Chris Sutton‘s Premier League score predictions for this week have been revealed and as always he’s joined by a guest.
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 Apollo, real name Alex Gray, from the BBC show Gladiators, who is a Newcastle supporter. AI predictions are also generated using Microsoft Copilot Chat.
LEEDS v NOTTINGHAM FOREST
I am at this game and we are getting to the stage where it really matters how the teams fighting relegation do in their head-to-head-battles like this.
I think the bottom two, Wolves and Burnley are down, but you don’t know what West Ham will do from here.
There are signs they may click, so with Leeds and Nottingham Forest both on 26 points, this is big for both of them.
From a Leeds point of view, their home form has carried them a lot this season.
They got walloped at Elland Road by Arsenal last weekend but they just have to put that behind them for this game because, as the season has gone on, they have proved they can be competitive.
Forest’s away form is actually better than their home form – they have picked up 14 points on the road compared to 12 at the City Ground, in the same number of games.
Sean Dyche’s side were comfortable with 10 men in the draw against Crystal Palace last time out and they have won their past two away games, against Brentford and the Hammers. Overall, they are unbeaten in four league games, which is the longest they have gone without losing all season.
As you can see, I’ve looked into all the stats for you – but will my research help me get my prediction right? Probably not.
This is going to be a very tight affair and Forest won’t worry about having much possession, but scoring goals has been a bigger problem for them because they have missed Chris Wood badly – only Wolves have scored fewer than them.
Forest have brought in 6ft 7in striker Lorenzo Lucca on loan from Napoli to try to fill the gap left by Wood’s long-term knee injury but he has not been in great form in Serie A this season.
So, after a great deal of thought, I am going to back Leeds at home – although now I’ve said that it will probably end up as a 1-1 draw.
Sutton’s prediction: 2-1
Apollo’s prediction: When I looked at the fixtures I was thinking about who in the Gladiators supports who. Two of the guys, Giant and Hammer, are big Forest fans so I am going for a Leeds win here. It should be a good game though. 3-2
AI’s prediction: 2-1
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MAN UTD v TOTTENHAM
Manchester United were slightly fortunate to beat Fulham last time out. A draw would have been about right.
Still, it was big for Benjamin Sesko to get their winner and I have got to say he put it away very nicely, especially because he should have scored with a header earlier in the game.
Tottenham, meanwhile, produced a great comeback against Manchester City. I’ve talked about how much I rate Dominic Solanke and when he is up for Spurs, they are in a much better place as a team.
There is a danger of getting carried away with United under Michael Carrick, and I am expecting Solanke to score again here, but it still feels like United will find a way to win it.
Sutton’s prediction: 2-1
Apollo’s prediction: Tottenham have an affinity with the NFL and I’ve been to a couple of games there so I am backing them here. 0-1
AI’s prediction: 2-2
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BOURNEMOUTH v ASTON VILLA
Losing back-to-back home league games against Everton and Brentford has been a real killer for Aston Villa, who have so many injuries to contend with in their midfield.
After a long wait for a win, Bournemouth have now won three of their past four league games – and I make them favourites at home here.
Villa thumped the Cherries 4-0 at Villa Park in November, and I have got a lot of their players in my Fantasy team, but this is going to be a very different game.
I’ve gone for 2-1 wins in my first two games and I don’t really want to go for that scoreline again here, but I feel like I have no choice. I do think Villa will score – Morgan Rogers is always dangerous and Tammy Abraham is a clever signing up front – but Bournemouth will edge it.
Sutton’s prediction: 2-1
Apollo’s prediction: It’s great for Villa to be in a title race. 1-2
AI’s prediction: 1-2
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ARSENAL v SUNDERLAND
I am not going to say 2-1 for this one. Instead it will be another Arsenal clean sheet – they have already kept 12 in their first 24 league games, two more than any other team.
It’s a shame Sunderland midfielder Granit Xhaka is not fit to face his old club at the Emirates. When he played for the Black Cats against Arsenal in their draw at the Stadium of Light, they were the first team I saw who really rattled the Gunners.
Xhaka’s experience has helped to glue together a Sunderland side with a lot of young players this season, but they coped all right without him against Burnley on Monday.
This is a much tougher game for them, obviously, and Sunderland’s away form is nowhere near as strong as it is at home.
Arsenal swept Leeds aside 4-0 last weekend, when everyone thought they were having a bit of a blip.
They showed their strength in depth at Elland Road, when they lost Bukayo Saka in the warm-up, and I can see them winning comfortably this time too.
Sutton’s prediction: 2-0
Apollo’s prediction: This is very easy for me because Legend and Fire both support Arsenal and are real die-hard fans – Legend even has a cannon tattoo – so being absolutely honest I would love Sunderland to win, and do it for the north-east! 0-2
AI’s prediction: 4-0
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BURNLEY v WEST HAM
I think Burnley are down but this is their chance to prove me wrong.
They need it to be – they are at home, against a team one place above them in the table, so this is their big chance to end their long wait for a win.
I just don’t see it happening for the Clarets, though.
As I said earlier, I am not sure which West Ham side will turn up but they have shown some improvement recently, especially in attack.
I don’t think the Hammers will keep a clean sheet because they have had only one all season – the fewest by any top-flight team – but I don’t see Burnley beating them.
Sutton’s prediction: 1-1
Apollo’s prediction: My cousins are lifelong Burnley fans and season-ticket holders so if I didn’t back them here, I’d be in a lot of trouble. The former NFL player, JJ Watt, is a co-owner of the club too, so for the NFL links and family ties, it’s got to be a home win. 2-1
AI’s prediction: 1-2
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FULHAM v EVERTON
Everton asked about Fulham forward Harry Wilson on deadline day.
He has been a revelation this season and they won’t be looking forward to facing him on Saturday.
The Toffees have got something after falling behind in their past three league games, including the last-gasp equaliser against Brighton that saw poor David Moyes booked for his celebration – there is no way you should get a yellow card for that.
This is going to be another close game and it smells of another 2-1 to me, but I am not going to go down that road again this week.
Instead, I’m going for a different scoreline but sticking with a narrow Fulham win. Marco Silva will feel his side deserved something from Old Trafford and it will be him celebrating at the final whistle this week, not Moyes.
Sutton’s prediction: 1-0
Apollo’s prediction: We don’t like draws in the NFL but this might up all-square. 1-1
AI’s prediction: 1-1
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WOLVES v CHELSEA
Chelsea were accused of being too negative in their Carabao Cup semi-final defeat by Arsenal in midweek, but I can’t see that being the case here.
I was far too optimistic about Wolves last week when I said they would draw with Bournemouth and I am not making the same mistake this time.
The games have been coming thick and fast for Chelsea and I actually admire their manager Liam Rosenior for the way he changed things up in their 3-2 comeback win over West Ham after being 2-0 down.
Wolves boss Rob Edwards has probably got one eye on preparing for next season in the Championship, and his side will be one step nearer to that after this game.
Sutton’s prediction: 1-2
Apollo’s prediction: I went to a couple of Chelsea games when I lived in London and they will get the job done here. 1-2
AI’s prediction: 1-2
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NEWCASTLE v BRENTFORD
You just wonder how much Newcastle have got left in the tank after their Carabao Cup semi-final defeat at Manchester City on Wednesday.
The Magpies have a few injuries to contend with too, with Anthony Gordon the latest player to be sidelined, so they will have to dig deep and hope Bruno Guimaraes is back fit in time for this game.
Brentford got one heck of a win last time out at Villa, and their manager Keith Andrews deserves a lot of credit for getting that result despite being down to 10 men for the entire second half.
The Bees are always so well organised at the back, and how Eddie Howe’s side try to break them down will be the key to this one.
As good as Newcastle striker Nick Woltemade is with his back to goal, he doesn’t run in behind.
Doing that, and attacking with pace, is how Eddie Howe’s side look the most dangerous – Harvey Barnes and Anthony Elanga will have to do that here, and I fancy Yoane Wissa to score against his former club.
Sutton’s prediction: 3-1
Apollo on why he supports Newcastle: I am from a small town in County Durham – my grandmother went to school with Sir Bobby Robson – so I had the choice of Newcastle, Sunderland or Middlesbrough. I know it is absolute blasphemy to say this, but I like to see all the north-east clubs do well.
Newcastle are my team though, because that’s who I went to watch first – I went to see them against Ipswich in 2000, and Alan Shearer scored a couple – and it is my city as well. I played rugby for them and I lived there. It’s a fantastic place and it’s even better when the team is going well.
Apollo’s prediction: This is going to be a Newcastle win, it’s just a case of how much. Brentford’s performance coach Ben Ryan used to coach me for England Sevens, then he went to Fiji and got a gold medal at the 2016 Olympics, so it would be nice to get one over him as well. 3-1
AI’s prediction: 2-1
BRIGHTON v CRYSTAL PALACE
Palace have brought in Jorgen Strand Larsen, and kept Jean-Philippe Mateta, so Eagles boss Oliver Glasner has got some options up front.
I normally predict a draw in this game, and it ended up 0-0 at Selhurst Park in November. This time, though, I fancy Brighton.
The Seagulls didn’t quite get over the line against Everton, but them conceding late on actually won me some points. I am going for them to keep a clean sheet here though.
Sutton’s prediction: 2-0
Apollo’s prediction: Palace to edge it. 0-1
AI’s prediction: 2-1
www.fanbanter.co.uk – Fan reaction to the latest football news, gossip & funnies
LIVERPOOL v MAN CITY
It will be interesting to see if Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola starts with Omar Marmoush up front ahead of Erling Haaland after his two goals against Newcastle in midweek, but their attack looks strong anyway with Rayan Cherki and Antoine Semenyo in the team.
The same applies to Liverpool, who have got a striker in form in Hugo Ekitike, while Florian Wirtz is playing with confidence too.
City will have moments where they will create chances, but Liverpool are going to have opportunities at the other end as well – there will be a few goals in this game.
Sutton’s prediction: 2-2
Apollo’s prediction: This is the ‘Super Bowl’ game of the weekend in the Premier League so I’ve gone for an NFL-type score as well as a football one. 22-31 (2-3)
AI’s prediction: 2-2
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