predictions

Arsenal are sitting top of the Premier League at Christmas, but it is BBC Sport football expert Chris Sutton who leads the way when it comes to predictions.

“I’m number one at Christmas – again,” said Sutton, who as a player led the Premier League table at this point with Norwich in 1992 and Blackburn in 1994, and went on to win the title with Rovers.

“It’s a big deal for me to be top, as well as for Arsenal.

“AI is the go-to for virtually everyone in the world whenever they have to ask anything, so the fact that I am beating it – and let’s face it, I have stuffed it for half a season now – is pretty incredible. It says a lot about me, and I’m delighted.

“Rather than asking AI about everything, maybe people should come to me to tap into my intelligence instead?”

Sutton is making predictions for all 380 Premier League games this season, against AI, BBC Sport readers and a variety of guests.

For week 18 – the festive fixtures on Boxing Day and the weekend of 27 and 28 December – he takes on Jonny Stewart, bass singer with sea shanty folk supergroup The Wellermen, who is a Newcastle fan.

The Wellermen were the originators of the sea shanty trend on TikTok, with their versions of Misty Mountain, Nancy Mulligan and Hoist the Colours racking up billions of views.

Do you agree with their scores? You can make your own predictions below.

The most popular scoreline selected for each game is used in the scoreboards and tables at the bottom of this page.

A correct result (picking a win, draw or defeat) is worth 10 points. The exact score earns 40 points.

This is another big game at the bottom of the table.

I am so pleased for Leeds boss Daniel Farke because I was fed up with the rubbish being talked about how he cannot manage in the Premier League.

Leeds have had a tough run of games against Manchester City, Chelsea and Liverpool and it felt like there were people out there who were waiting and even wishing for Farke to fail, so he would be sacked.

I am delighted that it has turned out very differently. The performances, the guts, and the quality that Leeds have shown has been brilliant, even in defeat at City, and against Chelsea and Liverpool they have picked up points too.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s goals have made the difference, and they will go into this game full of belief, and thinking they have got a real chance.

Brentford are still favourites, though, because their home form is so good – with five wins, a draw and just one defeat under Keith Andrews so far.

The Bees were pretty limp when they went to Spurs last week but on their own patch it is a different story. They have won their past three games there, against Liverpool, Newcastle and Burnley so, like Leeds, they will be full of confidence.

I remember Farke’s last game as Norwich manager in November 2021, when his team beat Brentford but he was sacked a few hours later. This time, I am backing Brentford to win, but Farke’s future should not be in doubt.

Sutton’s prediction: 2-0

Stingray’s prediction: Both teams score quite a lot of goals. 2-2

AI’s prediction: 2-2