouth: Mark 2-1, Rich 2-1

Manchester United v Swansea City: Mark 2-1, Rich 1-0

Norwich City v Southampton: Mark 2-1, Rich 1-1

Sunderland v Aston Villa: Mark 0-0, Rich 2-2

West Brom v Stoke City: Mark 1-2, Rich 1-2

Watford v Manchester City: Mark 1-1, Rich 1-2

Crystal Palace v Chelsea: Mark 2-1, Rich 1-1

Everton v Tottenham: Mark 1-2, Rich 1-2

Five from Rich Maitland

How did you come to support your club and what are your favourite memories from your time as a fan?

My dad and grandad were both Stoke fans so I have fond memories of going to the old Victoria Ground with them both. I was pretty young, but my first memories are a mid week Anglo Italian Cup game and losing 4 v 0 to Newcastle in the League cup when they had players like Ginola, Ferdinand and Beardsley.

My fondest memories are within the last few years, though, winning promotion to the Premier League against Leicester, celebrating on the pitch with so many others, and also the FA Cup semi-final 5-0 win over Bolton at Wembley.

Who have been your biggest heroes during your time supporting the club?

I used to love Toddy Orlygsson and obviously Mark Stein. I’d say Ricardo Fuller is the biggest hero – he was unplayable on his day – although Bojan is fast becoming one of my favourite ever Stoke players!

What do you make of the current team? What are your hopes for the season?

I went to the match against Man Utd on Boxing Day and I said to my dad after that I don’t think we’ll have a side as good as the current one ever again! It’s a pleasure to watch us at the moment and you have to pinch yourself at times. It doesn’t seem five minutes since I was watching us in a half-empty stadium in League One losing at home to Colchester!
If we can get past Liverpool, winning the League Cup would be a amazing and well within the capabilities of the current team. Also the way the season is going if we can maintain some consistency we should be finishing in the top eight.

Everyone has a soft spot for another team. Who’s yours and why?

I loved Italian football in the 90’s so have a lot of love for The Old Lady Juventus, mainly due to Del Piero. There’s so many ace YouTube clips and videos – there’s one called Del Piero the movie which is well worth a watch!  Last year I went to the Fiorentina vs Torino Serie A match in Florence, which was an amazing experience, so I also follow their results now too.

What’s going on with you at the moment?

We’re currently writing and recording some new material to hopefully release on an EP this year. We’re also playing Cosmosis festival in Manchester in March alongside the likes of Jesus and Mary Chain, the Brian Jonestown Massacre and Sleaford Mods which should be great!