Soccer Expert Sutton Faces Off Against Singer Murs in Premier League Predictions
Arsenal's 10-game victorious run was ended by Sunderland before the global hiatus, but can the Premier League leaders recover against north London rivals Tottenham this weekend?
"{I feel like Arsenal are light years ahead of Tottenham at the moment but Spurs manager Thomas Frank will have a plan for this match," remarked football expert Chris Sutton.
"The Spurs manager will try to nullify Arsenal, who have not always been at their sparkling finest this season - but Mikel Arteta's team typically still find a way to win."
The analyst is forecasting results for all 380 Premier League games this term, versus AI, readers and a range of special visitors.
For the twelfth round, he takes on singer Olly Murs, who is a United fan.
Murs' new album, Knees Up, is out on Friday.
Soccer and Family Experiences
Murs is a talented soccer player as well as a accomplished artist and has been a star of several Soccer Aid games over time - but he is not planning a professional comeback as a footballer.
"{I actually played in a benefit game the other night for a friend of mine," he explained. "My side 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 continue to love football, but I injured my knee a few years ago and it even now hasn't fully recovered. I hope I could play more but the uncertainty of the game means it's too dangerous for me in my profession to do it properly again.
"Additionally I am forty-one now, and we are not everyone is Cristiano Ronaldo, are we!? No, I am very content not playing football and I am gearing up for the moment that my child or boy decides to play instead."
Murs and his spouse Amelia Tank have two children, their daughter and Albert, and he is ready to emulate his dad by taking on the role of their manager.
"I won't force football on our kids but I've already told my wife that if they happen to get the passion for it then I will have to go and get my coaching badges - and I will likely be managing their Saturday football team," he said.
"I observed my relatives play a lot, and I really got into it, and I obviously owned a football club for a period too.
"My dad coached with us when I was a kid, which is probably where I inherited it. He managed our side for several years and had great fun with it. That could 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 may have to be patient for their star's comeback from fitness issues but their offense is now more potent with Pedro and Delap both returned to fitness.
In my opinion this game will be fairly close, however. Burnley are well organised and their only at Turf Moor defeats so far have been against the Reds and Arsenal.
This smells of a one-all draw to me, but I am in fact going to choose Chelsea to edge it for what would be their third consecutive league win in a row.
Sutton's prediction: 1-2
Olly's pick: Chelsea will be superior. 1-3
Artificial intelligence's outlook: 0-2
- Vitality Stadium, 15:00 GMT
Bournemouth have lost their past two games - albeit both of them were away - but they got absolutely spanked by Villa last time out which surprised me.
On the other hand, the Hammers secured two in a row before the international break and, although both of those games were at home, they appear competitive again.
The Hammers' sole away victory this season came at Nottingham Forest in August, when West Ham boss Nuno Espirito Santo was previously Forest manager.
Therefore, what on earth do I predict here - can West Ham extending their streak under their manager, or Bournemouth responding?
I will go with Bournemouth, because I think what occurred against Aston Villa was a blip.
Sutton's prediction: 2-0
Olly's prediction: Bournemouth are performing strongly but the visitors have improved under their boss. 2-2
AI's prediction: 1-1
- Amex Stadium, 15:00 GMT
Brentford were seen as one of the favourites for the drop before the season began, but they have impressed a few observers under Keith Andrews and are in fine fettle with three wins in their last four matches.
My son told me to select Bees forward Igor Thiago in my Fantasy Football team a few weeks back and, unfortunately, I didn't listen.
The forward will likely score again on Saturday but I am still not going to pick him or back the away side at Amex Stadium.
The Bees have not had much success on the road this term, and Brighton are always decent at their stadium. The visitors will attempt to hit them on the counter-attack but I feel the home manager's side carry much more of a danger.
The analyst's prediction: 2-1
Olly's view: This could be one of those games where you think there is going to be a lot of scores but it actually proves to be quite close. 1-1
AI's outcome: 2-1
- Craven Cottage, 15:00 GMT
It is a massive fixture for the Cottagers, who have suffered defeat in five of their past six matches.
They have got plenty of quality in their team but it still feels like they could be sucked into a drop zone fight.
As for Sunderland, well they are the unexpected success of the top flight campaign so far.
The away side's performance in the two-all tie with the Gunners last time out was excellent. We have not witnessed anyone else disrupt the Gunners like that this term, and they were more than a match for them.
The logical choice would be to back the visitors here, because they are clearly able of disrupting Fulham up too and, the previous occasion they were in west London, they beat the Blues at the close of last month.
But I am not going to choose that. Rather, I really need to continue going against Sunderland with my predictions. I am taking a lot of responsibility for their positive outcomes because they clearly enjoy to prove me wrong.
Considering the home side's home record, the only side they have lost to is Arsenal. Marco Silva's team will be absolutely desperate for a positive outcome, so I am going to predict they will pick up three points.
Sutton's forecast: 1-0
The guest's choice: I know Sunderland are doing well and also that the hosts are on a poor run... but Fulham have still been respectable at home this season. 2-0
The algorithm's prediction: 2-0
- Anfield, 15:00 GMT
This is a tough fixture to predict. The Reds have lost seven of their last ten games in every tournament, but could they be one of the sides who benefit from the {international break|