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Lawro’s Premier League predictions v tennis world number one Andy Murray
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BBC Sport’s football expert Mark Lawrenson is pitting his wits against a different guest each week this season.
Lawro’s opponent for this weekend’s Premier League fixtures is Britain’s tennis world number one Andy Murray.
Murray will be in action in the UK next month when he defends his title at the Aegon Championships at the Queen’s Club, live on BBC TV, radio and online from 19-25 June.
The 29-year-old has won the tournament a record five times but this time faces competition from the strongest field in the tournament’s 127-year history, with five of the world’s top seven players present - including Rafael Nadal, Stan Wawrinka and last year’s runner-up Milos Raonic.
Murray told BBC Sport: "I love it at Queen’s - this is the tournament where I won my first match as a professional on the main tour in 2005.
"I have been coming back for the past 12 years pretty much and have played some of my best tennis here so have always enjoyed playing there.
"There is a lot more of an opportunity to come and watch this year because they have put about 2,000 more seats on the Centre Court, which has increased the capacity by about 30%.
“They have made some big changes on Court One now too - that has moved to a bigger stadium as well, so it will be good for the fans.”
Murray is a Hibernian fan and is well known for his keepy-uppy skills with a tennis ball - honed through hours of football practice when he was growing up.
“When I was younger I played a lot, until I was about 15 and decided I was going to give tennis a go,” he said.
"Even then I still played five-a-side football whenever I was home - normally at least once a week until I was probably in my early to mid-20s.
"I stopped because I was having problems with my back.
“Now, when I am not playing tennis, I am resting and training for tennis rather than playing football but, when I finish my tennis, I think I will start playing again.”
A correct result (picking a win, draw or defeat) is worth 10 points. The exact score earns 40 points.
You can make your Premier League predictions now and compare them with those of Lawro and other fans by playing the BBC Sport Predictor game.
All kick-offs 15:00 BST unless otherwise stated.
Everton lost at Swansea last weekend and have not scored in any of their past three matches.
I don’t see goals being a problem for Ronald Koeman’s team on Friday night, however.
This is the Toffees’ final home game of the season, so they have some incentive to end such a good season at Goodison Park on a high note.
Plus they are against a Watford side that are almost certainly safe - yes, Hull can still get 40 points too but the Hornets’ goal difference is much better.
It might also be the last time we see Romelu Lukaku at Goodison as an Everton player - that looks like it will be one of the transfer stories we will hear a lot about this summer.
Generally, I think Everton fans will be pleased with the way the campaign has gone - realistically, they could not really expect to be higher than seventh.
Until the past couple of weeks they were in touch with the teams above them, even if I never thought they were going to break into the top four, so it has been a good season for them.
As for Watford, as I said - I think they are staying up. Who knows what the future holds for Hornets boss Walter Mazzarri, though? Even if he wins his last three games, they will probably change the manager anyway - that’s what they do.
It is a strange way of doing things but it seems to work - they have not been relegated, have they?
Andy’s prediction: Everton have been very strong at home this season and Watford have not been scoring a lot of goals recently - plus I have got Lukaku and his Everton team-mate Leighton Baines in my fantasy football team, so I need to get something from them before the end of the season. 2-0
Because Chelsea can win the title with a victory at The Hawthorns, I think they will do.
West Brom’s great problem is they do not create many chances against most teams in the league, so I certainly don’t see them creating much against the leaders.
With these kind of games, the big players always come to the fore and I think Chelsea’s quality will make the difference again.
It will be a well-deserved title for them, and their manager Antonio Conte has been brilliant in his first season in the Premier League.
At the start of the season, everyone was talking about Jose Mourinho at Manchester United and Pep Guardiola at Manchester City but he has usurped both of them.
There have been a few pivotal moments for Chelsea during the season, like the 3-0 defeat at Arsenal in September that saw Conte switch to a 3-4-3 system. They have never really looked back.
That system clearly works for lots of reasons, but a big part of that is how it releases Eden Hazard and Pedro to play a little bit more centrally. They have both been in outstanding form and come up with some really important goals at some crucial times.
It has not always been so straightforward for them, but winning the title never is. I also remember a run of three 1-0 wins they had in December, when they did not play well or had some key players missing, but still got the result they needed.
Even when they lost to Crystal Palace and Manchester United in April, Conte never panicked. He knows you cannot win every single game, and you could hardly describe Chelsea as wobbling - on both occasions they won their next two league games.
Andy’s prediction: West Brom are always tough at home and they might nick a goal but Chelsea have been great this season and I think they will get the win they need. 1-2
I know Leicester have got a good record against Manchester City recently - they thumped them 4-2 in December and won at Etihad Stadium on their way to winning the title last season - but I just don’t see the Foxes beating them again.
I think last season’s champions might make it quite an open game, but that will probably suit Pep Guardiola’s side.
Guardiola still has a bit of work to do to make sure of a top-four finish but it is in Manchester City’s hands and I think they will make it - they have only lost one of their 14 league games since that 4-0 defeat at Everton in January.
Whatever happens in the final three matches, Leicester manager Craig Shakespeare should get the job on a permanent basis in the summer - he definitely deserves it.
The players have responded to him since he took over on a temporary basis in February.
After a pretty turbulent campaign, if you know your manager is perfectly capable of getting you good results then why would you run the risk of changing things and seeing the same happen again?
Andy’s prediction: Manchester City still have a lot to play for and they always score goals, but they have been a bit leaky at the back so I think Leicester might score. 3-1
Bournemouth are definitely staying up, and Burnley are effectively safe too because their goal difference means Hull won’t catch them.
So both teams could be forgiven if they were on their holidays, because survival is a great achievement for both.
Burnley’s form has picked up in the past couple of weeks but Bournemouth always look good going forward and they will be confident of getting a goal, so let’s go for a draw.
Andy’s prediction: Bournemouth are scoring a lot of goals this year, and I am going to back them here. 2-1
Let’s give Claude Puel some credit for what he has done in his first season at Southampton, because he has been without some key players for long periods, on top of the talent that left the club in the summer and then in January too.
Saints have still always been comfortable in mid-table, and reached the final of the League Cup.
True, they have never looked like repeating last season’s sixth-place finish but that has to go down as an over-achievement, so this year has not been a backward step.
Middlesbrough, meanwhile, went down with a whimper.
You cannot blame Steve Agnew, who took charge in March, for that - it was predecessor Aitor Karanka who set the tone for the season.
Karanka had this thing where it was all about not being beaten, which is all well and good if you are nicking wins while you are doing it, but Boro never really did that.
The times I saw them under him in the first half of the season, they never committed enough players forward - their three midfielders just sat in.
Agnew tried to change that but it didn’t solve the other problem in their team, which is a lack of creativity. It was not addressed by Karanka in the January transfer window, and the end result is Championship football next season.
It is amazing how often a team’s form improves once they have been relegated, and we saw it again when Sunderland beat Hull.
This is a far from straightforward game for Swansea, who could put some breathing space between themselves and the Tigers with a win.
I don’t think they will get it - I am backing Sunderland to get a point, and make it two games unbeaten - equalling their longest run this season.
Andy’s prediction: This is not an easy one to predict. I am going to go for a draw here too. 1-1
I think Liverpool will have to win their final two games of the season to make the top four, because I think Arsenal are going to win all three of theirs.
The Gunners end their campaign with games at home to Sunderland and Everton, and I would expect them to beat both of those teams at the Emirates.
This is the toughest game of their run-in, but I also think Arsene Wenger’s side will win in Stoke - the scene of a protest against him at the train station in December 2014.
It would be typical of Arsenal to end a difficult league season with some good results, and I think Danny Welbeck will play a key part for them, because he is looking stronger with every game he plays after coming back from injury.
Arsenal’s system with three centre-halves really seems to suit Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain at right wing-back, and it works well with Kieran Gibbs on the other side, although both players seem to better going forward than they are coming back to defend.
Stoke have only won one of their past nine games but are still in the running for a top-half finish.
The Potters will not roll over, but I think the Arsenal fans can leave their ‘Wenger Out’ banners at home this weekend.
Andy’s prediction: The trouble with the amount of travel that comes with what I do is that Scottish football is unfortunately not on the TV much when I am in, say, the United States.
So I have been following the Premier League for years now and I have always enjoyed watching Arsenal play - I like the way they play.
I have been along to games at a lot of the other London grounds but I have been to Emirates Stadium quite a few times."
It has been a tough season for Arsenal but I am hoping they win this one because they are still fighting to get in the top four. 0-2
This is a big one at the bottom of the table but, as bad as Crystal Palace were against Manchester City, it is still very hard to tip Hull to win away.
The Tigers have not managed a league victory on the road since 20 August, when they won at Swansea. Seventeen away trips later, they have picked up only three more points with three draws and, overall, they have the worst away record in the top flight.
Palace have been all over the place defensively recently, and three defeats in a row have put them back in trouble.
A point would do for the Eagles here, though, and that is what I think they will get.
Andy’s prediction: These are tough fixtures to predict. Palace to win, with a Christian Benteke brace. 2-0
As I have said, I think Liverpool will need to win their final two games to make the top four - but I am just not convinced they will do it. I don’t think they will get three points against West Ham for starters.
If Liverpool do fall short, it will be because of their mentality. They play as if they will always create chances, so can be somewhat wasteful - but that is not the case. There is something missing with their attack at the moment.
I presume Jurgen Klopp will start with Adam Lallana even if he is not 100% fit because there is no point protecting him any longer - they need his help now.
There is also a case for giving Daniel Sturridge a start too. After coming off the bench along with Lallana in the second half against Southampton on Sunday, he was one of the few Liverpool players to look lively in what was a really poor result for the Reds.
West Ham are supposedly one of the teams interested in signing Sturridge in the summer so this is something of a showcase for him - his future is undecided but it does not matter what his motivation is if he gets Liverpool the points.
The key will be whether they can break West Ham down - the Hammers played with three at the back in their win over Tottenham last week and flooded the midfield.
If they do that again, there will not be much space for Liverpool’s creative players, which is why I am going for a draw.
It is Tottenham’s final game at White Hart Lane but the occasion should not surprise most of the Manchester United players because they played - and lost - in West Ham’s last game at Upton Park at the end of last season too.
I have been saying for a while now that I don’t buy Jose Mourinho’s comments about the size or strength of his squad, and I don’t see United’s Europa League campaign as an excuse if they miss out on the top four.
Mourinho said he would rest a lot of players against Arsenal last weekend but when you totalled up starting appearances by both teams, United’s players had made 226 more appearances than the Gunners’ side - that says it all about his so-called weakened team.
Tottenham’s defeat and performance at West Ham was a disappointing end to their title hopes but I think we have seen enough from them this season to expect a response, especially at home where they have won 16 and drawn two of their 18 league games so far.
I always enjoyed going to White Hart Lane as a player, because they would always let you play - I don’t recall losing many times there with Liverpool.
One memory that stands out is from a game in the 1980s where Kenny Dalglish got absolutely lumped by Tottenham defender Graham Roberts, who was part centre-half, part assassin.
About 30 seconds later, a certain G. Souness got his revenge on Roberts with a very similar sort of tackle. As was often the case, that was the end of that matter.
Andy’s prediction: My coach is a United fan and my physio is a Tottenham fan, so I hear a lot about both of these teams.
Spurs are at home, in the last ever game at White Hart Lane, and with Jose Mourinho involved it is going to be a tight match - I’m going to go for yet another draw. 1-1
From last weekend’s Premier League matches, Lawro got six correct results, including one perfect score, from 10 matches, for a total of 90 points.
He beat Serge Pizzorno from Kasabian, who got three correct results with no perfect scores, but lost out to his band-mate Tom Meighan, who got four correct results, including two perfect scores, for a tally of 100 points.
Lawro also picked up three more points for correctly predicting Arsenal’s win over Southampton on Wednesday. Martin Kemp wins no extra points because he picked Saints to win 1-0.
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