Premier League predictions

The 197th Manchester derby takes place at Etihad Stadium on Sunday, but will it be the Blues or the Reds who claim the points - and local bragging rights?

"This is so hard to call, for many reasons," said BBC Sport football expert Chris Sutton.

"Manchester United could be buoyed by their win over Burnley before the international break, but I actually have bigger doubts about what we will see from Manchester City after seeing them capitulate the way they did against Brighton."

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

For week four, he takes on Only The Poets frontman Tommy Longhurst.

The Reading band are charging £1 a ticket when they play the O2 Academy Brixton, in February 2026. The gig takes place a few days after the release of their debut album, And I'd Do It Again.

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.

Longhurst is from Reading and grew up supporting his hometown team. Although they have not been in the Premier League since 2013, he has fond memories of the Royals' time in the top flight.

He told BBC Sport: "People like Kevin Doyle and Leroy Lita were my heroes, but there are loads from that time - Shane Long, Noel and Stephen Hunt, Dave Kitson - the list goes on and on!

"When were were in the Premier League, that was obviously a really special time. We came eighth in our first season, 2007-08, and almost made it into Europe. That whole team was amazing."

Reading have been in League One since 2023 but with new owners now on board, Longhurst feels the club is heading in the right direction - even if a return to the glory days feels like a distant dream.

"If we could get back to the Premier League again in my lifetime, that would be unbelievable," he added.

"At the moment the team is in a rebuild, but with our stadium, our Category One academy and our training ground, the infrastructure is definitely there for promotion. So, I'd love to think we can get back in the Championship in a couple of years - that's the first aim anyway."

Chris Sutton and Tommy Longhurst were speaking to BBC Sport's Chris Bevan.

The AI predictions were generated using Microsoft Copilot Chat - we simply asked the tool to 'predict this weekend's Premier League scores'.

Emirates Stadium, 12:30 BST

I am not expecting an extreme change from Nottingham Forest in Ange Postecoglou's first game in charge.

Sure, he will tweak things, and he has got his principles where he likes to play attacking football, but I can't imagine him going in with a high defensive line in his first game, especially against Arsenal.

A return to north London is pretty much as tough a start as he could get, even though Arsenal have a few injuries with Bukayo Saka, William Saliba and Kai Havertz ruled out.

There is so much talent in the Arsenal squad now that they are still so dangerous - Noni Madueke was excellent for England against Serbia, and he will be full of confidence after that display.

This might be another game where Arsenal have to grind a result out, but they will find a way of winning it.

Sutton's prediction: 2-0

Tommy's prediction: Arsenal are already looking solid, straight out of the gates. 2-0

AI's prediction: 3-1

Vitality Stadium, 15:00 BST

Both these teams had really good wins before the international break.

Bournemouth only beat Tottenham 1-0 but they absolutely hammered them, and could and should have scored more goals.

Brighton's victory over Manchester City was different in that they nicked the points late on - Erling Haaland was my Fantasy Premier League captain and he could have had a hat-trick for Pep Guardiola's side - but that was still an impressive result.

When I did my research for these predictions, I was a little surprised that the Seagulls did the double over the Cherries last season, winning 2-1 home and away.

I don't think Bournemouth will end up empty handed this time, though. I am going for a draw - an exciting one, not a boring one - on the south coast.

Sutton's prediction: 1-1

Tommy's prediction: Antoine Semenyo looks so dangerous, and I fancy Bournemouth at home. 3-1

AI's prediction: 2-2

Selhurst Park, 15:00 BST

It was huge for Crystal Palace to keep hold of defender Marc Guehi, despite Liverpool's efforts to sign him on deadline day.

Fair play to Guehi for the way he conducted himself through that transfer saga - I have a lot of admiration for him.

I should have gone with the Eagles to beat Aston Villa last time out because of their recent results against Unai Emery's side - they played them four times last season, winning three and drawing the other.

I am not going to make the same mistake this time. Palace are missing the injured Adam Wharton and Ismaila Sarr but their boss Oliver Glasner has a knack of making his side extremely effective no matter who is missing.

Sunderland have done brilliantly to win their first two home games and I can see them making this quite tight, but I think they will have to wait a bit longer for their first point on the road.

Sutton's prediction: 1-0

Tommy's prediction: Glasner has done an unbelievable job at Palace. 2-0

AI's prediction: 2-0

Hill Dickinson Stadium, 15:00 BST

What a great game this is for Jack Grealish against his old club.

He has been on fire for Everton since joining them from Manchester City, and it's great to see him playing with a smile on his face. He has been the real creative spark for them this season and if he carries on this form he will be well and truly in the mix to make the England squad for next summer's World Cup.

So much has changed about Everton since David Moyes lost his first game back in charge against Villa, at Goodison Park in January, and not just that they now have a new ground.

You just sense that, with Grealish and Iliman Ndiaye, they have the attacking threat now that they had lacked for a long time. They will be full of belief, against an Aston Villa side who badly need a positive result after their slow start to the new campaign.

The obvious prediction, based on form, is to back Everton to win but I actually don't think Villa will keep on losing.

They are under-performing and also maybe bought a few players in a bit of panic at the end of the transfer window - Jadon Sancho, Harvey Elliott and Victor Lindelof all joined on deadline day - but Emery will get a tune out of his team sooner or later.

Sutton's prediction: 1-1

Tommy's prediction: I can see this being quite cagey. 1-0

AI's prediction: 1-0

Craven Cottage, 15:00 BST

For once, I am very confident I will get this prediction right.

Leeds might fancy their chances at Craven Cottage but you only have to look at their respective squads to see the difference in quality between the two sides, player for player, including on the bench.

Fulham did not have much luck with the decisions that went against them in their defeat by Chelsea last time out, but they were able to bring on Adama Traore, Emile Smith-Rowe, Raul Jimenez and Harry Wilson as they chased that game.

Leeds just don't have that kind of depth and they were well beaten on their last trip to London, a 5-0 defeat at Arsenal a couple of weeks ago.

This will be closer, but with the same end result.

Sutton's prediction: 2-0

Tommy's prediction: This is the only draw I have gone for. I just have a feeling Leeds will get something. 1-1

AI's prediction: 2-1

St James' Park, 15:00 BST

Both of these teams are still without a win so far, although Wolves are the only Premier League club without a point on the board.

Newcastle have drawn twice and only lost very late on against Liverpool, so their form is hardly cause for concern.

They can move on now the Alexander Isak transfer saga is over, although this is our first look at their new attack.

We will have to wait and see how fit and ready Nick Woltemade and Yoane Wissa are, or how they settle in, but I still think Newcastle will have too much for a Wolves team who are leaking too many goals.

At least Wolves do carry a threat going forward - especially in Jorgen Strand Larsen, who Newcastle tried to sign last month.

It would be typical if he went to St James' Park and scored the winner, but I don't see that happening.

Sutton's prediction: 3-1

Tommy's prediction: Wolves' bad start is going to continue. 3-0

AI's prediction: 3-1

London Stadium, 17:30 BST

For West Ham to go to Nottingham Forest and win 3-0 was an incredible result - I never saw that coming, so fair play to those of you who did [Out of more than 54,000 predictions by BBC readers, only 1,435 backed the Hammers to win and just 53 of you got the exact scoreline].

Now it is about Graham Potter's side backing it up, but I don't think they will. I never really fancy West Ham at home the same way I do with other teams because their fans always seem edgy at London Stadium.

Tottenham have a point to prove too after their surprise home defeat by Bournemouth. I didn't think that would happen either, but Thomas Frank's teams are usually so well-balanced and I am expecting them to bounce back.

Sutton's prediction: 1-2

Tommy's prediction: Frank's Tottenham are looking so much better. 1-2

AI's prediction: 1-2

Gtech Community Stadium, 20:00 BST

There was such a crazy finish to Brentford's defeat by Sunderland that the Bees must still be wondering how they lost.

I'd been very confident that Keith Andrews' side would go to the Stadium of Light and win after watching them beat Aston Villa the previous week - a result they thoroughly deserved.

I have to be careful with this prediction, though. At this stage of the season I can get hoodwinked a bit because I have covered some teams when they have played well, and it means I overlook some of their opposition's qualities.

Chelsea have some fantastic players and have made a decent start to the season so they have to be favourites here. But I am going to stick with my instincts and say Brentford will give them a good game too.

In fact, the more I think about it, the more this smells like a west London derby draw. The points have been shared in this fixture in each of the past three seasons, so let's go for four draws in a row.

Sutton's prediction: 1-1

Tommy's prediction: I don't see Brentford keeping Chelsea out. 1-3

AI's prediction: 0-2

Etihad Stadium, 16:30 BST

I can see Bryan Mbeumo hurting City, with United counter-attacking and him being a thorn in their backline chasing balls in behind. I am also not as convinced by City if James Trafford keeps his place in goal.

So, I think United will definitely score, but I still cannot go against City at Etihad Stadium because we know they will create chances there.

It is a massive week for them, with Napoli visiting in the Champions League on Thursday before they head to Arsenal next weekend, and of course people are going to judge them on these results. After losing two of their first three league games, this week could decide if they are in the title race, or if they are ruled out of it.

I don't want to keep bringing up the goalkeeper but City's chances of getting the results they need will definitely be improved if new signing Gianluigi Donnarumma is in goal because right now they need a big presence there, and Trafford doesn't give them that.

The same position is a huge call for United boss Ruben Amorim on Sunday too, but in a totally different way.

United signed Senne Lammens ahead of Villa's Emi Martinez, who has definitely got the kind of presence that brings confidence to his defence the same way Donnarumma does.

We know Lammens has got these amazing save statistics, but there is much more to being Manchester United's goalkeeper than that. As Rory Smith basically said on the Monday Night Club, they don't count for much anyway, because he has been playing in the Belgian league and they are rubbish at shooting.

Joking aside, what we don't know at the moment is much about Lammens' character or how he will adapt to the Premier League.

Is he ready to be United's keeper or not? If Amorim picks Altay Bayindir over him against City, then people are going to scrutinise that decision and ask why on earth he didn't put Lammens in straight away if he rates him so highly.

Sutton's prediction: 2-1

Tommy's prediction: City are leaky, but so are United. 3-2

AI's prediction: 2-2

Sutton's own winning start to the season ended in the last set of fixtures before the international break.

Chris got three correct results with no exact scores from the 10 games played in week three, giving him 30 points.

He still got the better of AI - it got two correct results with no exact scores for a total of 20 points - but he was beaten by the BBC readers and his guest, actor Orlando Bloom.

The BBC readers got off to a brilliant start with an exact score from the first game played that weekend, Chelsea's 2-0 win over Fulham, but you got every other result wrong, leaving you with 40 points.

So, the weekly win went to Bloom, who got five correct results with no exact scores, for a total of 50 points.

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