Taking part in our Five A-Side feature on Matchweek 2 of the 2026/27 Premier League season is Maddox Jones.
Five A-Side sees us put five questions to our artists ahead of the upcoming Premier League round of games. Four questions relate to the games taking place in the top flight that weekend, with the fifth centred around the team they support, whatever league they happen to be in. They’ll earn points for each correct answer, and we’ll keep track of every artist’s progress. Matchweek 1 of the season saw The Crooks score 4 out of a possible 15 points.
Having first found success as frontman of The Departure, earning four UK Top 40 singles and sharing stages with artists including The Killers and Placebo, Maddox Jones burst onto the scene as a solo artist in 2020 with the critically acclaimed EP, Headspace, which reached #4 in the iTunes Singer-Songwriter chart. Most recently, the Northamptonshire-based singer-songwriter joined forces with German dance producer Gummy DJ for their electrifying new single, ‘Somebody Like You’, a soaring EDM anthem that pairs festival-ready energy with heartfelt emotion. You can listen to the track on our New Releases playlist on Spotify.
Maddox is a supporter of Premier League giants Manchester United, however he is a more recent convert to the Red Devils:
“I actually haven’t always been massively into football. I’d always kept a little eye on it and followed what was going on, but I properly started getting into it around the time Ole Gunnar Solskjær came in as Manchester United manager. From there, I started watching more games, getting more invested and naturally ended up supporting United. So I definitely can’t be accused of being a glory supporter!
It’s been an interesting time to get into United, to say the least, but once you start supporting them, you’re in it for the long haul.”
Five A-Side: Premier League Matchweek 2: Maddox Jones
- Nailed on win this weekend (1 point) – Liverpool at home to Nottingham Forest: “Forest had a good result on the opening weekend, but I think Anfield will be a completely different proposition. Liverpool will be keen to put things right after dropping points in their first game, and I think they’ll have too much quality going forward. I’m going for Liverpool 3-0 Nottingham Forest.”
- Shock win of the weekend (2 points) – Sunderland to beat Fulham: “Sunderland showed on the opening weekend that they’re not going to be intimidated by being back in the Premier League, even though they ultimately lost to Ipswich. They’ll have taken plenty of confidence from the performance, and I think they could surprise Fulham. I’ll say Sunderland 2-1 Fulham.”
- Most likely game to see a red card given in (3 points, bonus point if guess player who is sent off) – Tottenham v Newcastle: “It feels like one of those fixtures where there could be a lot of emotion, tackles flying in and players getting frustrated. Both teams will be looking to bounce back, so I can see it getting pretty spicy. If I had to pick someone to see red, I’ll go with Sandro Tonali, probably after one tackle that’s just a little bit too enthusiastic!”
- Wildcard prediction for the weekend (4pts) – A stoppage-time goal that completely changes the result of one of the games: “After the drama of the opening weekend, I feel like we’re going to get another ridiculous Premier League moment. If I had to pick a game for it, I’d go for Chelsea v Brighton because I can see that being much more open and chaotic than people expect.”
- Prediction for Man Utd’s game at home to Ipswich (3pts for correct result, 2pts for correct scoreline) – United to win 3-1: “Obviously, losing the opening game wasn’t the start any United fan would have wanted, so there’s already a bit of pressure going into this one. At the same time, I don’t think you can judge the whole season off one game, especially with so much still to settle. Ipswich will come into it with confidence, so United definitely can’t take them lightly, but I’m expecting a much more aggressive performance from United.
“I think playing at home should make a difference, and hopefully we’ll see United create plenty of chances and look more dangerous going forward. I’m feeling confident that we’ll get the win, but I don’t think it’ll necessarily be completely comfortable.”
