Sutton and Starsailor frontman James Walsh publish week six Premier League predictions ahead of Anfield clash

Chris Sutton and Starsailor frontman James Walsh have published their Premier League predictions for week six ahead of Sunday’s meeting between Liverpool and Manchester City at Anfield, after City were found guilty of breaking the majority of the 115 financial rules they have been accused of breaching.

"It's a mammoth game," said BBC Sport football expert Chris Sutton, adding: "Everyone is looking at this game to see if City's players appear deflated and how much it will affect them. "We don't know what the implications are for this season, either. They are top of the league at the moment but will they get a massive points deduction that changes that?" Sutton is predicting all 380 Premier League matches this season against AI, BBC Sport readers and a range of guests; for week six his opponent is James Walsh, who supports Liverpool and fronts the band Starsailor. Starsailor have issued a 25th anniversary edition of their debut album Love Is Here and are performing it in full with a string ensemble on their UK and European tour this month; the album has sold more than 1m copies worldwide, reached number two in the UK album charts in 2001 and has amassed more than 56m streams on Spotify. "You have to be realistic whenever a new manager comes in, especially with the big signings we made last year, Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz, not hitting the ground running," Walsh told BBC Sport. "I think just give him a chance to implement his way of playing football and give Isak and Wirtz a chance to prove themselves this season. "I don't see us winning the title but I'd be more than happy with the FA Cup or even the Carabao Cup, and having a good run in Europe. "It's a bit greedy but of course you do like to see your team win something every season. Three more trophies like in 2001 would be pretty good!"

On Arsenal's trip to Leeds, Sutton referenced Brighton's performance before the international break and backed the Gunners to find a way to win at home, while Walsh called Arsenal's recent wobble possibly an anomaly and predicted a 1-1 draw. Walsh said: "Arsenal have just had a bit of a wobble and you wonder if it was just an anomaly, because Brighton have had quite a few scalps, or if it is going to be a slightly more difficult season for them this year. I guess we will start to find out here but I've been impressed by how resilient Leeds have been, to stay unbeaten, so I have made this my outlier prediction to give them some credit for their start. They will probably get thumped now but someone has to give them a chance."

For Brentford against Aston Villa, Sutton stuck with Villa and noted Johan Manzambi is fit again and could make a difference; Walsh also backed Villa, predicting a 2-1 win. In Bournemouth versus Chelsea Sutton cited Bournemouth's lack of victories under Marco Rose and the absence of Alex Scott, but sided with Chelsea as his prediction rested on their frontline clicking; Walsh forecasted Chelsea 2-0 and said: "I don't see Bournemouth getting anything here."

Sutton expected Ipswich v Fulham to finish level after Ipswich's 10-man display in their defeat to Everton, while Walsh predicted a 1-2 Fulham victory and expressed that Fulham had been unlucky with results so far. On Sunderland v Brighton Sutton said the Seagulls would be full of confidence and that the points would be shared; Walsh predicted a 2-2 draw and commented: "Both teams play some great attacking football and I can't pick a winner. Brighton have made an amazing start to the season but if Sunderland show that never-say-die spirit they had against Manchester City, they will get something."

Sutton described the Manchester United v Tottenham fixture as high-pressure and backed Bruno Fernandes to produce something decisive, while Walsh put United 1-0 and said a home win would increase pressure on Roberto de Zerbi rather than Michael Carrick. Sutton expected Nottingham Forest's Oliver Glasner to receive a warm reception on his return to his old club and to take three points, but Walsh predicted Crystal Palace to win 3-2. For Hull v Everton Sutton forecast a 1-1 draw and Walsh backed Everton 1-2, noting Everton supporters' cautious optimism.

Sutton predicted a 1-2 win for Manchester City at Anfield and pictured Erling Haaland scoring the winner, while Walsh reflected on the wider implications of City's ruling and said: "I am not sure we should start handing out titles and cups to everyone who lost out to City during the period in question, including Liverpool. You can't really take away those memories and emotional moments from the City players and fans, and just hand them to another team, but maybe on the official record those wins should be chalked off, or at least have an asterisk next to them. It does also mean there is a very strange feeling around this fixture and the whole season too. City and Liverpool have had lots of huge games against each other in recent years when the title has been on the line but this time we don't know what will happen to City and if this result will even matter in the end." Walsh nonetheless predicted a 3-1 Liverpool win. At the Coventry Building Society Arena, scheduled for 20:00, both Sutton and Walsh predicted a 2-2 draw between Coventry and Newcastle. The AI predictions were generated using Microsoft Copilot Chat — the tool was asked to "predict this weekend's Premier League scores". In week five Sutton achieved four correct results with one exact score for a total of 70 points, AI managed five correct results with no exact scores for 50 points, BBC readers recorded three correct results with one exact score for 60 points, and guest Johnny Marr finished top with five correct results and one exact score, totalling 80 points; two fixtures were correctly picked by everyone — Everton v Ipswich and Manchester City v Sunderland.

Both Sutton's and Walsh's selections will be tested at Anfield on Sunday, when Liverpool meet Manchester City in the fixture at the centre of the current financial-rules controversy.