BBC Sport football expert Chris Sutton is making predictions for all 380 Premier League games this season, competing against AI, BBC Sport readers, and guest predictors. For week eight, Sutton is joined by actor John Hannah, star of the new action thriller "Bad Day At The Office" and a lifelong Arsenal fan.
Arsenal's Carabao Cup exit and Anfield test
Arsenal suffered a humiliating Carabao Cup defeat to League Two side Fleetwood Town at Highbury on Tuesday. Sutton noted that Arsenal put out a strong team but were embarrassed. Liverpool appear to be finding form, making Sunday's match at Anfield a significant test for Mikel Arteta's side.
Week eight predictions
Sutton, Hannah, and AI (Microsoft Copilot Chat) provided scoreline predictions for ten Premier League fixtures across Saturday 31 October, Sunday 1 November, and Monday 2 November.
Saturday, 31 October
Chelsea vs Manchester United (Stamford Bridge, 12:30 GMT): Sutton 3-1, Hannah 3-1, AI 2-1.
Bournemouth vs Leeds (Vitality Stadium, 15:00): Sutton 1-1, Hannah 2-2, AI 1-1.
Brentford vs Nottingham Forest (Gtech Community Stadium, 15:00): Sutton 1-1, Hannah 2-1, AI 2-1.
Coventry vs Sunderland (Coventry Building Society Arena, 15:00): Sutton 0-1, Hannah 0-2, AI 1-1.
Hull vs Ipswich (MKM Stadium, 15:00): Sutton 1-2, Hannah 2-0, AI 1-1.
Manchester City vs Brighton (Etihad Stadium, 15:00): Sutton 3-1, Hannah 3-1, AI 3-1.
Tottenham vs Crystal Palace (Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, 17:30): Sutton 2-0, Hannah 0-1, AI 2-0.
Aston Villa vs Fulham (Villa Park, 20:00): Sutton 3-1, Hannah 0-0, AI 2-1.
Sunday, 1 November
Liverpool vs Arsenal (Anfield, 16:30): Sutton 0-1, Hannah 0-2, AI 1-2.
Monday, 2 November
Newcastle vs Everton (St James' Park, 20:00): Sutton 1-2, Hannah 1-1, AI 2-0.
John Hannah: from football dreams to Hollywood
Hannah, known for roles in "Four Weddings and a Funeral", "Sliding Doors", and "The Mummy", has supported Arsenal since moving to London from Scotland over 40 years ago. As a youth in East Kilbride, he aspired to be a footballer, playing alongside future professionals like Ally McCoist. He compared his playing style to Bukayo Saka, describing himself as a small, fast right-winger who scored many goals. His football dreams ended when he discovered "women and beer", and later an ACL injury prevented a return to the sport.
Previous week results
In week eight, Sutton achieved five correct results with two exact scores, totalling 110 points. This beat BBC readers (four correct results, two exact scores, 100 points) and guests Waffle the Wonder Dog and actor James Merry (average 50 points). AI won the weekly competition for the fourth consecutive week with five correct results and three exact scores (140 points). The most popular prediction among 28,000 entries was Arsenal's 2-0 win over Everton, correctly predicted by Sutton, AI, and over 11,500 readers.
