Liverpool will be crowned as Premier League champions for the 2024-25 campaign with four games remaining, should they manage to avoid defeat against Tottenham Hotspur in Sunday's clash at Anfield.
Arsenal's 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace on Wednesday evening means that Arne Slot's side only require a single point this weekend to be crowed as champions, and they will fancy their chances of getting the job done against a struggling Tottenham outfit.
Chelsea will host Everton in the early start on Saturday, while Ipswich Town could be officially relegated on Saturday, with the strugglers, who are 15 points behind 17th-placed Wolverhampton Wanderers, in action away to Newcastle United.
Manchester United will also play on Sunday, with the Red Devils heading to Bournemouth, and Ruben Amorim's side will be aiming to secure a positive result ahead of the first leg of their Europa League semi-final against Athletic Bilbao.
Another Premier League gameweek means another Sports Mole prediction competition, and this week, we are facing off against Faris Badwan - lead vocalist of The Horrors - who is a Blackburn Rovers fan.
Read on to discover Faris' and our predictions for gameweek 34, as well as finding out the results of our head-to-head with James Hallam - frontman of Sheffield indie-rock band Matilda Shakes - from gameweek 32.
Chelsea vs. Everton
Saturday, 12.30pm
© Imago
Faris: Chelsea 1-1 Everton
Sports Mole: Chelsea 1-0 Everton
No matter what state Chelsea are in, one thing always seems certain, and it is that Everton will not win at the Bridge, and this could be the 30th successive game without defeat for the hosts against the Toffees if they claim a result.
Everton's season is fizzling out slightly, while Chelsea still have it all to play for, so they will be the favourites, but they can expect a scrappy affair, as 12 of the visitors' 16 away games in the Premier League this season have produced two goals or fewer.
Brighton vs. West Ham
Saturday, 3pm
© Imago
Faris: Brighton 1-1 West Ham
Sports Mole: Brighton 2-1 West Ham
Neither side are entering this weekend's contest in high spirits and a similarly tight affair to the reverse fixture could be on the cards. However, we are backing European hopefuls Brighton to bounce back, even without the presence of a few key players, against a West Ham outfit playing merely for pride at this stage of the season.
Newcastle vs. Ipswich
Saturday, 3pm
© Imago
Faris: Newcastle 3-0 Ipswich
Sports Mole: Newcastle 4-0 Ipswich
Having had a full week off from competitive action, expect Newcastle to return to their merciless best on Saturday as they put an end to this year's Premier League relegation dogfight, which in truth has not been much of a dogfight at all.
Battling a host of missing players and without a Premier League clean sheet in 2025, the visitors will go down with a whimper as Newcastle enhance their Champions League credentials.
Southampton vs. Fulham
Saturday, 3pm
© Imago
Faris: Southampton 1-2 Fulham
Sports Mole: Southampton 0-2 Fulham
Southampton will unsurprisingly enter Saturday's fixture as underdogs and firm favourites Fulham, who have scored in six of their last seven PL matches, will hope to have the clinical touch in front of goal that they lacked in the reverse fixture.
None of Fulham's last 13 league games have ended as a draw (W6 L7) and we expect this run to continue as Silva's men should have enough to get the better of a frail Saints backline this time around.
Wolves vs. Leicester
Saturday, 3pm
© Imago
Faris: Wolves 2-1 Leicester
Sports Mole: Wolves 2-0 Leicester
A clash between two sides with nothing major to play for normally leads to one of two outcomes; a dull, low-scoring affair or an all-action thriller where the shackles come off.
However, Wolves are still playing for the momentous achievement of finishing above Spurs and Man United, and Pereira's in-form men have our vote to make light work of crisis club Leicester.
Bournemouth vs. Man Utd
Sunday, 2pm
© Imago
Faris: Bournemouth 2-0 Man Utd
Sports Mole: Bournemouth 1-0 Man Utd
While the likely return of Bruno Fernandes should aid Man United on the creativity front, it remains difficult to pinpoint just where the goals might come from on the visitors' end, Lyon aside.
A settled Bournemouth squad can therefore limit the visitors to few chances and capitalise on the Red Devils' defensive deficiencies to succeed on Sunday, where Man United's thoughts may already be on their next Europa League mission.
Liverpool vs. Spurs
Sunday, 4.30pm
© Imago
Faris: Liverpool 2-0 Spurs
Sports Mole: Liverpool 2-0 Spurs
Any Gooners pledging allegiance to Tottenham for a couple of hours should not get their hopes up, although all those associated with Arsenal surely gave up any chance of a phenomenal title comeback a while ago.
As Spurs are prioritising the Europa League and have been nothing but abysmal domestically this term, a full-strength Liverpool should have no problem easing to the win that will confirm what has been inevitable for some time.
Faris Badwan Q&A
How did you come to support Blackburn and what are your favourite memories from your time as a fan?
Faris: I've been a Blackburn fan since I was seven, in 1993. Everyone else at school was a Liverpool or Man United fan and initially I loved the fact that they seemed like the underdog - which with Jack Walker's cash probably wasn't the case in hindsight!
It's a bit of a different story with Jack as he loved the club. Obviously the mid-90s team was full of great players - Alan Shearer, Chris Sutton, Graeme Le Saux, Tim Flowers. I especially loved Tim Flowers as I played in goal at the time.
Probably my favourite memory is when they won the Worthington Cup in 2000 which sounds stupid, but it was special because I was old enough to appreciate it. My favourite story is when Jack Walker wouldn't sign [Zinedine] Zidane because they already had Tim Sherwood!
Who have been your favourite five players for Blackburn?
Faris: There are so many! Ok, Alan Shearer aside, in no particular order: Graeme Le Saux, as he sort of went against the grain in terms of typical footballer personalities, famously reading the Guardian in a locker room full of tabloids. A quality left back who would have played more often for England if it wasn't for injury.
David Dunn. A technically gifted player who joined as a trainee and quickly ended up in the first team. 300-plus games for the club across two spells and then went into coaching at the club.
Brad Friedel. Legendary American goalkeeper who hit his peak at Blackburn and was consistently one of the best in the league for a few seasons. Almost single handedly responsible for our League Cup win in 2000.
Damien Duff. 100 caps for Ireland! It was so exciting when Duff emerged as an 18 year old left winger, getting man of the match on his debut.
Tugay. World-class Turkish central midfielder who probably hit top form too late for a move to one of the bigger clubs. I loved watching him, his positional awareness and passing were on another level.
What's going on with the band at the moment?
Faris: We have just released our sixth album, Night Life, and we're about to go into an endless run of touring around the world again, which we're very happy about.
2024-25 SEASON LEADERBOARD (ARTISTS)
Scores are calculated as one point for a correct result and five points for a correct scoreline.
1. Kyle Starkey (16pts | Gameweek 3)
2. Make Friends' Max Lewin (15pts | Gameweek 2)
3. Kids Return's Clement (14pts | Gameweek 27)
=. Mychelle (14pts | Gameweek 28)
5. Everyone Says Hi's Nick Hodgson (13pts | Gameweek 1)
6. Blitz Vega's Kav Sandhu (10pts | Gameweek 5)
7. Trampolene's Jack Jones (9pts | Gameweek 4)
= Kneecap's Mo Chara (9pts | Gameweek 6)
= The Slow Readers Club's James Ryan (9pts | Gameweek 20)
= Alex Spencer (9pts | Gameweek 21)
= Better Joy's Bria Keely (9pts | Gameweek 22)
= The Florentinas' Paddy Boyd (9ts | Gameweek 31)
13. Feet's Harry Southerton (7pts | Gameweek 13)
= IN PARALLEL's Harrison Baker (7pts | Gameweek 15)
= HIMALAYAS' Joe Williams (7pts | Gameweek 25)
= Matilda Shakes' James Hallam (7pts | Gameweek 32)
17. Kids in Glass Houses' Iain Mahanty (6pts | Gameweek 7)
= proFESSional's Rob Hennebry (6pts | Gameweek 8)
= Solar Eyes' Glenn Smyth (6pts | Gameweek 24)
20. Cardinal Black's Chris Buck (5pts | Gameweek 30)
21. Maddox Jones (4pts | Gameweek 9)
= The Farm's Peter Hooton (4pts | Gameweek 18)
= Danko's Lewis White (4pts | Gameweek 23)
= The Pale White (4pts | Gameweek 26)
25. She Drew The Gun's Louisa Roach (3pts | Gameweek 10)
= The Now's Shane Callaghan (3pts | Gameweek 17)
= Chilli Jesson (3pts | Gameweek 11)
= PG Ciarletta (3pts | Gameweek 29)
29. Soft Launch's Josh McClory (2pts | Gameweek 12)
= My First Time's James Mellen (2pts | Gameweek 14)
= Apollo Junction's Ben Hope (2pts | Gameweek 16)
2024-25 COMPETITION HISTORY
Gameweek 1: Everyone Says Hi's Nick Hodgson 13-14 Sports Mole
Gameweek 2: Make Friends' Max Lewin 15-4 Sports Mole
Gameweek 3: Kyle Starkey 16-13 Sports Mole
Gameweek 4: Trampolene's Jack Jones 9-9 Sports Mole
Gameweek 5: Blitz Vega's Kav Sandhu 10-11 Sports Mole
Gameweek 6: Kneecap's Mo Chara 9-4 Sports Mole
Gameweek 7: Kids in Glass Houses' Iain Mahanty 6-3 Sports Mole
Gameweek 8: proFESSional's Rob Hennebry 6-7 Sports Mole
Gameweek 9: Maddox Jones 4-10 Sports Mole
Gameweek 10: She Drew The Gun's Louisa Roach 3-4 Sports Mole
Gameweek 11: Chilli Jesson 3-8 Sports Mole
Gameweek 12: Soft Launch's Josh McClorey 2-3 Sports Mole
Gameweek 13: Feet's Harry Southerton 7-10 Sports Mole
Gameweek 14: My First Time's James Mellen 2-8 Sports Mole
Gameweek 15: IN PARALLEL's Harrison Baker 7-2 Sports Mole
Gameweek 16: Apollo Junction's Ben Hope 2-3 Sports Mole
Gameweek 17: The Now's Shane Callaghan 3-6 Sports Mole
Gameweek 18: The Farm's Peter Hooton 4-4 Sports Mole
Gameweek 19: N/A
Gameweek 20: The Slow Readers Club's James Ryan 9-14 Sports Mole
Gameweek 21: Alex Spencer 9-7 Sports Mole
Gameweek 22: Better Joy's Bria Keely 9-6 Sports Mole
Gameweek 23: Danko's Lewis White 4-3 Sports Mole
Gameweek 24: Solar Eyes' Glenn Smyth 6-4 Sports Mole
Gameweek 25: HIMALAYAS' Joe Williams 7-8 Sports Mole
Gameweek 26: The Pale White 4-8 Sports Mole
Gameweek 27: Kids Return's Clement 14-22 Sports Mole
Gameweek 28: Mychelle 14-4 Sports Mole
Gameweek 29: PG Ciarletta 3-12 Sports Mole
Gameweek 30: Cardinal Black's Chris Buck 5-7 Sports Mole
Gameweek 31: The Florentinas' Paddy Boyd 9-18 Sports Mole
Gameweek 32: Matilda Shakes' James Hallam 7-5 Sports Mole
Gameweek 33: N/A
Matt Law
