Lawro's Premier League predictions v singer Plan B

Arsene Wenger's departure from Arsenal at the end of the season means the Gunners' trip to Old Trafford on Sunday could be the final time he takes on his old rival Jose Mourinho.

Wenger claimed his first competitive win over Mourinho at the 16th attempt last season, when Arsenal beat Manchester United 2-0 at Emirates Stadium, but who will come out on top this time?

BBC football expert Mark Lawrenson says: "From Wenger's point of view, hopefully he won't be stood up in the stands this time, looking for a seat like he was when he was sent off there in 2009. That was comical.

"But I just cannot look beyond a United win. I thought they dealt really well with Tottenham in the FA Cup semi-final last week and they will be too strong for the Gunners."

Lawro will be making a prediction for all 380 top-flight games this season, against a variety of guests.

This week he takes on singer and actor Plan B, who supports Arsenal "because of Ian Wright".

He has met the legendary Gunners striker when they interviewed each other in 2012 and Plan B - real name Benjamin Paul Ballance-Drew - still remembers the occasion fondly.

"It was amazing, like a boyhood dream come true," he told BBC Sport.

"I did not have any older brothers, my dad was not about and my mum was not into football, so I got into it off my own accord.

"I saw Ian Wright play and that was it. I was a Gooner after that."

Plan B says he "loves Arsene Wenger for what he has done for the club" but thinks it is the right time for him to step down as Arsenal boss.

He explained: "I am sad to see him go but I feel like we should have achieved more in the past 10 years because of who we are.

"Arsene helped us become who we are, and you can't take that away from him, but there have just been some decisions - like with players that we nearly bought but didn't - that I think would have changed things for us completely if they had been done differently.

"It became this regular occurrence every season that we wouldn't buy the players we needed, and we wouldn't plug the holes where they needed to be plugged, while Wenger would be insisting we had the depth in the team.

"It was just the same old story every time. To begin with we had to accept we would be second every season, then it was fourth that was the target - now it is sixth.

"Who fills his shoes is for the board to decide, but regardless of who our next manager is, things have stagnated at Arsenal and we need a fresh approach, and we need some excitement.

"We all need to feel that there is a chance that things are going to change, and it just has not felt like that for a long time."

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

LAWRO'S PREDICTIONS

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

SATURDAY

Liverpool v Stoke (12:30 BST)

Saturday lunchtime kick-offs usually feel a bit flat, so no wonder Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has asked for Reds fans to create the same atmosphere against Stoke that they did against Roma on Tuesday.

Klopp says Liverpool will need their fans but they are just playing so well at the moment that, even if they have an off-day, I would still back them.

Stoke badly need a win, but not only do they have an appalling record at Anfield - they have never won there in 54 top-flight visits - they are playing a team with such impressive firepower.

What do the Potters do? They simply cannot compete if they try to fight fire with fire, and I do not see them holding out and nicking a goal either.

Lawro's prediction: 2-0

Plan B's prediction: 3-1

Burnley v Brighton

Brighton have got 36 points and are seven points clear of the relegation zone, and they are probably going to be all right even if they don't pick up another point.

Bearing in mind the Seagulls' final three games after this one are against Manchester United, Manchester City and Liverpool, that is entirely possible - but I think they have got enough points to stay up already.

Burnley's winning run ended last week but I do not see Brighton causing them too many problems - Chris Hughton's side have managed only nine goals in their 16 away league games this season.

The Clarets need four more points from their final three games to be mathematically certain of finishing at least seventh and qualifying for Europe, and I am backing them to get three of those on Saturday.

Lawro's prediction: 2-0

Plan B's prediction: Burnley are doing all right this season. 2-1

Crystal Palace v Leicester

Leicester's season has tailed off a bit, but they are still going to finish in the top half of the table.

Crystal Palace are not safe yet, but a point here should be enough to keep them up - and that is exactly what I think they will get.

Considering he took over when the Eagles did not have any points after seven games, and his main striker Christian Benteke has only scored two league goals all season, Palace boss Roy Hodgson has done a terrific job.

Lawro's prediction: 1-1

Plan B's prediction: 1-1

Huddersfield v Everton

Everton fans are just waiting for the season to end to see what happens to their manager Sam Allardyce, but the next couple of weeks are going to be huge for Huddersfield.

The Terriers are another side who probably only need one more win to stay up and secure another year in the Premier League, so this is their cup final - their biggest game of the season.

When Huddersfield started to slide in the New Year I could not see them staying up - everyone had worked out what they were doing, their away form was poor and they were not scoring goals.

But they found a way to rectify that and, if they do survive, it is a major achievement.

Lawro's prediction: 1-0

Plan B's prediction: Everton will nick this I think. 0-2

Newcastle v West Brom

I was at The Hawthorns for 5 live to watch West Brom recover from going 2-0 down to rescue a point against Liverpool last week.

I think what happened had as much to do with Liverpool as it did the Baggies but it was still a good fightback which means their caretaker manager Darren Moore has now had three games in charge and picked up five points.

People are saying give Moore the job permanently but that is ridiculous because his role as a caretaker is completely different to being in charge full time - there are so many different facets to it. It would be a massive gamble.

Those three results mean West Brom still have the faintest glimmer of hope of survival but I do not see that being the case after this game.

Newcastle fell a bit short of their recent levels in Monday's defeat at Everton but this game is at home and I would expect this performance to be very different - their players will demand it.

The Magpies have got a great chance of finishing in the top 10 and theoretically could end up eighth.

With everything that Newcastle manager Rafa Benitez has had to put up with this season, that is almost best-case scenario.

Lawro's prediction: 2-0

Plan B's prediction: 2-1

Southampton v Bournemouth

Southampton have picked up one point from Mark Hughes' first four league games and are in massive trouble towards the bottom of the table.

But with just two points from their past four league games, Bournemouth are having one of those spells they seem to get where they have a bit of a stutter.

The Cherries tend to go on long runs of similar form whether it is good or bad, and I just have a feeling that Saints are going to nick it.

This is Southampton's biggest match of the season, far bigger than last weekend's FA Cup semi-final, and I think we will see a response from them.

Lawro's prediction: 2-1

Plan B's prediction: 1-1

Swansea v Chelsea (17:30 BST)

If Southampton do beat Bournemouth, they will only be a point behind Swansea - who will kick off this game shortly after the final whistle at St Mary's.

Swansea are back in trouble because they have only managed three draws in their past five games, although their only two defeats in that run came at Old Trafford and Etihad Stadium.

I don't see them returning to winning ways here, though. Chelsea have not been in great form in the league but they have showed their quality by reaching the FA Cup final.

Lawro's prediction: 0-2

Plan B's prediction: 1-3

SUNDAY

West Ham v Man City (14:15 BST)

West Ham lost heavily against Arsenal last weekend and they will have to be careful that something similar does not happen again on Sunday.

Manchester City might have the title in the bag already, but there is no way their manager Pep Guardiola will let them take the foot off the gas.

City want to break records, be it for most points in a Premier League season or most goals and they will be going for it at London Stadium. I just don't see the Hammers stopping them.

Lawro's prediction: 0-2

Plan B's prediction: I think Man City might smash them you know. 0-4

Man Utd v Arsenal (16:30 BST)

United are looking very good for second place now - it is in their hands and with games against Brighton, West Ham and Watford to come after this one, I don't see them letting it slip.

Could Wenger's record against Mourinho give him extra incentive to try to beat United on their own turf again, like they did when they won the title at Old Trafford in 2002? No.

I think he will be more bothered about his side's Europa League semi-final, and trying to get them through that.

Lawro's prediction: 2-0

Plan B's prediction: Alexis Sanchez will probably score against us for United, that is the way it usually goes down, isn't it? But come on Arsenal! 1-2

MONDAY

Tottenham v Watford (20:00 BST)

Harry Kane does not quite look fit to me, although he has had since last Tottenham's FA Cup semi-final defeat last Saturday to try to change that.

Watford have inched their way to safety and I think they will be fine now with 38 points - you could not say they have done it in style, though, because they have not won for six matches.

I cannot see them ending that run on Monday night, either - Spurs will win at Wembley this time.

Lawro's prediction: 2-0

Plan B's prediction: 4-0

Lawro was speaking to BBC Sport's Chris Bevan.

How did Lawro do in the FA Cup semi-finals?

On FA Cup semi-final weekend, Lawro got both results correct, with one perfect score, for a total of 50 points.

He was up against BBC Asian Network presenter Noreen Khan who also called both games correctly, with one perfect score. They both had a 100% success rate.

From last week's 10 Premier League games - including the midweek games - Lawro got six correct results, including two perfect score, from 10 matches for a total of 120 points.

He beat Khan, who got four correct results, including two perfect scores, for a total of 100 points.

GUEST LEADERBOARD

* Shows weeks where Lawro had more than one guest, and only the highest score contributed to the guest total.

** Shows weeks where guest total does not include all rearranged games.

Lawro's best score: 170 points (week 30 v Arni and Justin from The Vaccines)

Lawro's worst score: 40 points (week four v Umenyiora and Bell, week five v Non Stanford, week 21 v Darren Campbell and week 23 v Saric and Baynes)