Archive May 1, 2025

The Premier League’s bottom two meet at King Power Stadium on Saturday, so will Leicester or Southampton manage to pick up a rare victory?

“Saints still need a point to beat Robbie Savage’s useless Derby side, and avoid a share of the ‘worst Premier League team ever’ trophy,” said BBC Sport football expert Chris Sutton.

“But it says it all about how bad both teams have been this season that I still find it hard to back Leicester, even against them.

“The Foxes have not even scored at home in the league since 8 December, but if they can’t score there against Southampton then they might as well close the whole club down.”

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

For week 35, he takes on British-Colombian singer-songwriter Sasha Keable, who supports Arsenal.

Sasha’s new single, Act Right, is out now. It has already racked up more than 1.4m views on TikTok.

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.

Sasha is a singer now but grew up in the centre of the football world – her stepdad, Nick Broad, was head of sports science at Blackburn Rovers and Chelsea, and was working with Carlo Ancelotti as performance manager at Paris St-Germain when he died in a car accident in 2013.

“I’ve seen all sides of football, not just as a fan,” she told BBC Sport. “When Carlo got fired by Chelsea, my stepdad was fired too. He didn’t know what he was going to do, but then Carlo went to PSG and asked him to go with him.

“Sadly he passed away while he was in Paris but we are still close to the Ancelotti family. He and Carlo were such good friends.

“I look back now and my stepdad was a real pioneer in his work in sports science and nutrition. The things he introduced, like GPS tracking in training and collecting cardio data, were all new then but they are industry standard now.

“It’s incredible to see his work live on in that way. Some of his old friends and colleagues reach out to me now when they see me doing my own thing on social media and talk about how his work was incredible.

Before becoming a singer, Sasha dreamed of being a footballer herself. Now she settles for collecting shirts instead, with a Tino Asprilla Colombia shirt from 1994 taking pride of place.

“I played all the time when I was a kid, from the age of about six,” explained Sasha.

“It was a bit different for girls then because it was before the women’s game really took off and you didn’t really have a route to becoming a professional in this country. I wanted to go to the United States to play.

“I was quite a tomboy so I used to play with the boys all the time – I had to. We did not even have a girls team at my school until my friends and I asked to play with the boys and, after that, they formed a team for us.

“Fortunately it’s all changed now and football is so much more accessible for girls. If you don’t have the chance to try something, how do you know if you will love it?”

This should be a great game, because Wolves are so powerful and they will have no fear at all after winning six games in a row.

But Manchester City have looked much more solid in the past few weeks and they are on a bit of a roll themselves, with four successive wins in all competitions.

Pep Guardiola’s side will look to control this game, the same way they did in the first half of their FA Cup semi-final win over Nottingham Forest, but I don’t think they will find it easy to keep Wolves quiet.

Still, I went against City in their last home game, against Aston Villa, and I was wrong. I am not going to make the same mistake again.

Sutton’s prediction: 2-1

It would be easy to say the wheels have come off at Aston Villa, wouldn’t it?

In the past couple of weeks, they have gone out of the Champions League and FA Cup, and losing their last Premier League game has left them playing catch-up in the top-five race.

I don’t think Unai Emery’s side will crumble from here, though, even if Marcus Rashford’s season-ending injury is a big blow.

Villa need to win this, and they also need a big performance from Ollie Watkins. If he starts banging the goals in again then that would be a huge boost for their run-in.

Fulham are a nightmare to predict, as I’ve mentioned in previous weeks, and they are certainly capable of getting something here.

I don’t think Villa can keep a clean sheet – which probably means they will stop Fulham scoring – but I have a feeling things will click for them in front of goal.

Also, they are at home too so, if they need them, their fans can help to get them over the line.

Sutton’s prediction: 3-1

I am covering this game for BBC Radio 5 Live and I am really looking forward to going to Goodison Park again.

Everything points towards a home win, despite Everton losing their previous two games.

Ipswich are definitely down now and, while they won’t throw in the towel, they might be a little less spirited now they know they are relegated.

Their confidence has been sapped over the course of the season and, after watching them recently, I can’t back them to get anything here.

They were flimsy against Arsenal, then well beaten by Newcastle, and it would be a shock if they scored at all, let alone break my record for the fastest goal scored by an away player at Goodison.

Everton have stuttered in the past couple of weeks but I don’t think that is a bad thing for David Moyes.

He has over-achieved since taking charge in January, when the reality is that he has got the same group of players as his predecessor, Sean Dyche, and there needs to be a lot of work done on improving that squad in the summer.

Sutton’s prediction: 2-0

Leicester have been rotten but, somehow, Southampton have been even worse.

It’s sad to see Jamie Vardy leaving the Foxes at the end of the season, but maybe this might be the send-off he deserves. I am going with him to score the winner.

These two teams actually served up a thriller at St Mary’s Stadium back in October, when Vardy got one of Leicester’s goals as they fought back from 2-0 down to win 3-2.

I am expecting the same outcome here, just with a lot less excitement. The readers will go for a draw, I am sure of it, but I am pretty confident about Leicester taking this one.

Sutton’s prediction: 1-0

We know how dangerous Bournemouth are, because they beat Arsenal in October, and if Mikel Arteta rests players then this game becomes even harder for the Gunners.

It’s a tricky situation for Arteta, because he will want to head to Paris St-Germain for the second leg of their Champions League semi-final with a bit of momentum, but he has got to balance that with the risk of injury to his key players.

Bournemouth’s form has improved of late, and the circumstances mean they definitely have a decent chance of doing the double over Arsenal this season.

This all boils down to what the Arsenal team is, so it is difficult to make a call without knowing that, but they are at home and even if they are not at full strength then I can still see them getting a draw.

Sutton’s prediction: 1-1

We know Manchester United are going to make changes here, because seeing out the second leg of their Europa League semi-final with Athletic Bilbao is their priority.

Ruben Amorim’s side nicked a point at the very end of their game at Bournemouth last weekend, which sparked mass celebrations, but I really don’t see them doing the same against Brentford – they won’t be getting the bunting out this time.

The Bees are such a dangerous team when they come forward and they will keep on attacking United. Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa should get plenty of chances and I can see them getting a goal or two between them.

Sutton’s prediction: 2-0

Brighton got back to winning ways last weekend thanks to Carlos Baleba’s brilliant late strike against West Ham.

The Seagulls beat Newcastle at St James’ Park earlier in the season too, but that was before Eddie Howe’s side hit their stride, and it is a big ask for Brighton to repeat that result.

Newcastle were just relentless in their win over Ipswich and another three points here would be massive in their bid for a top-five finish – I don’t think they will get them, but we will see a few goals.

Sutton’s prediction: 2-2

This is 17th versus 16th in the Premier League which tells you how bad both teams have been this season.

Everyone knows Tottenham’s focus will be on their Europa League semi-final second leg with Bodo/Glimt so I think West Ham boss Graham Potter needs a result here more than Ange Postecoglou.

Potter’s results have been poor since he took over from Julen Lopetegui in January and the Hammers fans have not had the upturn they wanted in the way their team play either.

Spurs can still be dangerous even when they are out of form but Ange is not going to pick his strongest team. That gives West Ham a better chance of getting the win they badly need, but I don’t see them doing it in style.

Sutton’s prediction: 2-1

I would usually be asking which Chelsea side will turn up, but that applies to Liverpool too this week.

Arne Slot’s side could have been out all week celebrating their title win and we don’t know how that will affect them.

You often play at your best when you have been on the lash in a scenario like theirs. For example, some of my best games for Celtic came after nights out where we had won something and were allowed to have a couple of beers, but I don’t know what to expect here.

Chelsea have nicked a couple of results recently, to stay in the race for the top five, but their performances have not been too convincing and their fans still don’t seem to have taken to Enzo Maresca’s playing style.

This is not the test for them that it would be if Liverpool were trying to close out the title but I don’t think Slot is the type to let anyone take their foot off the gas. He will put out a strong team and even if they play with more freedom, I still think Liverpool will leave with the points.

Sutton’s prediction: 1-2

Crystal Palace will be on a high after booking their place in the FA Cup final, so this is another very tricky game for Nottingham Forest, who slipped up at home against Brentford on Thursday.

Nuno Espirito Santo’s side will have to be stubborn and resolute to get anything at Selhurst Park. They have shown that kind of character plenty of times already this season but they really need it now.

Looking at the race for the top five you feel like every team involved needs to win every game, but of course that is not going to happen, and I can see my boyhood team Forest dropping more points here. I just hope it doesn’t prove crucial for them.

Sutton’s prediction: 1-1

Chris got five correct results with one exact score from the nine Premier League games he predicted in week 34, giving him a total of 80 points.

He beat his guest, golf hero Lee Westwood, who got four correct results with no exact scores, leaving him on 40 points and tied with the BBC readers, who also got five correct results with one exact score.

Westwood and the BBC readers were wrong about both FA Cup semi-finals, while Chris correctly picked City to beat Forest and wrongly thought Aston Villa would beat Crystal Palace. Those ties do not count towards the weekly totals.

The other game from week 34, Manchester City’s 2-1 win over Aston Villa, took place on 22 April and does not count towards the weekly result either.