Chris Sutton‘s Premier League score predictions have been revealed and as always he’s joined by some guests for the latest batch.
The BBC pundit replaced Mark Lawrenson in trying to correctly pick the correct scores for every game against a variety of guests.
Nottingham born Chris Sutton played as a striker for the likes of Norwich, Blackburn, Chelsea, Celtic, Birmingham, Aston Villa, Wroxham and England, before managing Lincoln City.
For this week, he takes on DJ & producer Sherelle, who is an Arsenal fan.
BRENTFORD v BRIGHTON
Brighton have had a bit of a dip in form and started conceding a few goals, so their hopes of breaking into the top five are probably gone now.
Even so, the 10th-placed Seagulls are one of those teams where just when you think about writing them off, they will come up with a performance and wallop someone.
I don’t expect that to happen on Saturday, however. Brentford are only one place below them in the table and although they are not on a great run either, the Bees are always hard to beat.
The more I think about it, the more it smells of a draw. I am pretty sure the BBC readers are going to go for a draw too, so we all agree on this one.
Sutton’s prediction: 1-1
Sherelle’s prediction: It was annoying to draw with Brentford last week but they are always a tricky team to play against. In regards to this game I have a feeling it might turn out to be a bit of a snore-fest because they will cancel each other out. 1-1
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CRYSTAL PALACE v BOURNEMOUTH
I was at St James’ Park on Wednesday and Newcastle were brilliant in their 5-0 win over Crystal Palace, especially on the break.
The Eagles should really have levelled after going 1-0 down, but Eberechi Eze made a mess of his penalty and the game was over by half-time.
It has been a bad week for Palace, who also conceded five goals against Manchester City on Saturday, and how can I back them after they have shipped 10 goals in two games?
I am not exactly convinced by Bournemouth either, though. They ended a poor run by beating Fulham on Monday but they have looked a little tired of late, and don’t have as much firepower as Newcastle or Manchester City.
My concern about Palace is how passive they looked against the Magpies. They need a response to that poor performance, and I think we might get one from them at Selhurst Park. Surely Eze can’t play as badly again.
Sutton’s prediction: 1-1
Sherelle’s prediction: I’ve got a friend who is a Palace fan so I was enjoying their good run, well until this week anyhow. Bournemouth won at Selhurst Park last season but I am going for Palace to bounce back here. 2-1
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EVERTON v MAN CITY
I am at this game for Radio 5 Live and am looking forward to it. It is so hard to call, because of where both teams are at.
Everton will work hard, of course, but they are also very capable of winning this if they are as ‘in your face’ as they can be, and upset City’s rhythm.
If Pep Guardiola’s side play like they did against Nottingham Forest a few weeks ago, and don’t really get going, then they are going to get turned over.
On the other hand, City really caught fire after almost going 3-0 down against Palace last week. If they play like that, they will win – but you are never quite sure what you are going to get from them in each half at the moment, let alone game to game.
So, it is hard to know how the game will pan out. Everton will not be overly expansive or bothered about possession and will pick their moments when they throw Abdoulaye Doucoure forward.
They will be direct and Beto will run in behind, and I definitely see them scoring, but I am still going with City to edge this, somehow. They have to, really, because they are under pressure to make the top five.
I held the record for the fastest goal scored at Goodison in its 132-year history until Doucoure scored after 10.18 seconds against Leicester in February, beating my effort for Blackburn after 12.94 seconds in 1995.
That’s still the fastest goal scored there by an away player, though, so hopefully no-one manages a quicker one before the end of the season – especially when I am there to talk about it as co-commentator.
Sutton’s prediction: 1-2
Sherelle’s prediction: Everton are quite annoying in that they are difficult to break down. I actually think they will score first, but City are on a relatively good run and they have shown recently they can respond if they go behind. 1-3
WEST HAM v SOUTHAMPTON
Speaking of records, already-relegated Southampton are still trying to avoid taking one away from Robbie Savage’s Derby for the lowest Premier League points tally.
They need a point from their final six games to make it to 11 points and equal the Rams’ total from 2007-08, but they are not going to get it here.
West Ham are not in any danger of going down but they will still certainly not want to finish 17th, which is where they are right now.
They were decent against Liverpool last time out, and still lost, but they won’t have to play as well as they did at Anfield to take three points this time.
Hammers boss Graham Potter could really do with a win, because their fans will want to finish a forgettable season with a bit of optimism, and they should have something to smile about on Saturday.
As for the loyal and long-suffering Southampton fans, well I’ve said before how miserable this season has been for them. I think I’d have switched to supporting Bournemouth, Brighton or even Portsmouth by now.
Being serious, I’ve got a lot of admiration for the travelling fans that have stuck with them through this, and I guess the consolation here is that they won’t have a long journey back from London to the south coast.
Sutton’s prediction: 2-0
Sherelle’s prediction: This might be another snooze-fest, because both teams have nothing to play for. 0-0
ASTON VILLA v NEWCASTLE
Newcastle are the Premier League’s momentum monsters, especially since winning the Carabao Cup, but their excellent form goes back further than that.
Seventh-placed Aston Villa are also in great shape, on a run of four successive league wins, and although they lost the tie overall, they were sensational in the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final against Paris St-Germain.
Villa’s comeback on the night, to win 3-2 after falling 2-0 down, took me by surprise but they really showed what they are made of. I think PSG will win this season’s Champions League, but Villa pushed them all the way.
This is going to be a cracking game, and also a feisty one with what is at stake in the top-five race. Who or what decides it might come down to fine margins, and who makes the most of their chances, because both teams are going to get opportunities.
Villa will score, whoever they play up top, although maybe they should take Marco Asensio off penalties. He missed two spot-kicks last weekend against Southampton after I told everyone to watch out for him on the Fantasy 606 pod, which sums up my FPL season and predicting ability in one fell swoop.
You could make an argument for both teams here, but I am going with Newcastle, because of how good they were when I watched them at St James’ Park on Wednesday to beat Palace 5-0.
Harvey Barnes was electric, just unbelievably good down the left, and the same goes for Jacob Murphy on the other flank – his opening goal was absolutely amazing, because who shoots from there?
With those two playing the way they are, Newcastle are going to keep on winning.
Sutton’s prediction: 1-2
Sherelle’s prediction: Villa put in a really big stretch against PSG and Newcastle are in such amazing form. There will be goals in this one, and I fancy Newcastle to edge it. 2-3
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FULHAM v CHELSEA
They drew at home to Ipswich last week, for example. I laughed when I saw my guest, Yizzy, had put the Tractor Boys down to get a point but that ended up being the result that killed me.
From what boss Enzo Maresca has said since then, by asking the fans to trust him and saying the players are affected by the crowd, everyone seems to be feeling the pressure.
He was questioning the fans, but also his players’ temperament. If you think about how many millions have been spent on that squad, then if they don’t have the strength of character to play the way their manager wants, then heaven help them in the long run.
This is probably going to be another score draw but I seem to get Fulham wrong whatever I say.
They deserved to get something from their defeat at Bournemouth on Monday, and I am going with them to get a repeat of their win at Stamford Bridge in December.
Sutton’s prediction: 2-1
Sherelle’s prediction: Chelsea should win this one but they are so inconsistent. I find it fascinating, to be honest, because they have got so many good players. 1-0
IPSWICH v ARSENAL
Arsenal will be on such a high after their Champions League win over Real Madrid.
I am covering this game and while Arteta will probably rest a few players and freshen things up, the Gunners will still have too much nous for Ipswich.
It probably summed up Ipswich’s season that they went 2-0 up against Chelsea last time out and could not see out the win, but they deserve credit for giving it a good go.
Ipswich were pretty stubborn when they lost 1-0 at Emirates Stadium in December and I am expecting them to show some resilience this time too, even if they end up with the same result.
Sutton’s prediction: 0-2
Sherelle’s prediction: We are probably going to rest players and my gut feeling is we might actually draw this – I am not going to say that though! 0-1
Sherelle on Arsenal’s Premier League campaign: It’s been quite humbling for us to mix beating Real with drawing with Everton and Brentford in the past couple of weeks, but I get why we have rested players in those games to prioritise that tie.
This season has been really difficult in the Premier League full-stop though, partly because of the injuries we have had. It is frustrating because there is so much that is so good about us at the moment. Our defence, for example is the best in the Premier League. There is something missing, though, and maybe it is very specific like a specialist striker, or the mentality you need to get over the line.
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MAN UTD v WOLVES
Wolves have already beaten Manchester United once this season and, on current form, they are favourites this time too.
Vitor Pereira’s side are flying with four straight wins, and we know how inconsistent United are.
I am going to give Bruno Fernandes a goal, because he has been one of the few United players who can hold their head up high with their performances this season, but at the moment Wolves look well-balanced, and they are the better team.
United’s whole campaign is still hanging on what happens in the Europa League and we will have to wait and see whether their incredible late comeback to beat Lyon on Thursday to reach the semi-finals changes anything about their awful Premier League form.
I am sorry to say this but I am expecting their fans to have another miserable afternoon at Old Trafford, where they have already lost more league games (seven) than they have won (six) this season.
Sutton’s prediction: 1-3
Sherelle’s prediction: I still don’t get why United are having such a bad time. They should be doing much better with the players they have got, but they are very up and down. Wolves will be confident of beating them again. 0-1
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LEICESTER v LIVERPOOL
Leicester ended their long losing run with a draw at Brighton last weekend, but I’m afraid another defeat is on its way for the Foxes here.
Liverpool were as limp as anything against West Ham last time out, but they still got over the line. They could be even limper against Leicester, and they will still win to move even closer to the title.
Sutton’s prediction: 0-3
Sherelle’s prediction: This should be easy for Liverpool and they are probably going to win but, from an Arsenal perspective, I’d love this to be a draw. 2-2
TOTTENHAM v NOTTINGHAM FOREST
Tottenham getting past Eintracht Frankfurt in the Europa League to reach the semi-finals means their stadium will be absolutely buzzing with relief and jubilation.
But Nottingham Forest are the counter-attack kings and they have the tools to get another win like the one they got over Spurs at the City Ground in December, where they had 30% of possession and still won 1-0.
Forest have hit a bit of a blip of late, though, and they don’t appear to be quite the same force they were a few weeks ago.
They are desperate for a win to get their top-five bid back on track and Nuno Espirito Santo’s would love to get it on his return to Tottenham, where he did not last long as manager, but a draw feels more likely to me.
Sutton’s prediction: 1-1
Sherelle’s prediction: Tottenham can be a really good team but there are some sides that have a winning mentality, and Spurs just don’t. 0-0
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