Sutton's predictions v Gladiators star Apollo

Having won only one of their past six Premier League games and drawn 2-2 at Tottenham after being 2-0 up, can second-placed Manchester City get back on track at Liverpool on Sunday?

"I wouldn't rule City out of anything at the moment" said BBC Sport football expert Chris Sutton.

"But the way they folded in the second half against Tottenham was a real worry."

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

His guest for week 25 is Gladiators star Apollo, real name Alex Gray, who supports Newcastle.

Before becoming a Gladiator, the 6ft 6in Gray played Premiership rugby for three teams and also American Football for NFL side Atlanta Falcons.

He is part of Channel 5's Big Game Night NFL coverage and they are live on Super Bowl Sunday on 8 February from 22:30 GMT.

Do you agree with their scores? You can make your own Premier League predictions below - and for the Super Bowl too!

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.

The NFL's influence can be seen in the Premier League through the kind of choreographed corner routines that are now commonplace, and Apollo can understand why Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has shared ideas with Los Angeles Rams coach Sean McVay.

Apollo told BBC Sport: "While football is quite a free-flowing game you do have these set-pieces and if you need some inspiration of how to make things happen then the NFL is a good place to look at, because that's what they do all day every day - not just on offence but on defence as well.

"What you are always trying to get in the NFL is mismatches, and that's exactly the same in football for some of the big guys coming in and trying to put the ball in the back of the net with a header or whatever.

"The level of detail that goes into that in the NFL is incredible. I remember my days there in training camp would start with breakfast at 7.30am and some days you wouldn't leave the meeting rooms until 11pm.

"We were only on the field for two hours max and in the gym for another hour, and the rest would be meetings and analysis.

"The scrutiny on every individual is so high so I can see why other sports would look at that and try to implement it themselves to find some weakness in the opposition armour. Arteta must have been thinking it is a way to help his team win games."

Chris Sutton and Apollo - aka Alex Gray - 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.

I am at this game and we are getting to the stage where it really matters how the teams fighting relegation do in their head-to-head-battles like this.

I think the bottom two, Wolves and Burnley are down, but you don't know what West Ham will do from here.

There are signs they may click, so with Leeds and Nottingham Forest both on 26 points, this is big for both of them.

From a Leeds point of view, their home form has carried them a lot this season.

They got walloped at Elland Road by Arsenal last weekend but they just have to put that behind them for this game because, as the season has gone on, they have proved they can be competitive.

Forest's away form is actually better than their home form - they have picked up 14 points on the road compared to 12 at the City Ground, in the same number of games.

Sean Dyche's side were comfortable with 10 men in the draw against Crystal Palace last time out and they have won their past two away games, against Brentford and the Hammers. Overall, they are unbeaten in four league games, which is the longest they have gone without losing all season.

As you can see, I've looked into all the stats for you - but will my research help me get my prediction right? Probably not.

This is going to be a very tight affair and Forest won't worry about having much possession, but scoring goals has been a bigger problem for them because they have missed Chris Wood badly - only Wolves have scored fewer than them.

Forest have brought in 6ft 7in striker Lorenzo Lucca on loan from Napoli to try to fill the gap left by Wood's long-term knee injury but he has not been in great form in Serie A this season.

So, after a great deal of thought, I am going to back Leeds at home - although now I've said that it will probably end up as a 1-1 draw.

Sutton's prediction: 2-1

Apollo's prediction: When I looked at the fixtures I was thinking about who in the Gladiators supports who. Two of the guys, Giant and Hammer, are big Forest fans so I am going for a Leeds win here. It should be a good game though. 3-2

AI's prediction: 2-1

Manchester United were slightly fortunate to beat Fulham last time out. A draw would have been about right.

Still, it was big for Benjamin Sesko to get their winner and I have got to say he put it away very nicely, especially because he should have scored with a header earlier in the game.

Tottenham, meanwhile, produced a great comeback against Manchester City. I've talked about how much I rate Dominic Solanke and when he is up for Spurs, they are in a much better place as a team.

There is a danger of getting carried away with United under Michael Carrick, and I am expecting Solanke to score again here, but it still feels like United will find a way to win it.

Sutton's prediction: 2-1

Apollo's prediction: Tottenham have an affinity with the NFL and I've been to a couple of games there so I am backing them here. 0-1

AI's prediction: 2-2

Losing back-to-back home league games against Everton and Brentford has been a real killer for Aston Villa, who have so many injuries to contend with in their midfield.

After a long wait for a win, Bournemouth have now won three of their past four league games - and I make them favourites at home here.

Villa thumped the Cherries 4-0 at Villa Park in November, and I have got a lot of their players in my Fantasy team, but this is going to be a very different game.

I've gone for 2-1 wins in my first two games and I don't really want to go for that scoreline again here, but I feel like I have no choice. I do think Villa will score - Morgan Rogers is always dangerous and Tammy Abraham is a clever signing up front - but Bournemouth will edge it.

Sutton's prediction: 2-1

Apollo's prediction: It's great for Villa to be in a title race. 1-2

AI's prediction: 1-2

I am not going to say 2-1 for this one. Instead it will be another Arsenal clean sheet - they have already kept 12 in their first 24 league games, two more than any other team.

It's a shame Sunderland midfielder Granit Xhaka is not fit to face his old club at the Emirates. When he played for the Black Cats against Arsenal in their draw at the Stadium of Light, they were the first team I saw who really rattled the Gunners.

Xhaka's experience has helped to glue together a Sunderland side with a lot of young players this season, but they coped all right without him against Burnley on Monday.

This is a much tougher game for them, obviously, and Sunderland's away form is nowhere near as strong as it is at home.

Arsenal swept Leeds aside 4-0 last weekend, when everyone thought they were having a bit of a blip.

They showed their strength in depth at Elland Road, when they lost Bukayo Saka in the warm-up, and I can see them winning comfortably this time too.

Sutton's prediction: 2-0

Apollo's prediction: This is very easy for me because Legend and Fire both support Arsenal and are real die-hard fans - Legend even has a cannon tattoo - so being absolutely honest I would love Sunderland to win, and do it for the north-east! 0-2

AI's prediction: 4-0

I think Burnley are down but this is their chance to prove me wrong.

They need it to be - they are at home, against a team one place above them in the table, so this is their big chance to end their long wait for a win.

I just don't see it happening for the Clarets, though.

As I said earlier, I am not sure which West Ham side will turn up but they have shown some improvement recently, especially in attack.

I don't think the Hammers will keep a clean sheet because they have had only one all season - the fewest by any top-flight team - but I don't see Burnley beating them.

Sutton's prediction: 1-1

Apollo's prediction: My cousins are lifelong Burnley fans and season-ticket holders so if I didn't back them here, I'd be in a lot of trouble. The former NFL player, JJ Watt, is a co-owner of the club too, so for the NFL links and family ties, it's got to be a home win. 2-1

AI's prediction: 1-2

Everton asked about Fulham forward Harry Wilson on deadline day.

He has been a revelation this season and they won't be looking forward to facing him on Saturday.

The Toffees have got something after falling behind in their past three league games, including the last-gasp equaliser against Brighton that saw poor David Moyes booked for his celebration - there is no way you should get a yellow card for that.

This is going to be another close game and it smells of another 2-1 to me, but I am not going to go down that road again this week.

Instead, I'm going for a different scoreline but sticking with a narrow Fulham win. Marco Silva will feel his side deserved something from Old Trafford and it will be him celebrating at the final whistle this week, not Moyes.

Sutton's prediction: 1-0

Apollo's prediction: We don't like draws in the NFL but this might up all-square. 1-1

AI's prediction: 1-1

Chelsea were accused of being too negative in their Carabao Cup semi-final defeat by Arsenal in midweek, but I can't see that being the case here.

I was far too optimistic about Wolves last week when I said they would draw with Bournemouth and I am not making the same mistake this time.

The games have been coming thick and fast for Chelsea and I actually admire their manager Liam Rosenior for the way he changed things up in their 3-2 comeback win over West Ham after being 2-0 down.

Wolves boss Rob Edwards has probably got one eye on preparing for next season in the Championship, and his side will be one step nearer to that after this game.

Sutton's prediction: 1-2

Apollo's prediction: I went to a couple of Chelsea games when I lived in London and they will get the job done here. 1-2

AI's prediction: 1-2

You just wonder how much Newcastle have got left in the tank after their Carabao Cup semi-final defeat at Manchester City on Wednesday.

The Magpies have a few injuries to contend with too, with Anthony Gordon the latest player to be sidelined, so they will have to dig deep and hope Bruno Guimaraes is back fit in time for this game.

Brentford got one heck of a win last time out at Villa, and their manager Keith Andrews deserves a lot of credit for getting that result despite being down to 10 men for the entire second half.

The Bees are always so well organised at the back, and how Eddie Howe's side try to break them down will be the key to this one.

As good as Newcastle striker Nick Woltemade is with his back to goal, he doesn't run in behind.

Doing that, and attacking with pace, is how Eddie Howe's side look the most dangerous - Harvey Barnes and Anthony Elanga will have to do that here, and I fancy Yoane Wissa to score against his former club.

Sutton's prediction: 3-1

Apollo on why he supports Newcastle: I am from a small town in County Durham - my grandmother went to school with Sir Bobby Robson - so I had the choice of Newcastle, Sunderland or Middlesbrough. I know it is absolute blasphemy to say this, but I like to see all the north-east clubs do well.

Newcastle are my team though, because that's who I went to watch first - I went to see them against Ipswich in 2000, and Alan Shearer scored a couple - and it is my city as well. I played rugby for them and I lived there. It's a fantastic place and it's even better when the team is going well.

Apollo's prediction: This is going to be a Newcastle win, it's just a case of how much. Brentford's performance coach Ben Ryan used to coach me for England Sevens, then he went to Fiji and got a gold medal at the 2016 Olympics, so it would be nice to get one over him as well. 3-1

AI's prediction: 2-1

Palace have brought in Jorgen Strand Larsen, and kept Jean-Philippe Mateta, so Eagles boss Oliver Glasner has got some options up front.

I normally predict a draw in this game, and it ended up 0-0 at Selhurst Park in November. This time, though, I fancy Brighton.

The Seagulls didn't quite get over the line against Everton, but them conceding late on actually won me some points. I am going for them to keep a clean sheet here though.

Sutton's prediction: 2-0

Apollo's prediction: Palace to edge it. 0-1

AI's prediction: 2-1

It will be interesting to see if Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola starts with Omar Marmoush up front ahead of Erling Haaland after his two goals against Newcastle in midweek, but their attack looks strong anyway with Rayan Cherki and Antoine Semenyo in the team.

The same applies to Liverpool, who have got a striker in form in Hugo Ekitike, while Florian Wirtz is playing with confidence too.

City will have moments where they will create chances, but Liverpool are going to have opportunities at the other end as well - there will be a few goals in this game.

Sutton's prediction: 2-2

Apollo's prediction: This is the 'Super Bowl' game of the weekend in the Premier League so I've gone for an NFL-type score as well as a football one. 22-31 (2-3)

AI's prediction: 2-2

I haven't got a clue about the NFL and I never played gridiron - my nose would be too big and would stick out of the helmet - but I am going for the Seahawks to down the Patriots on Sunday.

Seattle is a really nice place and I played in their stadium for Celtic, so they get my backing here... although that's probably bad news for them, going by how I've done at predictions this season.

Sutton's prediction: 28-10

Apollo's prediction: The Seahawks' defensive coordinator, Aden Durde, was part of the NFL's International Player Pathway Program that took me to Atlanta. If he gets a Super Bowl, it would be the biggest accomplishment from someone from Britain in the NFL. 21-18

AI's prediction: 23-27

For the second successive week, the outcome went to the final game.

Chris, the BBC readers and AI were all level on 80 points going into Monday's match between Sunderland and Burnley, with his guest - boxer Francesca Hennessy - on 40 points.

Chris and Francesca went for a 1-0 Black Cats victory, the BBC readers thought they would win 2-0, while AI picked a 1-1 draw.

Sunderland were 2-0 up after 32 minutes but the BBC readers' hopes of an outright win were scuppered when Chemsdine Talbi scored their third goal, 18 minutes from time.

That meant Chris and the BBC readers tied for victory - they both managed six correct results, including one exact score, from the 10 matches in week 24, for a total of 90 points.

AI managed five correct results with one correct score for a tally of 80 points, while Francesca also managed five correct results but with no exact scores, leaving her on 50 points.