Premier League new year predictions: Lawro v KAWALA guitarist and West Ham fan Dan McCarthy

Premier League leaders Manchester City are eight points clear at the start of 2022, and they could quickly find themselves in an even stronger position after the first set of fixtures of the new year.

"It's third versus second when Chelsea play Liverpool on Sunday and at least one of them is going to drop points," BBC Sport football expert Mark Lawrenson said.

"That has already been happening to both teams in the past few weeks. Meanwhile, Manchester City just keep on winning and the pressure is off them now because they are never chasing anything.

"It's a great position for City to be in, especially when they are in such great form too."

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

This week's guest for the first fixtures of the new year is Dan McCarthy, singer and guitarist with London band KAWALA, whose debut album Better With You is out in March.

Dan is a lifelong West Ham fan who is a season-ticket holder at London Stadium, but choosing who to support was not an easy decision for him.

"I was stuck between a rock and a hard place as a kid," he told BBC Sport.

"My dad is a diehard Cardiff City fan, while my mum and grandad - and that entire side of my family - are diehard West Ham supporters.

"The big push was from my grandad who is from the East End of London. He started taking me to West Ham games as a kid, when I was about six, and that made the difference.

"With my dad being Welsh I was like 'look, internationally I will follow Wales, and I'll go with West Ham as my club'."

There have been lots of ups and downs for West Ham fans in recent years but Dan is enjoying life under David Moyes, whose side are fifth at the halfway stage of the season.

"I'm not used to us doing so well to be honest," he said. "Up until about a month ago we were absolutely flying.

"Then we looked a little bit like the 'old' us for a few weeks, so it was important for us to get a bit of form back against Watford last time out.

"We've been turning up against the top sides and struggling against the teams we should be beating, which was why it was quite surprising we played so well against Watford.

"Injuries haven't helped recently either, especially to our back four, but we are right in the race for fourth place.

"Moyes is an incredible manager and I love him to pieces. His ethos is brilliant - we have got a style of play that works, and our team spirit is amazing."

P-P = Postponed because of a Covid-19 outbreak.

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

Lawro's prediction: 0-3

Dan's prediction: 0-2

Match report

This game was postponed because of a Covid-19 outbreak.

Lawro's prediction: 0-2

Dan's prediction: 1-2

Match report

Lawro's prediction: 1-1

Dan's prediction: 2-2

Match report

Lawro's prediction: 1-2

Dan's prediction: 1-2

Match report

Lawro's prediction: 1-1

Dan's prediction: 0-1

Match report

Lawro's prediction: 2-1

Dan's prediction: 0-0

Match report

This game was postponed because of a Covid-19 outbreak.

Lawro's prediction: 1-1

Dan's prediction: 2-3

Match report

Wolves don't score many so I'm backing Manchester United here, but it is going to be very interesting to see what kind of performance we see from Ralf Rangnick's side.

United were awful against Newcastle and, although they were much better against Burnley, their inconsistency is one of the things Rangnick has to tackle if they are going to make it into the top four.

Lawro's prediction: 1-0

Dan's prediction: United have got one of the best starting XIs in world football but it just isn't working for them. I think they'll win this one, but it will be close. 2-1

Lawro and Dan were speaking to BBC Sport's Chris Bevan.

From the midweek Premier League fixtures on 28, 29 & 30 December, Lawro got four correct results from seven matches, with one exact score, for a total of 70 points.

For now, it goes down as a win for Lawro because his guest in week 20, singer James Arthur, got three correct results with no exact scores, for a total of 30 points.

Three games were postponed because of Covid-19 outbreaks. James' predictions for those matches are below, and any points they earn will be added to their overall score when those games are played, which could change the overall result.