Premier League leaders Liverpool are four points clear at Christmas with a game in hand, but can Arsenal or Chelsea close the gap in 2025?
“We are not at the stage yet where the title is Liverpool’s to lose,” said BBC Sport’s football expert Chris Sutton.
“Arsenal have shown they can be a juggernaut when they get going, and I would not rule Chelsea out either.
“Liverpool are definitely the team to beat and they are going to take some stopping, but there are still some twists and turns to come.”
Sutton is making predictions for all 380 Premier League games this season, against a variety of guests.
For week 18’s fixtures, to be played over the festive period on 26 and 27 December, he takes on Eats Everything, aka DJ & producer Daniel Pearce, who is a Manchester United fan.
Eats Everything’s latest track, Upside Down, is out now, and his next single, with Gardna, is released in January. His new album follows in 2025, including features from legendary figures MJ Cole and Goldie.
Do you agree with their scores? You can make your own below.
The most popular scoreline selected for each game is used in the scoreboards and tables at the bottom of this page.
Eats Everything has always had a soft spot for his hometown team Bristol City, but fell in love with Manchester United as a boy.
“I’d been watching City since the age of six, and went to Wembley to watch them win the Freight Rover Trophy in 1986,” he explained.
“But, with United, my dad played rugby for Salford back in the day and he was also regional director of a company called BSS [British Steel Supplies].
“When United did a refit of Old Trafford in the late 1980s, he brokered the deal for the pipes and stuff like that, so he took me to some games and that was it.
“It sounds ridiculous but I just loved the fact Mark Hughes had massive thighs – he was the first player I really latched on to as being a hero of mine.
“Hughes, and Bryan Robson too, was where it started for me. Then it was players like Lee Sharpe and Ryan Giggs coming through.
“I loved the way Sharpe played with a smile on his face and seemed to like having a laugh. He was an entertainer, and I am not sure many players like that exist at the highest level anymore – it is almost like it is coached out of them.
“It is all about the team now, which is brilliant in some respects, but I miss the days when every side had an exciting player or players who you looked forward to watching for their flair and brilliant individual skill.
“There were far more entertainers around in the 1990s and early 2000s. If you look at the list of Ballon d’Or winners from that era, it is people like Ronaldo and Ronaldinho who are getting those accolades. I don’t think any current players in the Premier League or La Liga can really get close to them.”
Chris Sutton and Eats Everything were speaking to BBC Sport’s Chris Bevan.
Etihad Stadium, 12:30 GMT
Manchester City are finding everything difficult at the moment, including creating chances and scoring goals, but I still think it is just a matter of time until they come good again – they have to.
There is so much noise around City at the moment, about what is going wrong, but this is still a game they should win.
Everton have kept clean sheets in five of their past six games but they got thumped the last time they came to Manchester – at the start of December, when they lost 4-0 to Manchester United.
I think they will lose at Etihad Stadium too.
Sutton’s prediction: 2-1
Eats Everything’s prediction: Everton have been drawing a lot but they have not seen much of the ball – they had less than 25% of possession against Chelsea and Arsenal – and it is going to be the same story here. Arsenal battered them really, just without scoring, and although City have been struggling I still think they will find a way through. 2-0
Vitality Stadium, 15:00 GMT
I am not going to overthink this one.
Until they lost to Arsenal twice last week, Crystal Palace were showing signs of improvement, but Bournemouth have been brilliant.
Andoni Iraola’s side thoroughly deserved to beat Manchester United on Sunday. They always create loads of chances and, at the moment, they are taking them.
Sutton’s prediction: 2-1
Eats Everything’s prediction: Bournemouth are absolutely on fire – as United found out on Sunday, unfortunately. I love Antoine Semenyo, who is an ex-Bristol City player and is absolute dynamite, but the whole team just look really solid and play amazing football.
Palace have started to kick on a bit now too, and Oliver Glasner is doing a good job there, but I’m definitely going with Bournemouth here. 2-1
Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT
I am a big fan of Fulham manager, Marco Silva, but the Cottagers have a dismal record at Stamford Bridge – they have not won there since 1979 – and there won’t be any ‘Silva Bells’ ringing in celebration this time either.
Chelsea will be disappointed not to have beaten Everton on Sunday, but I don’t see them failing to fire again here. They are back on home turf, and they should be back to winning ways.
Sutton’s prediction: 2-1
Eats Everything’s prediction: I’d normally just go with Chelsea here because they have been doing well but Fulham have really impressed me – Silva is another manager who has been given time to build a very handy team.
Chelsea always seem to score though – their goalless draw with Everton on Sunday was the first time they had failed to score in the league since the opening weekend – so I am going to play it safe and back them to edge it. 2-1
St James’ Park, 15:00 GMT
Newcastle seem to be hitting a bit of form – as I predicted, although I don’t like to mention it – and Alexander Isak looks unstoppable at the moment. It just shows that people should never write off Magpies manager Eddie Howe.
Aston Villa were comfortable in their win against Manchester City on Saturday, and I love what Morgan Rogers is doing for them this season.
Villa manager Unai Emery has a nice headache up front, to choose between Ollie Watkins and Jhon Duran, and it means they have always got goals in them.
It is Newcastle I am going with here, though. They seem to be building real momentum although I guess there is the risk I am reading too much into them being so comfortable against little Ipswich Town at the weekend.
They were ruthless against little Ipswich at Portman Road, and I think they will be ruthless at home against Villa too.
Sutton’s prediction: 3-1
Eats Everything’s prediction: This is a tough one because both sides have been very up and down this season, and they both had good wins at the weekend.
I am not going to say Newcastle have been ‘Spursy’ but they seem to be either really good, or terrible – so I am going to go with Villa here. I don’t really know why, it is just a feeling I have got. 0-2
City Ground, 15:00 GMT
Tottenham are flagging at the moment and missing a lot of key players but it is obvious that Spurs manager Ange Postecoglou won’t compromise on his playing style – he has made that clear in the past week.
It makes this game fascinating because Nottingham Forest are in great form and they are also resilient defensively, and able to soak up pressure.
Spurs are such a strange team that I still feel they could go to the City Ground and win by three or four goals, but you have to fancy Forest to score a couple too.
I am very tempted to back Nuno Espirito Santo’s side to win this, because they will just sit in a mid to low block and just counter-attack, which will cause Spurs problems.
But Tottenham have got goals in them, so I am going for a draw.
Sutton’s prediction: 2-2
Eats Everything’s prediction: One of my best mates, Matt, is a die-hard Forest fan so I follow them quite closely and I am really pleased they are doing so well. They have got some brilliant players too – if United signed Murillo then I would be over the moon, and I really like Chris Wood.
Forest were brilliant against United earlier this month and fully deserved to beat us. They have had some big results already this season and I think they will get another win here. I was going to go 2-0 to Forest, but Spurs always score. 3-1
St Mary’s Stadium, 15:00 GMT
There has not been much Christmas cheer for Southampton but they did at least keep a clean sheet against Fulham and their new manager, Ivan Juric, would probably be happy with another bore draw in his first game in charge.
West Ham also picked up a point over the weekend, against Brighton, but they really got away with one there – I was so unlucky with my prediction of a Seagulls win, because they absolutely battered them.
The Hammers have got some really quality players, like Jarrod Bowen, and I keep thinking they are eventually going to get going and find some consistency, but it has not happened yet.
I’m still not convinced by West Ham boss Julen Lopetegui, and I don’t really know what to expect from Juric, so the safest prediction here is probably another 1-1 draw – which would be West Ham’s third in a row, all against south coast clubs.
Sutton’s prediction: 1-1
Eats Everything’s prediction: Southampton will be hoping for a new manager bounce, but West Ham have been decent in their past couple of games – they got battered by Bournemouth but showed they were resilient and it was similar against Brighton. I am going to go for them getting another draw here. 1-1
Molineux, 17:30 GMT
I usually get a bit of feedback on social media when I predict a Manchester United defeat but it has been very quiet since I said they would lose to Bournemouth on Sunday.
I did not think the scoreline would be 3-0 again, but the reason I went with the Cherries is because they won at Old Trafford last season and, since then, they have improved while United have gone backwards. So, was it really such a surprise?
Moving on to this game, and the same thinking applies. Why would anyone look at Ruben Amorim’s side and back them to beat Wolves? I can’t think of any compelling reason why anything will be different here.
I feel sorry for Amorim because he arrived with such excitement around his appointment but, only a few weeks later, he must be fully aware of how big a job he faces to turn things around.
United have wasted a fortune to build this squad and, as Amorim keeps saying, he is still trying to find his best XI. This is a trial period for him but he has got to deal with issues like Marcus Rashford’s future as well. He has got a lot to sort out.
It is hard to know what Wolves will be like either, though. One of the positives from their win over Leicester in Vitor Pereira’s first game was a clean sheet but you have to remember that the Foxes are bang average.
So, as poor as United have been, I am not going for Wolves to win this either. Instead, I think this will be a tight game and it has got draw written all over it.
Sutton’s prediction: 1-1
Eats Everything’s prediction: I was hoping our win in the derby would boost our form but obviously that wasn’t the case against Bournemouth. Wolves got a good win in in Pereira’s first match in charge and playing them in his first home game is going to be tough, but of course I am going to back us.
I’d like to think if Rashford or Alejandro Garnacho are on the bench then one of them will come on and be itching to do something, and make the difference. 0-2
Eats Everything on United’s season: I really like Ruben Amorim, I think he’s an absolute dude. Erik ten Hag was similar when he came in, and ruled with an iron fist, but I think communication was his problem. Ten Hag wanted to do it his way when he arrived, and it didn’t work, but instead of sticking to his guns he tried to make the system work around the players rather than the other way round.
It worked for a while in his first season, until Casemiro’s form dropped off, but the team was never really the same after that and Ten Hag did not look very convincing on the touchline. Amorim is already articulating things a lot better and even if results have not been great, I do think we will get better.
Anfield, 20:00 GMT
Liverpool absolutely smashed Tottenham on Sunday with a brilliant display of power, energy and attacking thrust.
They were brilliant. My only criticism of their performance is that they could have been more clinical and should have reached double figures with the chances they created.
The worry for Leicester as they head to Anfield is that they are leaking lots of chances anyway, whoever they face.
They will sit in, and try to shut up shop, but it won’t make any difference – they will not be able to cope with Liverpool’s firepower.
Even if Reds boss Arne Slot makes changes, they still create lots of chances and the only real question is how many they will score. I am being nice by saying Liverpool will only get four.
Sutton’s prediction: 4-0
Eats Everything’s prediction: Leicester are another team I like and I’d love see Ruud van Nistelrooy get something here, but I can’t see anything other than a Liverpool win. 3-0
Amex Stadium, 19:30 GMT
Brighton have been patchy of late but they should have beaten West Ham on Saturday and I don’t feel like they have dropped off quite as much as their run of five games without a win suggests.
There will be goals in this game, because the Seagulls are leaking them and Brentford always look dangerous, but I am going for a narrow home win.
Sutton’s prediction: 2-1
Eats Everything’s prediction: Brentford have been terrible away and unreal at home, at least until they lost to Forest on Saturday anyway. I was going to give this to Brighton but they have been so hit and miss that I am actually going to go for a draw. 1-1
Emirates Stadium, 20:30 GMT
Ipswich missed the suspended Liam Delap in their heavy home defeat against Newcastle. He will be back for this game, but I don’t see him making much difference to the outcome.
Saturday was the kind of thumping that might put a massive dent in Ipswich’s confidence and this is a big test for them. I know they have already won in north London this season, when they saw off Tottenham in November, but it is hard to see them getting anything at Emirates Stadium.
It is important for Arsenal that Gabriel Jesus is back in the goals. They are going to miss the injured Bukayo Saka for the next few weeks but they will still have too much firepower for Ipswich.
The Tractor Boys are in the relegation zone at Christmas and I want to say that I feel sorry for my daughter’s teacher Mr Fields, who is an Ipswich fan. To be honest, that’s nothing new, though – I always feel sorry for all Ipswich fans.
Being serious, I still think they have got a chance of staying up and I still rate their manager, Kieran McKenna, very highly – but that Newcastle defeat was a big blow for them. They are still without a home win this season and that has to change quickly if they are going to have any chance of beating the drop.
Sutton’s prediction: 2-0
Eats Everything’s prediction: If Arsenal turn up there is no contest, really. Ipswich gave United a good game and they are not a bad team, but they concede too many goals. 3-0
Chris got four correct results from the 10 games in week 17, with no exact scores, giving him 40 points.
His guest, Reverend and the Makers singer Jon McClure, did a bit better. He also got four correct results but with one exact score, for a tally of 70 points.
But it was the BBC readers who came out on top. They got five correct results, with two exact scores, for a total of 110 points.
