Prediction Man City vs. Arsenal: Chris Sutton on the Premier League game

Sutton makes predictions for all 380 Premier League games this season, against a variety of away teams.

In the fifth week he will compete against singer-songwriter and West Ham fan James Smith, whose debut album “Common People” has now been released.

Manchester City host Arsenal on Sunday at 4:30pm BST.

Sutton’s prediction: 2:1

Arsenal earned praise for the way they forced City to a draw last season, but then lost the title race by two points.

This, of course, left them vulnerable 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, the criticism was harsh, but we are talking about the small gaps between first and second place.

Inter Milan showed on Wednesday that you can hurt City and keep them calm at the same time. They played very bravely. They actually surprised me because they were able to overcome City's pressure very easily.

I don't like backing Arsenal because they are so strong defensively. They have also won all but one of their 11 away Premier League games in 2024 – apart from the draw at the Etihad in March – and have kept nine clean sheets.

This is incredible and if they wanted to, they could also cause problems for City on the counterattack like Inter did.

I was at that game and thought City were not at their best. Erling Haaland was quiet and Kevin de Bruyne may not be fit enough to face the Gunners after picking up an injury before half-time.

Still, it's been nearly two years since City failed to score in back-to-back games – in October 2022, when they drew 0-0 in Copenhagen in the Champions League and then lost at Anfield in the Premier League. I expect a response and don't think they'll be as listless as they were on Wednesday.

James' prediction: 3-1

What a game it will be. It will be close but Haaland is simply unstoppable at the moment. He will make the difference because I just don't think Arsenal really have a goalscorer.

Read their full predictions here and have your own say