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You have to ask yourself, does the great Mark Lawrenson never learn? After going for a plethora of 2-0 wins a fortnight ago and only coming up with one winner, what did he decide to do last week? Yeah, go for lots of 2-0 wins for the favourites again last week. And how did that work out for him? It was an unmitigated disaster for Lawro last week and his 2-0 tipping strategy. Out of ten English Premier League games, how many actually finished 2-0? Zero. None. Zip. Absolutely no game in the English Premiership finished 2-0. So I think it’s safe to say that just plumping for a 2-0 win for the favourite is not a winning strategy in the long run. At least not for Lawro. Still, we can’t be too hard on the great man, can we? Probably not, considering he DID get seven out of ten results right, missing out on the Spurs win, the Newcastle/Chelsea draw and the Everton win, AND a correct score prediction correct in the Stoke versus Bournemouth game. So not bad at all, eh? Well, let’s look at how the betting went before we jump to any conclusions.
In terms of profit, it wasn’t the best week, Lawro only got any correct score right. I know, how did he not get the 4-1 win for Spurs? Beats me, but it was a hefty price. And he probably could have got Arsenal’s 5-2 win if he wasn’t so scared to venture away from his favourite 2-0 scoreline. Anyway, he came out with a profit, unbelievably, of 3.73 units. That means Lawro is now back into double figures for his profits this season, standing at an impressive +12.66 units, which is incredible, really, given his terrible 2-0 strategy. So, if you were following Mark Lawrenson with £10 on every result and on every correct score, you’d be almost £120.66 in profit so far this season. That’d be enough to get you and your mate a ticket to his beloved Liverpool. Not that I would wish that upon anyone right now, though. Better things to spend that on, surely.
So let’s take a look at what Mark Lawrenson is predicting for this week’s Barclays Premier League fixtures.
Crystal Palace vs West Bromwich Albion
In the early Saturday game, Lawro is predicting a tight affair. I thought West Brom’s last game against Everton was going to be a tight affair. Boy, was I wrong. Anyway, enough of the pity party. Lawro is going for a 1-1 draw here to start off the weekend’s action in the English Premiership. It’s 13/5 for the draw and the correct score here pays 13/2. I think Lawro is underestimating Crystal Palace here. I really like what Alan Pardew’s done with the team, and their win away to Watford last week was huge. Compare that to West Brom chucking away a 2-0 lead to lose 3-2 at home, and surely the confidence is with the Eagles. For me, 3-1 Palace.
Aston Villa vs Stoke
For this one, Lawro is going for an away win here. He’s confident that Stoke are going to continue improving after their win over Bournemouth last week, and he thinks they’re going to win this one 2-1. It’s a tasty 2/1 for a Stoke win, and an even tastier 12/1 for a 2-1 win. I don’t think Lawro is giving Villa enough credit for their performance at Anfield. Rudy Gestede has been a revelation for them since coming from Blackburn, and he’s going to punish the Stoke defence. I wouldn’t be backing Stoke, personally, as they’ve yet to prove they can get on track. A draw or a Villa win here for me. But then Lawro is on a roll at the moment, so who knows?
Bournemouth vs Watford
It’s weird to think of this game as a Premiership game, isn’t it? Of course, I’ve enjoyed both teams this season. Bournemouth has been playing their own brand of attacking football, while Watford have been dogged fighters, nicking points here and there. Lawro thinks Bournemouth’s home advantage is going to pay off and that they’ll win 2-1 here. I have to say that I agree with him, and the home win pays 11/10, and the correct score will net you a price of 17/2.
Manchester City vs Newcastle
A home game against Newcastle is just what Manchester City need after a tough match midweek in Europe, and Lawro thinks it’s a comfortable 2-0 win for the hosts here. What else would he predict? Come on! 1/5 and 13/2 for the result and the correct score respectively. Let’s be honest, do you think Manchester City are only going to ship two goals past a terrible Newacstle side at home? 4-0 for me, Lawro’s just trying to keep 2-0 fans happy.
Norwich vs Leicester
Another weird game, in the mould of Bournemouth versus Watford, but damn I’m excited to watch Leicester again. They must be making fans worldwide with their attacking performances. Well, Lawro’s not a fan and he thinks the wheels might start to come off now they’ve had their first defeat of the season. He’s going for a 2-1 Norwich win. It’s 6/5 for the home side to win and it’s 9/1 for the correct score. I’m not deserting Leicester yet, and I reckon they’re gonna win this 3-1. Bold, I know, but damn I’m loving watching the Foxes play.
Sunderland vs West Ham
On paper, such a boring, boring, awful game. But Lawro reckons we’re going to get a surprise result here from what he calls “the worst team in the Premier League”. Even though he acknowledges West Ham excel away from home, he’s going for a shock 2-0 win to the Black Cats. 21/10 for a Sunderland win, which is huge for a home side, and the correct score is 11/1. All signs point to a West Ham win, which is why Lawro is going for a shock result. I have no idea. Draw, maybe? Yeah, I’ll say a 1-1 draw.
Chelsea vs Southampton
A game that Chelsea fans will be anxious about, because if they can’t beat Southampton at home, their season could be over by October. Lawro thinks they’re going to nick it 2-1, and he wasn’t actually to disheartened by their performance in Porto on Tuesday. The Chelsea win pays a rather large 8/11 and the 2-1 win is 8/1. Chelsea are in turmoil, and a big win here could revitalise them, so, yeah, I think they’re going to win, and 3-1 seems about right to me. That 8/11 price for Chelsea might just seem huge come closing time at the pub.
Everton vs Liverpool
The Merseyside Derby is always exciting, and Lawro has his colours pinned to the mast with this one. Well, somewhat. He’s going for a draw, when a lot of people might be writing Liverpool off about now, especially after a midweek Europa League game. But he thinks they’ll get a 1-1 with Everton, and the draw pays 9/4 and the score pays 11/2. Everton might just heap more turmoil on Liverpool here, and imagine the scenes in the city should Everton get the win; the red half of the city would be flooding the streets with salty, salty tears. Back Everton just for those scenes alone.
Arsenal vs Manchester United
The biggest match of the weekend? Probably. And both sides had varying fortunes in Europe this week, with Arsenal losing yet again, while Manchester United grabbed a win over Wolfsburg. This is going to be tight, but Lawro is actually predicting a 2-0 for Arsenal. It’s Evens for an Arsenal win and 10/1 for the 2-0 scoreline. You know, I can’t see that Arsenal defence keeping a clean sheet. 2-1? Maybe. But let’s throw caution to the wind and say 3-2 to the Arsenal, just because it would make Sunday afternoon much more fun.
Swansea vs Tottenham
The last game of the day, not too exciting on paper, really, and Spurs will not be too happy having to travel to Wales after seeing the sights of Monte Carlo midweek. It was 1-1 for Spurs against Monaco, and Lawro reckons they’ll replicate that score against Swansea. The draw is 11/5 and the correct score is 11/2. A draw away from home against Monaco is definitely not a bad result, but it’s a lot of travelling for Spurs. They’ll have to dig deep to get a result here, and it might be a game too far. For me, a Swansea win, and 1-0.
The lack of 2-0 score predictions is a bit disappointing – maybe Lawro has realised that it’s not the route to making mega bucks. Of course, now we’ll have 2-0 wins for all the favourites and Lawro will be sick as a dog. Anyway, with these predictions, we are now eight weeks into the English Premiership season, Mark Lawrenson is making us money, but the Lawro Audit continues.
