Football Analyst Sutton Faces Off Against Artist Murs in Top Flight Predictions

The Gunners' ten-match victorious run was ended by Sunderland prior to the global hiatus, but will the Premier League leaders bounce back against north London rivals Spurs this weekend?

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

"Frank will attempt to neutralize Arsenal, who have not always been at their sparkling best this campaign - 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 artificial intelligence, readers and a variety of special visitors.

In the twelfth round, he takes on singer Olly Murs, who is a Manchester United fan.

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

Football and Family Life

Murs is a talented soccer player as well as a accomplished artist and has been a star of several Soccer Aid games down the years - but he is not planning a serious comeback as a player.

"{I recently played in a benefit game the other evening for a mate of mine," he said. "The side was trailing 3-1 when I came off in the 60th minute, and they went on to win 4-3, so you can interpret that what you want!

"I continue to love football, but I injured my knee a few years ago and it still hasn't fully recovered. I hope I could play more but the unpredictability of the sport means it's too dangerous for me in my career to do it seriously 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 preparing for the moment that my child or son decides to play instead."

Murs and his spouse Amelia Tank have a young family, their daughter and Albert, and he is prepared to follow in his father's footsteps by becoming their coach.

"I won't push football on our children but I've previously told my wife that if they do get the bug for it then I will have to go and get my coaching badges - and I will probably be coaching their Saturday football team," he added.

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

"My father did it with us when I was a child, which is probably where I get it from. He coached our team for two or three seasons and had a wonderful time with it. That might be the future for me as well, and I am excited to it!"

Premier League Predictions

Saturday, 22 November

• Turf Moor, 12:30 GMT

The Blues might have to wait a bit longer for their star's comeback from fitness issues but their attack is now more potent with Pedro and Delap both returned to fitness.

I still think this fixture will be quite tight, though. The Clarets are disciplined and their only at Turf Moor defeats so far have been against Liverpool and the Gunners.

This suggests a 1-1 tie to me, but I am in fact going to choose Chelsea to edge it for what would be their third Premier League win in a row.

Sutton's forecast: 1-2

The singer's pick: Chelsea will be too strong. 1-3

Artificial intelligence's outlook: 0-2

• Vitality Stadium, 15:00 GMT

Bournemouth have been defeated in their previous couple games - albeit both of them were on the road - but they got absolutely spanked by Aston Villa last time out which surprised me.

On the other hand, West Ham won back-to-back victories before the international break and, although both of those games were at their stadium, they do look strong again.

The Hammers' sole away victory this campaign came at Nottingham Forest in the summer, when their manager Nuno was still Forest coach.

So, what on earth do I predict here - can West Ham extending their streak under their manager, or Bournemouth bouncing back?

I will go with the Cherries, because I think what happened against Aston Villa was a blip.

The pundit's prediction: 2-0

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

The algorithm's pick: 1-1

• Amex Stadium, 15:00 GMT

The Bees were seen as one of the frontrunners for relegation before the season started, but they have surprised a few observers under Keith Andrews and are in fine fettle with three wins in their past four matches.

A family member told me to select Bees forward Thiago in my Fantasy Football squad a few weeks ago and, guess what, I ignored the advice.

The forward will probably find the net again on Saturday but I am nonetheless not going to select him or support the away side at Amex Stadium.

The Bees have not had much fortune on the road this season, and the Seagulls are always decent at their stadium. The visitors will attempt to attack on the counter-attack but I feel Fabian Hurzeler's team carry much more of a threat.

The analyst's prediction: 2-1

The singer's prediction: This could be a match where you expect there is going to be a many goals but it actually proves to be rather tight. 1-1

The computer's outcome: 2-1

• Craven Cottage, 15:00 GMT

It is a massive game for Fulham, who have lost five of their last six matches.

Fulham have have plenty of quality in their team but it still seems like they could be dragged into a drop zone battle.

Regarding the Black Cats, indeed they are the surprise package of the top flight season so far.

The away side's performance in the 2-2 draw with the Gunners last time out was excellent. We have not seen anyone else rough up the North London side like that this season, and Sunderland were fully competitive for them.

The sensible thing would be to support the visitors here, because they are clearly capable of disrupting Fulham up too and, the previous occasion they were in this part of London, they defeated the Blues at the end of last month.

However I am not going to choose that. Rather, I truly need to carry on going against Sunderland with my predictions. I am taking a lot of credit for their positive outcomes because they clearly love to prove me wrong.

Looking at the home side's at Craven Cottage form, the only team they have been defeated by is the league leaders. Their manager's side will be extremely desperate for a good result, so I am going to predict they will pick up three much-needed points.

Sutton's prediction: 1-0

The guest's choice: I'm aware Sunderland are performing strongly and additionally that the hosts are on a bad streak... but they have still been respectable at home this season. 2-0

AI's prediction: 2-0

• Anfield, 15:00 GMT

This is a tough one to call. Liverpool have suffered seven of their past 10 matches in every tournament, but might they be among the sides who benefit from the {international break|