In this paper, we present and analyze a predictive closed-loop power control (CLPC) scheme which employs a comb-type sample arrangement to effectively compensate multiple power control group (PCG) delays over mobile fading channels. We consider both least squares and recursive least squares filters in our CLPC scheme. The effects of channel estimation error, prediction filter error, and power control bit transmission error on the performance of the proposed CLPC method along with competing non-predictive and predictive CLPC schemes are thoroughly investigated. Our results clearly indicate the superiority of the proposed scheme with its improved robustness under non-ideal conditions. Furthermore, we carry out a Monte-Carlo simulation study of a 55 square grid cellular network and evaluate the user capacity. Capacity improvements up to 90% are observed for a typical cellular network scenario.