Arsenal go into Sunday’s north London derby on the back of a five-game unbeaten run in the Premier League and FA Cup – but will that revival survive the weekend?

BBC football expert Mark Lawrenson is not convinced by their upturn in form, saying: “I still don’t trust Arsenal.

“Some people have got excited about their recent results and, yes, there has been some improvement – but it still feels like a bad performance is just around the corner.”

Lawro is making predictions for all 380 top-flight matches this season, against a variety of guests.

This week he is up against The Manor’s Scotty Stacks, whose latest track ‘All Goes Cold’ is out now.

Stacks is a Crystal Palace fan who was dreaming of Europe when he was part of the MOTDx Watchalong for the win at Bournemouth on 20 June, in what was their first game back as the Premier League restarted following the coronavirus shutdown.

That win sent the Eagles ninth, and at that stage they were just four points behind fifth-placed Manchester United, but Roy Hodgson’s side have lost all four of their games since, and it is safe to say Stacks is no longer looking up the table and thinking about midweek trips to Azerbaijan.

“What’s gone wrong? How long have you got!?!” Stacks told BBC Sport. “We’ve got the job done this season when we’ve needed to, but our league position has never really told the full story.

“I think the Premier League been a pretty poor standard on the whole this year. There have been a few success stories – teams such as Wolves, Sheffield United and Burnley who have over-achieved and are pushing for Europe, but Liverpool have won it at a canter.

“There are a lot of teams with decent squads who haven’t played as well as expected. So while it has been a pretty decent year for us to have an off-season, because we have never been in danger of going down, as a Palace fan it does feel like a missed opportunity for a European tour, when teams such as Arsenal, Tottenham and Everton have been in upper mid-table most of the time.

“It feels as if a couple more goals at different times and we could have been right in the mixer for the Europa League.

“At the same time, I don’t think we’d have the squad to cope with that anyway. But would you risk a rainy Thursday night in Azerbaijan for a relegation dog-fight? I probably would, to be honest!

“It is frustrating because we are capable of it, but being a typical, cynical and pessimistic Palace fan, we’re probably just as capable of getting relegated as we are getting into Europe.

A correct result (picking a win, draw or defeat) is worth 10 points. The exact score earns 40 points.

LAWRO’S PREDICTIONS

SATURDAY

Norwich 0-4 West Ham

Lawro’s prediction: 1-1

Scotty’s prediction: 0-2

Match report

Watford 1-1 Newcastle

Lawro’s prediction: 2-0

Scotty’s prediction: 2-2

Match report

Liverpool 1-1 Burnley

Lawro’s prediction: 2-0

Scotty’s prediction: 2-1

Match report

Sheff Utd 3-0 Chelsea

Lawro’s prediction: 1-1

Scotty’s prediction: 1-3

Match report

Brighton 0-5 Man City

Lawro’s prediction: 0-3

Scotty’s prediction: 0-3

Match report

SUNDAY

Wolves 3-0 Everton

Lawro’s prediction: 2-0

Scotty’s prediction: 1-0

Match report

Aston Villa 2-0 Crystal Palace

Lawro’s prediction: 1-1

Scotty’s prediction: 1-1

Match report

Tottenham 2-1 Arsenal

Lawro’s prediction: 2-0

Scotty’s prediction: 3-3

Match report

Bournemouth 4-1 Leicester

Lawro’s prediction: 0-2

Scotty’s prediction: 0-3

Match report

MONDAY

Man Utd v Southampton (20:00 BST)

Southampton’s away form has been excellent but this is the biggest test they have faced for a while on the road.

Manchester United are just hot at the moment and it is going to be extremely hard to stop them because they have several players who look like scoring every time they play.

Lawro’s prediction: 3-0

Scotty’s prediction: United at the moment remind me of Atalanta, who have been playing all-out attack all season in Italy and have outscored Serie A leaders Juventus by 20 goals.

United are looking good aren’t they? Mason Greenwood looks sensational – there is talk of Borussia Dortmund’s Jadon Sancho going to Old Trafford, and it would be great to see him in the Premier League, but I really hope it doesn’t come to the detriment of Greenwood’s opportunities and progress. 3-1

Lawro was speaking to BBC Sport’s Chris Bevan.

How did Lawro do last time?

From the midweek fixtures, Lawro got five correct results, including one exact score, for a total of 80 points.

He was beaten by DJ Joel Corry, who ended up with 90 points, thanks to six correct results, including one exact score.

GUEST LEADERBOARD 2019-20