The standout fixture from gameweek 24 in the Premier League comes from the Emirates Stadium on Sunday afternoon, as Arsenal welcome Manchester City for what is shaping up to be a fascinating affair.
Arsenal are second in the Premier League table, six points behind the leaders Liverpool, who will be in action away to Bournemouth on Saturday afternoon, with the Reds having the chance to open up a nine-point lead at the summit.
Elsewhere, high-flying Nottingham Forest host Brighton & Hove Albion, while there is a huge match towards the bottom of the division, as Ipswich Town welcome fellow strugglers Southampton.
On Sunday, Brentford host Tottenham Hotspur while a revitalised Manchester United welcome Crystal Palace, and the action will conclude on Monday evening, with West Ham United making the trip to Chelsea for a London derby.
Another Premier League gameweek means another Sports Mole prediction competition, and this week, we are facing off against Birmingham City fan Glenn Smyth - a member of rock'n'roll blast band Solar Eyes.
Read on to discover Glenn's and our predictions for gameweek 24, as well as finding out the results of our head-to-head with Lewis White - lead singer of Scottish alt-rock band Danko - from gameweek 23.
Nott'm Forest vs. Brighton
Saturday, 12.30pm
© Imago
Glenn: Nott'm Forest 2-0 Brighton
Sports Mole: Nott'm Forest 2-1 Brighton
Nottingham Forest's humiliating afternoon in Bournemouth has the feel of a one-off outlier rather than the start of a slippery slope for Santo's men, who have our backing to immediately recover from that freakish result.
Brighton never run into any problems putting the ball in the back of the net away from home, but their lack of cutting edge versus Everton was alarming, and a fired-up Forest side should take full advantage.
Bournemouth vs. Liverpool
Saturday, 3pm
© Imago
Glenn: Bournemouth 1-4 Liverpool
Sports Mole: Bournemouth 1-2 Liverpool
While Liverpool's standout names are well-rested after being given the night off in midweek, Bournemouth will have also enjoyed six days of uninterrupted preparation for the weekend's blockbuster, where Iraola's men are to be taken extremely seriously.
However, the injury-hit hosts are still lacking quality options for change off the bench, while Slot's men have no problems in that regard, and substitutions could very well make the difference for the Reds again as they end Bournemouth's spectacular run.
Everton vs. Leicester
Saturday, 3pm
© Imago
Glenn: Everton 2-1 Leicester
Sports Mole: Everton 1-1 Leicester
This will be a new test for Moyes, playing a team who they will have to break down, after facing three front-foot opponents so far, and this has been a challenge that this Everton side has failed to achieve time and time again this season.
Leicester have been given a lift from last week's win, and will feel more confident in taking something in a fixture that has produced the highest percentage of draws than any other in Premier League history that has been played at least 30 times (17 draws in 35).
Ipswich vs. Southampton
Saturday, 3pm
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Glenn: Ipswich 2-0 Southampton
Sports Mole: Ipswich 2-2 Southampton
The form book may make for grim reading for the visitors, but there have undoubtedly been positives for Juric and co to take from their last three displays, even if they all went unrewarded.
A priceless victory may still be beyond the Saints, but they can capitalise on Ipswich's recent defensive vulnerabilities to take a point from what could be an engrossing affair.
Newcastle vs. Fulham
Saturday, 3pm
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Glenn: Newcastle 3-1 Fulham
Sports Mole: Newcastle 2-1 Fulham
Fulham's recent away from and victory in the reverse fixture against Newcastle will provide them with confidence ahead of Saturday's trip to St James' Park, but the Magpies will still be regarded as favourites to come out on top.
Howe's side will be keen to deliver a much-improved home performance after being outplayed by Bournemouth a fortnight ago, and we believe that the hosts, spearheaded by in-form striker Isak, will find a way to pick up maximum points against the Cottagers.
Wolves vs. Aston Villa
Saturday, 5.30pm
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Glenn: Wolves 1-1 Aston Villa
Sports Mole: Wolves 1-2 Aston Villa
In desperate need of a morale-boosting win to strengthen their survival hopes, Wolves will hope to take advantage of an Aston Villa side potentially lacking energy after their midweek heroics in Europe.
Emery's weakened backline could be exploited by Wolves, but the hosts have their own issues in defence and we expect the top-four chasing visitors to outscore their opponents en route to claiming all three points.
Brentford vs. Spurs
Sunday, 2pm
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Glenn: Brentford 1-3 Spurs
Sports Mole: Brentford 2-2 Spurs
If there is any game in the 2024-25 Premier League that guarantees goals, it is surely Brentford vs. Tottenham, especially as the Bees have still not kept a single clean sheet on their own patch all season long.
Frank's men still ought to feel that a depleted Tottenham defence is there for the taking, but the hosts have faced more shots than any other Premier League side this season, and their wait for a first home win of 2025 - as well as Spurs' first top-flight win of the New Year - should continue in a frenetic stalemate.
Man Utd vs. Crystal Palace
Sunday, 2pm
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Glenn: Man Utd 2-1 Crystal Palace
Sports Mole: Man Utd 1-1 Crystal Palace
After back-to-back away wins, Manchester United will be desperate to avoid the visit of Crystal Palace from becoming another sobering afternoon at the Theatre of Dreams this season.
The Eagles have been a tough nut to crack on their travels this term, and we feel that Glasner's side could snatch a point on the red side of Manchester.
Arsenal vs. Man City
Sunday, 4.30pm
© Imago
Glenn: Arsenal 3-2 Man City
Sports Mole: Arsenal 1-0 Man City
One-nil lightning could very well strike twice at the Emirates on Sunday, where more of Arsenal's star names will be well-rested following their respective Champions League exertions, and the indomitable pairing of Gabriel Magalhaes and William Saliba relish coming up against Erling Haaland.
A classic is unlikely to be in store, but assuming Arsenal can avoid another high-profile sending-off, the Gunners have our vote to strike once and shut up shop to keep Liverpool on their toes.
Chelsea vs. West Ham
Monday, 8pm
© Iconsport
Glenn: Chelsea 3-1 West Ham
Sports Mole: Chelsea vs West Ham - to follow
Glenn Smyth Q&A
How did you come to support Birmingham and what are your favourite memories from your time as a fan?
Glenn My mum and dad are huge Blues fans and I'm from Birmingham, so no choice I'm afraid. Winning the League Cup was fantastic and also the [Peter] Enkleman goal vs. Villa was particularly enjoyable.
Who have been your favourite five players for your club?
Glenn: Cheikh N'Doye, Ferdinand Coly, Carlo Costly, Jerome Sinclair, Nicolai Brock-Madsen.
What's going on with the band at the moment?
Glenn: We have a remix EP called 'Crooked Orbit' coming out, Feb 7th. With a single out at the moment called 'She Kissed the Gun' which is a bit of a Chemical Brothers/Primal Scream mash up.
She Kissed the Gun (Hibs Remix)' by Solar Eyes is available to stream now.
You can follow Solar Eyes on Instagram and X.
2024-25 SEASON LEADERBOARD (ARTISTS)
Scores are calculated as one point for a correct result and five points for a correct scoreline.
1. Kyle Starkey (16pts | Gameweek 3)
2. Make Friends' Max Lewin (15pts | Gameweek 2)
3. Everyone Says Hi's Nick Hodgson (13pts | Gameweek 1)
4. Blitz Vega's Kav Sandhu (10pts | Gameweek 5)
5. Trampolene's Jack Jones (9pts | Gameweek 4)
= Kneecap's Mo Chara (9pts | Gameweek 6)
= The Slow Readers Club's James Ryan (9pts | Gameweek 20)
= Alex Spencer (9pts | Gameweek 21)
= Better Joy's Bria Keely (9pts | Gameweek 22)
9. Feet's Harry Southerton (7pts | Gameweek 13)
= IN PARALLEL's Harrison Baker (7pts | Gameweek 15)
11. Kids in Glass Houses' Iain Mahanty (6pts | Gameweek 7)
= proFESSional's Rob Hennebry (6pts | Gameweek 8)
13. Maddox Jones (4pts | Gameweek 9)
= The Farm's Peter Hooton (4pts | Gameweek 18)
= Danko's Lewis White (4pts | Gameweek 23)
15. She Drew The Gun's Louisa Roach (3pts | Gameweek 10)
= The Now's Shane Callaghan (3pts | Gameweek 17)
= Chilli Jesson (3pts | Gameweek 11)
18. Soft Launch's Josh McClory (2pts | Gameweek 12)
= My First Time's James Mellen (2pts | Gameweek 14)
= Apollo Junction's Ben Hope (2pts | Gameweek 16)
2024-25 COMPETITION HISTORY
Gameweek 1: Everyone Says Hi's Nick Hodgson 13-14 Sports Mole
Gameweek 2: Make Friends' Max Lewin 15-4 Sports Mole
Gameweek 3: Kyle Starkey 16-13 Sports Mole
Gameweek 4: Trampolene's Jack Jones 9-9 Sports Mole
Gameweek 5: Blitz Vega's Kav Sandhu 10-11 Sports Mole
Gameweek 6: Kneecap's Mo Chara 9-4 Sports Mole
Gameweek 7: Kids in Glass Houses' Iain Mahanty 6-3 Sports Mole
Gameweek 8: proFESSional's Rob Hennebry 6-7 Sports Mole
Gameweek 9: Maddox Jones 4-10 Sports Mole
Gameweek 10: She Drew The Gun's Louisa Roach 3-4 Sports Mole
Gameweek 11: Chilli Jesson 3-8 Sports Mole
Gameweek 12: Soft Launch's Josh McClorey 2-3 Sports Mole
Gameweek 13: Feet's Harry Southerton 7-10 Sports Mole
Gameweek 14: My First Time's James Mellen 2-8 Sports Mole
Gameweek 15: IN PARALLEL's Harrison Baker 7-2 Sports Mole
Gameweek 16: Apollo Junction's Ben Hope 2-3 Sports Mole
Gameweek 17: The Now's Shane Callaghan 3-6 Sports Mole
Gameweek 18: The Farm's Peter Hooton 4-4 Sports Mole
Gameweek 19: N/A
Gameweek 20: The Slow Readers Club's James Ryan 9-14 Sports Mole
Gameweek 21: Alex Spencer 9-7 Sports Mole
Gameweek 22: Better Joy's Bria Keely 9-6 Sports Mole
Gameweek 23: Danko's Lewis White 4-3 Sports Mole
Matt Law
