BBC Sport’s football expert Mark Lawrenson is pitting his wits against a different guest each week this season.

His opponent for this weekend’s Premier League fixtures is
Van McCann,

the lead singer of British band
Catfish and the Bottlemen.

Van is a Manchester United fan and believes his side will manage a top-five finish this season.

“We’ve got a good enough team but they seem to have been a little deflated,” he told BBC Sport.

“I think they will come good though.”

A correct result (picking a win, draw or defeat) is worth
ONE

point. Getting the exact score correct earns
THREE

points.

For the last round of games before the Euro 2016 qualifiers, Lawro recorded
five correct results from 10 Premier League games, with one perfect score.

His tally of
seven

points


saw him defeated by singer

Sarah Harding

and gymnast
Leon Fagbemi

who got
three correct results, which included one perfect score,

for a total of
five

points.

We’re keeping a record of the totals for Lawro and his guests (below), and showing a table of how the Premier League would look if all of Lawro’s predictions were correct (at the bottom of the page).

LAWRO’S PREDICTIONS

All kick-offs at 15:00 BST unless otherwise stated.

SATURDAY

Arsenal v Man City (12:45)

I’m presuming new £16m forward signing Danny Welbeck will feature for Arsenal.

A lot of people think he’s been pinched from Manchester United – it was an outstanding piece of business by the Gunners. You’ve almost got three strikers in one with him.

My only question mark is that he tends to need a lot of chances to get a goal, but that will improve under the management of Arsene Wenger.

Regarding the match, Arsenal went to Manchester City last season and took them on, although they

did lose 6-3.

The difference here is that they are at home and have better squad options.

The key to a better placing for Arsenal this season will be taking more points off the top teams – starting with City.

Manuel Pellegrini’s side surprised me in this transfer window by letting Spaniard Alvaro Negredo go. Fellow striker Sergio Aguero’s injury record hasn’t been great over the last year, while Edin Dzeko is a streaky scorer.

But they’ll have enough in their artillery to return with a point.

Lawro’s prediction:

1-1

Van McCann:

3-2

Chelsea v Swansea

It is the match between the two 100% teams, but I think Chelsea will come out of it with their record intact.

Swansea have made a really good start under manager Garry Monk, who has bought and sold well this summer, but they are facing an exceptional side.

The Blues are a much stronger team than they were after the last transfer window in January. They’ve brought in the likes of midfielder Cesc Fabregas and strikers Loic Remy and Diego Costa for big money, but they also recovered a lot of that by selling defender David Luiz and forward Romelu Lukaku.

Since my last set of predictions, they’ve got rid of

Spain striker Fernando Torres.

He was still a good Premier League footballer but nowhere near as good as he was when he was at Liverpool. And again, it was good financial sense – he’s off their wage bill and they probably got a loan fee for it too.

Having watched the first few games, there seems to be more about Chelsea. Manager Jose Mourinho appears to have an extra attacking player in his team – his style has evolved.

At Real Madrid he was expected to win every week and win well, and I think he’s brought that philosophy on board for his second stint at Stamford Bridge.

Lawro’s prediction:

3-0

Van McCann:

4-0

Crystal Palace v Burnley

Both teams managed good results in their previous league fixtures –

Palace drew 3-3 at Newcastle

and the Clarets held Manchester United.

Nevertheless, it’ll be a massive struggle for Burnley this season. However, the people at the club have seen the bigger picture. They’ll commit enough money to stay in the league, but realise relegation won’t be the end of the world.

Palace had a traumatic start to the season, losing manager Tony Pulis.

But you saw new manager Neil Warnock’s effect on the side at St James’ Park. He gets the team playing for him. He’ll also go for it and is happy to play two up front.

The momentum from that last-gasp draw will see them clinch victory against Burnley.

Lawro’s prediction:

2-1

Van McCann:

4-1

Southampton v Newcastle

I’m not sure where Newcastle will get their goals from.

That might sound a bit rich after they scored three against Crystal Palace last time out, but they’ve lost new signing

Siem de Jong to injury,

so who else will find the target for them?

I also think their manager Alan Pardew is under pressure now – no wins from three games so far.

His old team, Southampton, started slowly, having drawn their other home game so far. However, it was a very good performance at West Ham, where they managed a 3-1 win.

They have two strikers who might take a little more time to get going – Shane Long needs a lot of chances to score and it’s Italian Graziano Pelle’s first season.

Having said that, I think Ronald Koeman’s side will take all three points.

Lawro’s prediction:

2-0

Van McCann:

3-2

Stoke v Leicester

The Potters are doing well – they are on four points and will see this as one of those winnable games.

Leicester managed a good draw against a free-flowing Arsenal side, but they haven’t played a team like Stoke, who can be strong and physical but get the ball down and play in your half.

They have attackers like Leonardo Ulloa, Jamie Vardy and David Nugent who have lots of pace, but it’ll be a tough ask to get anything at the Britannia Stadium.

Lawro’s prediction:

2-0

Van McCann:

1-0

Sunderland v Tottenham

Tottenham’s results up to the

3-0 defeat at home

to Liverpool game had flattered them.

Had West Ham scored that penalty in the first game, then Spurs would have lost. I like their manager Mauricio Pochettino, but I’m not sure his team possess enough threat going forward.

We are seeing a trend among some teams when it comes to a lack of attacking threat – Sunderland are another where you ask where the goals are coming from.

I think Gus Poyet’s team will be fine this season, but they haven’t had a goalscorer who can get them 15 goals or so regularly since Kevin Phillips.

Lawro’s prediction:

1-1

Van McCann:

1-1

West Brom v Everton

It’s Baggies manager, and a friend of mine, Alan Irvine against his old team.

West Brom were beaten

3-0 by Swansea

in their last fixture. The Welsh club are on a similar level to the Baggies, so that result will be seriously worrying for those concerned.

Everton have played three, drawn two and lost one, but I think they’ll break their winless duck at the Hawthorns.

I like Everton’s squad, although the only problem they have is in defence.

Centre-backs Phil Jagielka and Sylvain Distin are very good, but both are getting on. When teams run at them they will cause them problems. The defence was all over the place trying to play Chelsea offside in the 6-3 defeat.

Lawro’s prediction:

0-2

Van McCann:

1-3

Liverpool v Aston Villa (17:30)

Aston Villa have started very well, but this fixture might be too much for them.

Last season at Anfield,

Paul Lambert’s side tore Liverpool apart in the 2-2 draw,

before running out of steam.

Villa still don’t have striker Christian Benteke fit, while the Reds are without their main front-man Daniel Sturridge.

It’ll be interesting to see what manager Brendan Rodgers does to compensate. I guess they will play a diamond with new signing Mario Balotelli up front.

They’ve coped without Luis Suarez and I expect them to be OK without Sturridge, with Raheem Sterling in fine form.

Lawro’s prediction:

2-0

Van McCann:

2-1

SUNDAY

Man Utd v QPR (16:00)

I’ve been told that between former strikers Fernando Torres, Radamel Falcao, Diego Costa, and Sergio Aguero, Atletico Madrid say

Falcao is the best they’ve had.

We’re not just talking in terms of ability, but in terms of attitude. He’s supposed to be a great trainer, a good guy and works hard for the team.

If that’s the case then United might have got a real good deal and it will help soften the blow of losing Welbeck.

With so many great attacking players at the club, it looks like midfielder Juan Mata might miss out – I don’t think he fits the bill for manager Louis van Gaal.

The problem is at the other end for United. The side is like a house built on sinking sand at the moment. It remains to be seen whether he sticks with three at back. Where will left-sided defender Marcos Rojo and utility player Danny Blind both fit? What about full-back Luke Shaw when he returns?

I’ll be covering this game for the BBC and as QPR were quite abysmal on the road at Tottenham, I expect them to concede at Old Trafford.

Lawro’s prediction:

2-0

Van McCann:

3-1

MONDAY

Hull v West Ham (20:00)

This is a West Ham team with better attacking options following the transfer window, but I don’t see manager Sam Allardyce thinking, “let’s take these on”.

They also go there on the back of a

3-1 defeat at home to Southampton,

so will be a bit more cautious. Allardyce has to be careful that it does not become three or four defeats on the trot.

Regarding Hull, they’ve had a proactive transfer window, bringing in the likes of Uruguay striker Abel Hernandez for a club-record £10m fee, while the mercurial Hatem Ben Arfa has joined on loan from Newcastle.

It will also help them that they are out of the Europa League – you need two good players in every position if you are going to try to balance a cup run and league fixtures.

I think the Tigers will edge this one.

Lawro’s prediction:

2-1

Van McCann:

2-1

Lawro was speaking to BBC Sport’s Saj Chowdhury.