LiveFriday · 30 October 2026Vol. VIII · No. 303
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Sutton's predictions v Bad Day At The Office star John Hannah

BBC Sport football expert Chris Sutton takes on Bad Day At The Office star John Hannah, plus the BBC readers and AI with his predictions for this weekend's Premier League fixtures.

Premier League champions Arsenal endured one of the most embarrassing nights in their history when they were knocked out of the Carabao Cup by League Two side Fleetwood Town on Tuesday, but can they bounce back at Anfield on Sunday?

"Arsenal put a pretty strong team out but were humiliated by Fleetwood, and at Highbury too," said BBC Sport football expert Chris Sutton.

"Liverpool seem to be getting it together so this will be a big test for Mikel Arteta's side after the week they have had."

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

For week eight, he takes on actor John Hannah, star of new action thriller Bad Day At The Office, who is an Arsenal fan.

Bad Day At The Office will be in UK and Irish cinemas from 30 October.

Do you agree with their predictions? You can pick your own 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.

Want to make more predictions? You can play BBC Sport's new Match of the Day predictor game every week, featuring six fixtures from domestic and European competition.

Hannah, also known for his roles in Four Weddings and a Funeral, Sliding Doors and The Mummy, has been an Arsenal fan since he moved to London from Scotland more than 40 years ago.

As a boy growing up in East Kilbride he had hopes of becoming a footballer long before realising his acting aspirations.

Many of his childhood friends, including Rangers legend Ally McCoist, would go on to forge professional careers.

"I'd like to compare myself to Bukayo Saka," Hannah explained when describing what kind of player he was. "I played on the right wing and I was quite small and fast and I scored a lot of of goals.

"My dream was to be a footballer, and it was all I ever thought about. I played or trained all the time - but, like many dreams, it didn't come true.

"As I got a bit bigger I kind of segued back into midfield but when I discovered women and beer then I kind of stopped playing.

"Once I went to drama school I got very focused on that and then with moving to London and working away, around probably 20 years passed without me kicking a ball.

"But then in 2013 I did a film called Shooting for Socrates, where I played Northern Ireland manager Billy Bingham at the 1986 World Cup.

Sutton's predictions v Bad Day At The Office star John Hannah

"We were down in Spain doing some filming there and had a bit of a kickaround and I remember thinking 'yeah, I've still got it you know!'

"Not anymore though - since then I have snapped my ACL [anterior cruciate ligament] which has put paid to football and a lot of sport. It is really just cycling and running for me now."

Chris Sutton and John Hannah 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'.

Premier League predictions

Stamford Bridge, 12:30 GMT

Everyone will be watching this game because of Michael Carrick's situation at Manchester United, and wondering how much longer he will be in charge.

Carrick kept his job after the heavy defeats against Como and Bournemouth last week and my view is that, by keeping him on for now, they are possibly just prolonging the misery for him, really.

Going by how insipid United were against Bournemouth, it is hard to see them going to Chelsea and getting anything.

Chelsea were not much better in their defeat by Tottenham last weekend and since then they have been knocked out of the Carabao Cup by Liverpool too.

Xabi Alonso is still without the injured Joao Pedro so I expect Danny Welbeck will lead their attack like he did against Liverpool, and Cole Palmer will be back after his suspension.

Chelsea have had a bad week but I can't see things changing for United, even if Bruno Fernandes is back in their team.

Sutton's prediction: 3-1

John's prediction: With Carrick under pressure, it just feels like Ole Gunnar Solskjaer all over again - he won a few games in a row then they gave him the job and now he doesn't win any. 3-1

AI's prediction: 2-1

Bournemouth are flying at the moment, with successive wins over Aston Villa, Manchester United and AC Milan.

Leeds are extremely well structured, however, even if they are not free-scoring this season.

I am sure Daniel Farke would like his team to score more goals, but they don't give away a lot either.

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