Sutton’s predictions: Man City v Arsenal

Sutton is making predictions for all 380 Premier League matches this season, against a variety of guests.

For week five, he takes on singer-songwriter and West Ham fan James Smith whose debut album, Common People, is out now.

Manchester City host Arsenal on Sunday at 16:30 BST.

Sutton’s prediction: 2-1

Arsenal got a lot of praise for the way they shut out City here for a draw last season, but they then lost the title race by two points.

Of course that left them open to anyone who wanted to be ‘Captain Hindsight’ – like I did when I turned the result around and used it to question the Gunners.

Yes, that criticism was harsh but we are talking about the fine margins between finishing first and second.

Inter Milan showed on Wednesday that you can hurt City at the same time as keeping them quiet and they were very brave with the way they were playing out. They surprised me actually, because they beat City’s press very easily.

I don’t like to back against Arsenal because, defensively, they are so strong. They have also won all but one of their 11 away Premier League games in 2024 – the exception being that draw at the Etihad in March – and have kept nine clean sheets.

That is incredible and, if they wanted to, they could cause City problems on the counter-attack too, the same way Inter did.

I was at that game and thought City were well below their best. Erling Haaland was quiet and Kevin de Bruyne might not be fit to face the Gunners after getting injured before half-time.

Still, it is almost two years since City failed to score in two successive games – October 2022, when they drew 0-0 in Copenhagen in the Champions League and then lost at Anfield in the Premier League. I am expecting a reaction, and I don’t think they will be as flat as they were on Wednesday.

James’s prediction: 3-1

What a game this will be. It is going to be close, but you just can’t stop Haaland at the moment. He will be the difference because I just don’t think Arsenal have really got a goalscorer.

Read their full predictions and have your own say here