Remember last Friday evening, when everyone picked defending champions Arsenal to beat new boys Coventry City and every single prediction record was intact? Life was good. Then, just like Manchester United on their trip to Hull City, those records were mauled by 'The Tigers'.

Gameweek 1 of the 2026-27 Premier League season delivered shocks, late drama and a trio of 90th-minute deciders — and now The Athletic's rotating cast of in-house "experts" are back to put their reputations on the line once more for Gameweek 2, this time joined by guest subscriber Matt, 48, a Manchester United fan from London.

Order restored after a weekend of carnage

Promoted Hull's home win against United in Saturday's early kick-off was the first shock result of the season, but it ended up being a weekend full of surprises. Manchester City staged a late comeback to beat Bournemouth on Sunday, but there was heartbreak for the algorithm when Liverpool's Dominik Szoboszlai netted a 99th-minute penalty to deny Newcastle United an opening-day win a couple of hours later.

Elias Burke was the only predictor brave enough to tip Everton to beat Crystal Palace, while Jack Clarke made everyone pay for not backing promoted Ipswich Town, with a 90th-minute winner snatching one point away from Sunderland — and three points away from The Athletic, the Algo and seven-year-old Wilfred. Wilfred celebrated his birthday with the gift of Anton Stach's free-kick brilliance for Leeds United, which snatched a late victory against Nottingham Forest.

The Algo picked Brentford — essentially the algorithm of the Premier League — to defeat Tottenham Hotspur, while the experts and subscriber Ryan both correctly predicted wins for Brighton & Hove Albion against Aston Villa and Chelsea over Fulham.

How it works

Each gameweek, the panel predicts home win, away win or draw across the 10 fixtures, with three points for a correct call — mirroring the Pick 'Ems game fans can play. The picks go up against the Algo, a weekly guest subscriber and Wilfred, now a seven-year-old child. Oliver Kay is joined this season by Elias Burke, Andy Jones and Duncan Alexander in a rotating cast of know-alls.

After gameweek one, The Athletic leads with five correct predictions (15 points) — a lead Andy Jones jokingly hoped would see the series ended early: "That's where we are going to end things for this season. Thanks for playing… … that's what I was hoping the editors would say anyway," he wrote. From this week onwards, the experts also include scoreline predictions after readers said they missed them last season.

Subscriber's match of the week: Manchester United vs Ipswich Town

Andy says: Michael Carrick was probably wondering what the fuss was all about during his successful interim reign as United coach in the second half of last season. Then Hull rocked up on Saturday, punched his side in the nose, and there was little response. "They need to be much improved for their home opener, and it feels like striker Benjamin Sesko, who was on the bench last weekend, providing a focal point will be key," he writes.

Hull's victory overshadowed Ipswich making a winning return to the Premier League themselves — less eye-catching, but effective. The expectation, though, is that United will dust themselves off and not drop more points to a promoted side. Prediction: Home win 2-0.

The rest of the Gameweek 2 fixtures

Crystal Palace vs Manchester City — Away win, 1-2

Enzo Maresca's City found a way to start with three points despite an underwhelming comeback win over Bournemouth. Marc Guehi returns to his former club on Friday night, while the talk is of Erling Haaland's haircut and how long the No 6 experiment lasts. Palace must bounce back from their opening-day defeat at Everton, with ongoing transfer situations involving Ismaila Sarr and Jean-Philippe Mateta not helping Pierre Sage's settling-in process.

Liverpool vs Nottingham Forest — Home win, 2-0

New Liverpool head coach Andoni Iraola would welcome home comforts after an unconvincing draw with Newcastle. Forest, though, have won back-to-back league games at Anfield and are now managed by Oliver Glasner, whose Crystal Palace sides caused Liverpool plenty of problems. Forest will probably just be glad to not be playing Leeds again, having lost to them twice in four days. Newcastle's blueprint gives them hope, but the expectation is an improved Liverpool performance.

Bournemouth vs Everton — Home win, 2-1

Even after switching head coaches, Bournemouth look like Bournemouth — and were 10 minutes away from a huge opening-game victory in Manchester before the late collapse to City. David Moyes oversaw a drama-free winning start for Everton, but the Vitality Stadium had been a place of nightmares for his side until they won there 1-0 last season thanks to a Jack Grealish goal. Bournemouth, meanwhile, haven't lost a home league game since title-bound Arsenal pipped them 3-2 on January 3.

Coventry City vs Hull City — Draw, 1-1

Talk about differing experiences for two promoted sides. Frank Lampard's Coventry were welcomed back with a thump from a Mikel Arteta-shaped hammer, while Oli McBurnie and company looked every bit a team that can compete at the top level against United. Andy notes the two sides played out zero goals across both Championship meetings last season. "Ominous," he writes, but he still sees a share of the points.

Tottenham Hotspur vs Newcastle United — Draw, 2-2

"Spurs can't be as bad here as they were at Brentford, can they?" Newcastle's outlook is far more optimistic than seven days ago after a turbulent summer but a positive opener, with Yoane Wissa finally looking like the £50million player he cost after a debut season to forget. Expect high tempo and goals.

Chelsea vs Brighton & Hove Albion — Draw, 2-2

Fabian Hurzeler could hardly have scripted a better start than Brighton's 4-0 dismantling of Aston Villa — though was it more a reflection of how bad Villa were? Xabi Alonso's front three all scored against Fulham on Monday, but the less said about Robert Sanchez's display the better, with the subsequent signing of Emi Martinez from Aston Villa speaking volumes. Brighton will fancy repeating last season's 3-1 win at Stamford Bridge. "This has all the ingredients of an entertaining contest."

Leeds United vs Brentford — Away win, 0-1

Leeds may have won their first two competitive games, but Keith Andrews appears to be in charge of "the best club team in the world currently (are we getting carried away?)" after Brentford's comprehensive 3-0 victory over Tottenham. Mamadou Sangare's debut seems to be another illustration of Brentford being the smartest guys in the room — but Leeds' confidence and momentum at Elland Road cannot be discounted.

Sunderland vs Fulham — Draw, 1-1

Did everyone hear Jamie Carragher predict Sunderland to finish bottom? Sunderland fell victim to the opening-day-promoted-team-at-home trap against Ipswich, with plenty of the ball but little cutting edge. Fulham were a good watch against Chelsea, with new coach Alvaro Arbeloa pleased by Josh King's performance — the challenge is sustaining those levels beyond first-game adrenaline.

Aston Villa vs Arsenal — Away win, 1-3

One of Arsenal's most difficult fixtures in recent seasons — they lost at Villa Park last year thanks to an Emiliano Buendia 95th-minute winner. But aside from him, Unai Emery's squad has been ripped apart over the summer, and Villa must be in the running for 'Most unprepared team entering the season' after their sobering 4-0 defeat at Brighton. Arsenal, meanwhile, cruised past Coventry and look as prepared as a title defence demands. A Villa siege mentality at the first home game feels "unlikely to be enough."

Full Gameweek 2 prediction card

• Manchester United vs Ipswich Town — Home win, 2-0
• Crystal Palace vs Manchester City — Away win, 1-2
• Liverpool vs Nottingham Forest — Home win, 2-0
• Bournemouth vs Everton — Home win, 2-1
• Coventry City vs Hull City — Draw, 1-1
• Tottenham Hotspur vs Newcastle United — Draw, 2-2
• Chelsea vs Brighton & Hove Albion — Draw, 2-2
• Leeds United vs Brentford — Away win, 0-1
• Sunderland vs Fulham — Draw, 1-1
• Aston Villa vs Arsenal — Away win, 1-3

With the experts already five for five in gameweek one, the pressure is on to hold their lead — but after last week's shocks, nobody is counting their points before they're banked.