Soccer Expert Sutton Takes On Artist Olly Murs in Top Flight Predictions
The Gunners' ten-match winning run was ended by Sunderland before the global break, but can the Premier League frontrunners recover against local foes Tottenham this Sunday?
"{I believe like Arsenal are light years ahead of Tottenham at the moment but Spurs manager Thomas Frank will have a strategy for this game," stated soccer expert Chris Sutton.
"The Spurs manager will attempt to neutralize Arsenal, who have not always been at their sparkling finest this season - but Mikel Arteta's side usually still manage to win."
The analyst is making predictions for all 380 Premier League fixtures this term, against artificial intelligence, readers and a variety of guests.
In the twelfth round, he faces performer Olly Murs, who is a United supporter.
The singer's latest album, the new release, is out on Friday.
Football and Family Life
Murs is a talented soccer player as well as a successful artist and has been a featured player of multiple Soccer Aid games over time - but he is not planning a serious comeback as a footballer.
"{I recently played in a benefit game the other night for a friend of mine," he explained. "The team was trailing 3-1 when I came off in the second half, and they went on to win 4-3, so you can interpret that what you will!
"I continue to love football, but I injured 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 uncertainty of the game means it's too risky for me in my profession to do it seriously again.
"Plus I am forty-one now, and we are not all Cristiano Ronaldo, are we!? No, I am very content not playing football and I am gearing up for the time that my daughter or boy chooses to play instead."
Murs and his wife his partner have a young family, Madison and Albert, and he is ready to emulate his dad by taking on the role of their manager.
"I won't push football on our kids but I've previously told Amelia that if they happen to get the bug for it then I will have to go and get my manager qualifications - and I will likely be managing their weekend football side," he added.
"I watched my relatives play a lot, and I truly got into it, and I obviously was involved with a soccer team for a while too.
"My father did it with us when I was a child, which is probably where I inherited it. He coached our team for several seasons and had a wonderful time with it. That might be the next step for me as well, and I am looking forward to it!"
Top Division Forecasts
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 attack is now stronger with Joao Pedro and Delap both returned to fitness.
In my opinion this game will be quite close, however. The Clarets are well organised and their only at Turf Moor losses so far have been against Liverpool and Arsenal.
This suggests a one-all tie to me, but I am in fact going to go with the London side to win narrowly for what would be their third consecutive Premier League win in a row.
The expert's prediction: 1-2
Olly's pick: The Blues will be too strong. 1-3
Artificial intelligence's outlook: 0-2
- Vitality Stadium, 15:00 GMT
Bournemouth have been defeated in their past two matches - albeit both of them were on the road - but they got thoroughly beaten by Aston Villa last time out which shocked me.
In contrast, West Ham won two in a row before the hiatus and, although both of those games were at home, they appear competitive again.
West Ham's sole away victory this season came at Forest in August, when West Ham manager Nuno was still Forest coach.
Therefore, what on earth do I predict here - will it be West Ham extending their run under their manager, or the home side bouncing back?
I am going to go with Bournemouth, because I think what occurred against Aston Villa was a anomaly.
Sutton's forecast: 2-0
Olly's outlook: Bournemouth are performing strongly but the visitors have picked up under Nuno. 2-2
The algorithm's prediction: 1-1
- Amex Stadium, 15:00 GMT
Brentford were seen as one of the favourites for relegation before the campaign started, but they have impressed a few observers under Keith Andrews and are in fine fettle with three in their last four matches.
My son advised me to select Bees striker Igor Thiago in my Fantasy Football team a few weeks ago and, unfortunately, I didn't listen.
Thiago will likely find the net again on the weekend but I am nonetheless not going to pick him or back the away side at Amex Stadium.
They have not had great success on the travel this term, and the Seagulls are consistently decent at home. The visitors will try to hit them on the break but I think Fabian Hurzeler's team carry much more of a threat.
The analyst's prediction: 2-1
Olly's view: It could be one of those games where you expect there is going to be a many goals but it actually proves to be rather close. 1-1
The computer's outcome: 2-1
- Craven Cottage, 15:00 GMT
It is a huge fixture for Fulham, who have suffered defeat in five of their last six matches.
They have have plenty of talent in their squad but it still seems like they could be sucked into a drop zone battle.
Regarding Sunderland, well they are the surprise package of the Premier League campaign so far.
Their performance in the 2-2 tie with the Gunners last time out was excellent. We have not witnessed any other team disrupt the North London side like that this term, and Sunderland were fully competitive for them.
The logical choice would be to back the visitors here, because they are obviously capable of roughing the hosts up too and, the previous occasion they were in west London, they defeated Chelsea at the end of October.
However I am not going to choose that. Rather, I really need to carry on going against Sunderland with my predictions. I am claiming a lot of responsibility for their positive results because they clearly love to prove me wrong.
Considering Fulham's home form, the only side they have been defeated by is the league leaders. Marco Silva's side will be extremely eager for a good outcome, so I am going to predict they will pick up three much-needed points.
The expert's forecast: 1-0
Olly's prediction: I'm aware the visitors are performing strongly and additionally that the hosts are on a bad run... but Fulham have nonetheless been respectable at home this season. 2-0
The algorithm's outlook: 2-0
- Anfield, 15:00 GMT
This is a hard fixture to call. Liverpool have lost seven of their past 10 games in every tournament, but might they be among the sides who benefit from the {international break|