Tottenham’s clash with Chelsea is one of four games this week which SportsLab fans predict will end in a stalemate. 46% expect a draw, although more than a third foresee a win for Spurs, compared to only 18% who predict an away win. Blackburn’s big game with fellow strugglers Bolton is another close one: 48% foresee a draw, while more than a third tip Steve Kean’s men to pick up three valuable points. Norwich’s trip to Wolves and Sunderland’s visit to QPR are also expected to result in the points being shared.
Four out of five SportsLab fans back Arsenal to return to winning ways as they visit Aston Villa, while home victories are predicted for Manchester City’s game against Stoke and Newcastle’s match against West Brom. More than three quarters of SportsLab football fans who took our poll expect Liverpool to emerge with three points from their visit to Wigan and Manchester United to beat Fulham at Craven Cottage.
Four draws may seem a bold prediction, but it is not implausible – there were four draws in ten Premier League games played on the weekend of 26-27 November, and the opening gameweek of the season saw five draws. Will this week’s predictions prove accurate?
Last week’s results and our predictions are below. After a Saturday for which SportsLab fans only correctly forecast one of the six fixtures ‒ Fulham’s win over Bolton ‒ there was a recovery on Sunday. Manchester United, Liverpool, Tottenham and Manchester City all won, as predicted by SportsLab football fans. Wigan’s draw against Chelsea was the shock of the round, tipped by only 7%. More substantial minorities predicted a West Brom win (15%), draws between Everton and Norwich (32%) and Newcastle and Swansea (24%), and Stoke’s away win over Wolves (39%).
| Gameweek 15 | Result | Prediction | Correct? |
|---|---|---|---|
Blackburn (h) vs. (a) West Brom | 1-2 | Draw (49%) |
|
Everton (h) vs. (a) Norwich | 1-1 | Home win (60%) |
|
Fulham (h) vs. (a) Bolton | 2-0 | Home win (75%) |
|
Newcastle (h) vs. (a) Swansea | 0-0 | Home win (70%) |
|
Wolves (h) vs. (a) Stoke | 1-2 | Draw (46%) |
|
Wigan (h) vs. (a) Chelsea | 1-1 | Away (92%) |
|
QPR (h) vs. (a) Man Utd | 0-2 | Away win (84%) |
|
Aston Villa (h) vs. (a) Liverpool | 0-2 | Away win (49%) |
|
Tottenham (h) vs. (a) Sunderland | 1-0 | Home win (80%) |
|
Man City (h) vs. (a) Arsenal | 1-0 | Home win (52%) |
|
Labs Method statement
YouGovLabs research is anecdotal, with polls being open to all panellists who wish to take part. In contrast to YouGov’s Public Opinion polling, YouGovLabs seeks to understand the attitudes of specific subsets of people: sports fans tell us how they feel about sports and music fans tell us how they feel about music, for example. YouGovLabs results are unweighted, and figures reported do not reflect the attitudes of the population as a whole.
