Football Expert Sutton Takes On Singer Olly Murs in Top Flight Forecasts

Arsenal's 10-game winning streak was ended by the Black Cats prior to the global break, but can the Premier League leaders recover against north London rivals Spurs this weekend?

"{I feel like Arsenal are miles ahead of Tottenham at the moment but Spurs boss Thomas Frank will have a plan for this match," remarked soccer expert Chris Sutton.

"The Spurs manager will try to neutralize Arsenal, who have not always been at their sparkling best this season - but Mikel Arteta's team typically still find a way to win."

The analyst is making predictions for all 380 Premier League fixtures this term, against AI, readers and a variety of special visitors.

In week 12, he takes on singer Olly Murs, who is a Manchester United fan.

The singer's latest record, the new release, is available on Friday.

Football and Parenting Life

Olly is a skilled soccer player as well as a successful artist and has been a featured player of several charity football games down the years - but he is not intending a serious return as a player.

"{I actually played in a charity match the other night for a mate of mine," he said. "My team was trailing 3-1 when I came off in the 60th minute, and they went on to win 4-3, so you can read into that what you will!

"I still love football, but I hurt my joint a few years ago and it even now isn't where I want it to be. I hope I could play more but the unpredictability of the game means it's too dangerous for me in my career to do it properly again.

"Plus I am forty-one now, and we are not all Cristiano Ronaldo, are we!? No, I am very happy not playing football and I am gearing up for the time that my daughter or boy decides to play instead."

The singer and his spouse his partner have two children, Madison and Albert, and he is prepared to follow in his father's footsteps by taking on the role of their coach.

"I won't push football on our children but I've already told Amelia that if they happen to get the bug for it then I will have to go and get my coaching badges - and I will probably be coaching their weekend soccer side," he said.

"I observed my nephews play a lot, and I really got into it, and I clearly owned a soccer team for a period too.

"My dad coached with us when I was a child, which is likely where I inherited it. He coached our side for two or three seasons and had great fun with it. That might be the next step for me as well, and I am excited to it!"

Top Division Predictions

Weekend, 22 November

  • Turf Moor, 12:30 GMT

The Blues might have to wait a bit longer for their star's comeback from injury but their offense is now stronger with Joao Pedro and Delap both returned to fitness.

In my opinion this fixture will be fairly tight, though. Burnley are well organised and their only home defeats so far have been against the Reds and Arsenal.

This smells of a 1-1 draw to me, but I am in fact going to choose the London side to edge it for what would be their third consecutive Premier League win in a row.

The expert's prediction: 1-2

The singer's prediction: The Blues will be superior. 1-3

Artificial intelligence's outlook: 0-2

  • Vitality Stadium, 15:00 GMT

Bournemouth have been defeated in their past two games - although both of them were away - but they got thoroughly beaten by Villa last time out which shocked me.

On the other hand, West Ham secured back-to-back victories before the hiatus and, although both of those fixtures were at their stadium, they do look competitive again.

West Ham's sole on the road win this season came at Forest in August, when their boss Nuno was previously that team's coach.

So, what exactly do I go with here - can the Hammers extending their run under Nuno, or the home side responding?

I am going to go with Bournemouth, because I think what happened against Villa was a blip.

The pundit's forecast: 2-0

The guest's outlook: The home team are doing well but the visitors have improved under Nuno. 2-2

The algorithm's prediction: 1-1

  • Amex Stadium, 15:00 GMT

Brentford were seen as one of the frontrunners for relegation before the season started, but they have surprised a few people under Keith Andrews and are in fine fettle with three wins in their last four games.

My son advised me to select Bees striker Thiago in my Fantasy Football squad a few weeks back and, unfortunately, I didn't listen.

Thiago will likely score again on Saturday but I am still not going to pick him or support the away side at Amex Stadium.

The Bees have not had great success on the travel this season, and Brighton are consistently strong at home. Brentford will try to hit them on the break but I feel Fabian Hurzeler's team carry much more of a threat.

The analyst's forecast: 2-1

Olly's prediction: This could be a match where you expect there is going to be a lot of scores but it actually turns out to be rather close. 1-1

The computer's prediction: 2-1

  • Craven Cottage, 15:00 GMT

It is a massive fixture for the Cottagers, who have suffered defeat in five of their last six matches.

They have got plenty of talent in their squad but it still seems like they could be dragged into a relegation fight.

As for the Black Cats, well they are the surprise package of the top flight season so far.

Their performance in the 2-2 draw with Arsenal last time out was excellent. We've not seen any other team disrupt the Gunners like that this season, and they were fully competitive for them.

The sensible thing would be to back the visitors here, because they are obviously able of roughing the hosts up too and, the last time they were in this part of London, they beat Chelsea at the close of October.

However I am not choose that. Instead, I truly need to carry on going against the away team with my forecasts. I am claiming a lot of responsibility for their positive outcomes because they evidently enjoy to prove me wrong.

Looking at the home side's at Craven Cottage form, the sole team they have lost to is Arsenal. Their manager's team will be extremely eager for a positive outcome, so I am going to say they will secure three much-needed points.

The expert's prediction: 1-0

The guest's choice: I know the visitors are performing strongly and additionally that Fulham are on a bad run... but Fulham have nonetheless been decent at home this campaign. 2-0

The algorithm's prediction: 2-0

  • Anfield, 15:00 GMT

This is a hard fixture to call. The Reds have suffered seven of their past 10 matches in all competitions, but might they be among the teams who benefit from the {international break|

Margaret Andersen MD
Margaret Andersen MD

A seasoned casino gaming analyst with over a decade of experience in slot machine mechanics and player psychology.