Chris Sutton‘s FA Cup quarter final score predictions 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 boxer and Crystal Palace fan Richard Riakporhe. AI predictions are also generated using Microsoft Copilot Chat.
MAN CITY v LIVERPOOL
It seems a section of Liverpool fans are not convinced by Arne Slot, and the Reds’ poor Premier League form before the international break has put him under more pressure.
Liverpool have taken one point from their past three games and their last performance, in an away defeat at Brighton, was really insipid.
I still think it would be extremely harsh if they end up parting ways after the guy won them the title in his first year in the job but this feels like a huge week or two for Slot, and for Liverpool’s whole campaign, with the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final against Paris St-Germain to come in France on Wednesday.
Right now, Liverpool are miles off the team they were last season and beating City probably feels more achievable than getting past PSG.
I’m not convinced they will do it though, and if they end up going out of both competitions in the space of 10 days then the Liverpool fans are going to be even more disgruntled.
City are already out of Europe, and it will be hard, but not impossible, for them to win the Premier League from here, but Pep has already landed the Carabao Cup and he always takes the FA Cup seriously anyway.
They are looking to extend their own record by reaching the semi-final for the eighth successive season and, if they get to the final, they will be the first team to make it to four in a row.
City could really do with getting Erling Haaland firing again, while this is Liverpool’s first game since Mohamed Salah announced he will be leaving at the end of the season.
There are so many different ways to look at this tie, and who might step up to win it for either team, but City are at home and they have also beaten Liverpool twice already this season in the league. I just have a feeling they will take this one as well.
Sutton’s prediction: 3-1
Richard’s prediction: City are going to win this in 90 minutes. They are just lucky they don’t have to face Palace in the cup again, although we do still have to play them for their game in hand in the league. 2-1
AI’s prediction: 2-1
www.fanbanter.co.uk – Fan reaction to the latest football news, gossip & funnies
CHELSEA v PORT VALE
If Liverpool’s tie against Manchester City is important for Slot, then this game is even bigger for Chelsea boss Liam Rosenior.
Ever since he was appointed in January, there has always been an element of Chelsea fans who don’t think Rosenior is the right man to take them forward – but losing their past four games in a row in all competitions has certainly not helped his cause.
Yes, you can say they have been beaten by European champions PSG in two of those matches, but I still expected them to get a result at home to Newcastle and then Everton absolutely blew them away.
If Rosenior loses this tie too, then the alarm bells would really be ringing at Stamford Bridge. It is a game where he cannot afford to slip up, but I also feel like he needs a performance to go with the win everyone is expecting.
Wycombe beat Port Vale 4-0 on Saturday so Chelsea surely have to at least match that scoreline before they focus on the league again, with two more crucial home games coming up against Manchester City and Manchester United.
Vale are toiling at the bottom of League One and so far on this cup run I have wrongly predicted they will lose to Fleetwood, Bristol City and Sunderland.
The good news for Vale fans and their manager Jon Brady is that I am going to predict they will lose this time too.
Their aim will be to stay in the game as long as they can and try to nick a goal, but the circumstances mean Rosenior will probably pick a strong team and Chelsea will have too much quality for them.
Sutton’s prediction: 4-0
Richard’s prediction: Port Vale have done so well to get here. I wouldn’t say it’s impossible for them to win at Stamford Bridge, but it’s very unlikely they will get through. 3-0
AI’s prediction: 3-0
www.fanbanter.co.uk – Fan reaction to the latest football news, gossip & funnies
SOUTHAMPTON v ARSENAL
Southampton are going really well in the Championship and are unbeaten in 14 games in all competitions, although I have got to say Norwich played them off the park despite losing 1-0 in March.
Saints got very lucky in that game and they are going to need an element of luck here too – although I am not sure Arsenal will have enough fit players to put out a team because of the injury crisis that affected them during the international break.
The Gunners have got a Champions League tie on the horizon too – they play Sporting on Tuesday – but the most important thing for Mikel Arteta’s side is that they get back on track after losing the Carabao Cup final last time out.
Arsenal were second best in the second half at Wembley and although Arteta might save a few players for the trip to Portugal, he has to take this tie seriously and find a way to win. If they lose it, people are going to start talking about Arsenal’s bottle again.
St Mary’s Stadium has sold out and Saints are looking to mark the 50th anniversary of their famous FA Cup final triumph over Manchester United by heading back to Wembley for the semi-finals.
I don’t see them making it, however. Instead I am going for the same scoreline we saw when these sides met in the 2003 final, and Arsenal came out on top.
Sutton’s prediction: 0-1
Richard’s prediction: Southampton are in great form but knocking out Arsenal is a big ask. Arsenal’s defence is on point, so I don’t even think they will concede. 0-2
AI’s prediction: 1-3
www.fanbanter.co.uk – Fan reaction to the latest football news, gossip & funnies
WEST HAM v LEEDS
The most intriguing thing about this tie is how both teams are going to approach it.
They are both in the thick of the relegation battle at the bottom of the table and will surely have at least one eye on that, rather than being fully focused on the FA Cup.
Leeds don’t play in the league until the following Monday, when they go to Old Trafford, but West Ham are back in action on Friday, at home to bottom side Wolves.
Out of the two games, Wolves is surely the one that Hammers boss Nuno Espirito Santo will prioritise, because it has to be seen as ‘must win’ for them – but you could argue Leeds manager Daniel Farke will do the same before his side play Manchester United too.
The one thing both teams definitely don’t want here is extra time, and what usually happens in that scenario is that the tie goes the distance.
So, that’s what I am going to say we will see here, too. You won’t be able to split the teams over 90 minutes, but then Leeds will be the ones who find a winner.
Sutton’s prediction: 1-2 after extra time.
Richard’s prediction: This is a tough game to call, the hardest tie to predict. I can see there being a lot of goals. It is going to be 3-2 to someone, but I am not sure who. West Ham to win it late on… no, actually, I am going to go for Leeds. 2-3
AI’s prediction: 2-2 after extra time, West Ham win on penalties.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login