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Premier League predictions: Chris Sutton v singer-songwriter Mychelle

Published 3 weeks ago10 minute read
in charge of Wolves, and beating them again at home to get their second win this week would be huge when you consider they had only won three of their first 29 league games.

My head is not exactly convinced that will happen, if I am being entirely honest, even though Wolves' best player Matheus Cunha is still out suspended.

Mr Fields would probably prefer me not to tip Town to win anyway because I have usually been wrong when I've done that in the past, but I am going to say they will get over the line because I want him to be happy.

Sutton's prediction: 2-1

Mychelle's prediction: I am going with the home team again here. Ipswich played well against Bournemouth, and they really need this too. 2-1

Bournemouth are out of the FA Cup and have picked up only one point from their past five league games. They have had a good season, and beaten all the teams in the top five apart from Liverpool, but it is in danger of fizzling out.

That would be a shame, and not just for their players. Cherries boss Andoni Iraola could do with a strong finish to the campaign to ensure his reputation continues to grow.

It finished 1-1 when these two sides met at the Vitality Stadium before Christmas and I am pretty sure the BBC readers will go for a draw this time too.

West Ham have struggled at home of late, losing three of their past four there, with their only win coming against Leicester.

Bournemouth's form doesn't suggest they will take the points either, but I am not sitting on the fence like I expect you lot will.

Sutton's prediction: 1-2

Mychelle's prediction: I know I am going for all the home teams but I do think West Ham will have more energy and will go for it a bit more. 1-0

Nottingham Forest are flying, but so are Aston Villa - they have now won six on the spin in all competitions.

Forest nicked the points late on at the City Ground when Villa went there in December, coming from 1-0 down after 87 minutes to win it in stoppage time.

This will be just as close, and I cannot really call a winner.

Even if they do drop points here, I am still confident Forest will finish in the Champions League places.

We saw again when they beat Manchester United on Tuesday that they are not bothered about possession because of their threat on the break and Anthony Elanga's winner in that game was one of my favourite goals of the season.

The way he took it was really intelligent, because he had the option to pop the ball out to the left but the United back-line kept backing off, and he just kept on going. His finish was devastating too and, overall, it reminded me of me in my pomp with the way I used to drive up the pitch.

It's going to be harder for Aston Villa to make the top five, because they still have the Champions League and FA Cup to think about, but they are on a great run and, at the moment, they have the depth in the squad they need even if they make changes here before they face Paris-St Germain next week.

I don't think Villa boss Unai Emery will prioritise any of the three competitions. They are in them all, so he will go for it in all three - and so he should.

Sutton's prediction: 1-1

Mychelle's prediction: I have not gone for a home win here - Villa will give them a good game, but Forest are playing so well. 0-1

Chelsea's issue has been consistency - they played well to beat Tottenham on Thursday but can they back it up here? I am not sure.

Brentford are another team I have struggled to get right this season, but I'd always back them to score.

I have feeling this is going to be an open game with a few goals. A win would be big for Chelsea in their push for a top-five finish, but I don't think they will get it.

Sutton's prediction: 2-2

Mychelle's prediction: Brentford are a good side but of course I am going to back Chelsea! We are a young team and I feel like we are improving all the time - I am really excited about next season but the target for now is to make the Champions League places and win the Europa Conference League, and I think we can do both. 1-2

Fulham gave Liverpool a real test when they drew at Anfield earlier in the season.

Yes, Arne Slot's side had Andy Robertson sent off early on, but they were already a goal down by then. It took a huge effort for them to rescue a point with 10 men, but they have shown that kind of character plenty of times this season, to get something from a game when they have not played well.

Fulham made things difficult for Arsenal on Tuesday and I am expecting them to do the same here because they are very capable on the counter-attack.

They might even give Liverpool another big scare here but, with what is at stake, I still think the leaders will be fully focused and get the job done again, like they did against Everton.

Mohamed Salah against Fulham's Antonee Robinson will be a key battle, and maybe Salah will make the difference in the end - he is certainly due a big performance.

Sutton's prediction: 1-2

Mychelle's prediction: Fulham will give this a good go, but I don't think they can stop Liverpool's momentum. 1-3

It was almost a big week for Southampton, who would have surpassed the Premier League's record lowest-points total, currently held by Robbie Savage's Derby County, if they had held on to beat Crystal Palace on Wednesday.

They came agonisingly close and in many ways I would take a Saints victory here, just so I can enjoy hosting 606 with Robbie between now and the end of the season.

You will probably all have heard him recently, banging on about what a job he has done to take big-budget Macclesfield to promotion from the Northern Premier League, but I'd like to balance things a little bit with him hanging on to his record.

I can't see Southampton taking three points here, though, even if the two other teams in the bottom three have already gone to Tottenham and won.

Spurs won 5-0 at St Mary's before Christmas, in Russell Martin's final game as Saints boss.

Ange Postecoglou's side are not playing well, so they won't score as many this time, but it should still be very comfortable for them and they might even keep a clean sheet.

Sutton's prediction: 3-0

Mychelle's prediction: I don't think Spurs are playing well enough to get another big scoreline here. 1-0

Manchester United are short of goals, and I don't understand why Ruben Amorim went with Joshua Zirkzee to lead their attack ahead of Rasmus Hojlund in Tuesday's defeat at Nottingham Forest.

I see Hojlund as a number nine, while Zirkzee is a nine-and-a-half to a 10 - anything but a centre-forward. It cannot be helping Hojlund's confidence, because it is quite obvious Amorim doesn't fancy him when he is desperate for results and he is not picking him.

People are saying United played well against Nottingham Forest on Tuesday, and they dominated the ball, but they looked a bigger threat when Harry Maguire came on at the end of the game.

Is there a chance of big Harry playing up front from the start here? That would be funny, but it is not going to happen.

Manchester City will have to try something different in their attack too, with Erling Haaland out injured.

They have not clicked often enough this season, especially in the bigger games, and I still don't feel you can trust them to turn up the way they always used to - but this time I have a feeling they will find a way through.

If Amorim did manage to get the better of Pep Guardiola for a third time this season, then United would probably be selling T-shirts to mark the achievement. I don't see it happening though.

Sutton's prediction: 1-2

Mychelle's prediction: City have picked up a bit, and United are still quite inconsistent. 1-2

Leicester should have been relegated immediately for what they did at Etihad Stadium on Wednesday.

For a team who are desperate for a win, they showed absolutely zero attacking intent even when they went two goals down.

All they were interested in was building a wall and just stopping Manchester City. I felt sorry for their travelling fans because the team offered no threat whatsoever, and didn't even try to score.

I can understand that everyone has a game plan but usually that changes when you go a goal or two behind. At 2-0, however, Leicester took their star striker, Jamie Vardy, off to put another midfielder on.

That tells you where Leicester are at right now - it felt like they were waving the white flag and going for damage limitation, rather than thinking they might as well give it a go and risk conceding more goals.

We know how nervy Manchester City have been this season, and Leicester caused them problems when they had a go at them at the King Power Stadium at the end of last year.

This time, there was none of that. They were pretty pathetic and you have got to question what their manager Ruud van Nistelrooy was thinking.

His team have lost their past seven league games and have not scored in any of them, and it is even longer since they managed a point or a league goal at home.

That is not going to change here. Newcastle got an important win over Brentford in midweek to show there was no hangover from their Carabao Cup celebrations.

Even if they hit the hotel mini-bar again on Sunday night, it wouldn't matter - they would still beat Leicester.

Sutton's prediction: 0-2

Mychelle's prediction: I've gone for a shock here because I am really hoping Leicester do Chelsea a favour here by beating Newcastle. Surely they are going to sneak a goal at some point? 1-0

Chris, his guest Liam from DJ duo Tigerblind, and the BBC readers were all level on 80 points ahead of the final game of the midweek fixtures, which saw Chelsea beat Tottenham 1-0 on Thursday.

Chris went for a 3-2 Chelsea win, while Liam and the BBC readers went for a 2-1 Blues success, meaning they all got another 10 points which resulted in the first three-way tie for victory this season.

WinsTiesPoints
Chris942,650
Guests842,310
You752,380

Source: BBC

Weekly wins, ties & total scores after week 30. . .

Points
Liam Fray150
Dave Fishwick, Adam F
& Emma-Jean Thackray130
Jordan Stephens120
Dan Haggis, James Smith110
Paige Cavell, Tigerblind90
Chris Sutton *88
Clara Amfo, Coldplay,
Felix from Divorce, Brad Kella
& Dave McCabe80
You *79
Jamie Demetriou, Rory Kinnear,
Kellie Maloney, Jon McClure,
Dougie Payne, Anton Pearson
& Paul Smith70
Peter Hooton, Nemzzz,
Finn Russell & James Ryan60
Ife Ogunjobi50
Eats Everything, Ed Patrick,
Mylee from JJFC
& Bradley Simpson40
Sunny Edwards, Femi Koleoso,
Stephen Bunting & Tate from JJFC30

* Average after 30 weeks

Source: BBC

Guest leaderboard 2024-25. . * Average after 30 weeks.

Origin:
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