Premier League champions Arsenal travel to Anfield on Sunday desperate to restore their reputation after League Two Fleetwood Town knocked them out of the Carabao Cup at Highbury on Tuesday, in what the BBC has called one of the most embarrassing nights in the club's history.
The BBC's football expert Chris Sutton, who is predicting all 380 Premier League fixtures this season against readers, guests and a machine, did not mince his words about the champions' collapse.
“Arsenal put a pretty strong team out but were humiliated by Fleetwood, and at Highbury too,” said Sutton.
“Liverpool seem to be getting it together so this will be a big test for Mikel Arteta's side after the week they have had,” he added, according to the BBC's week eight predictions feature.
Sutton v John Hannah: an Arsenal man makes his picks
For week eight, Sutton's guest is the actor John Hannah, an Arsenal supporter since he moved to London from Scotland more than 40 years ago and now on screens in the action thriller A Bad Day At The Office, which reaches British and Irish cinemas on 30 October.
Hannah, known for Four Weddings and a Funeral, Sliding Doors and The Mummy, grew up in East Kilbride dreaming of a football career before the acting life took hold. Among his childhood friends was the Rangers striker Ally McCoist, who did make the grade.
“I'd like to compare myself to Bukayo Saka,” Hannah told the BBC. “I played on the right wing and I was quite small and fast and I scored a lot of goals.”
“My dream was to be a footballer, and it was all I ever thought about. I played or trained all the time, but, like many dreams, it didn't come true,” he said.
Liverpool v Arsenal: the weekend's centrepiece
Sutton, who covers the match for Radio 5 Live, expects a tight affair at Anfield on Sunday. Liverpool, he notes, have tightened up considerably after conceding freely last season, and Alexander Isak is scoring again. He fancies a repeat of last season's closing-day 1-0 Liverpool win, courtesy of Dominik Szoboszlai's free-kick, but with the points going the other way this time.
Hannah, the romantic, goes the other way entirely.
“Liverpool's early form was a bit questionable but they have got better. I am still going to say two-nil to the Arsenal though, because Martin Odegaard will make the difference,” he said.
Asked about his favourite Arsenal players down the years, Hannah named Ian Wright, Tony Adams and Thierry Henry, then added a fond word for Cesc Fabregas and Santi Cazorla, “so skilful and so committed”.
Carrick on the brink at Manchester United
The weekend's other talking point is Stamford Bridge, where Michael Carrick's Manchester United travel to Chelsea with the manager's position hanging by a thread. United kept Carrick on after heavy defeats against Como and Bournemouth, a decision Sutton believes merely postpones the inevitable.
“By keeping him on for now, they are possibly just prolonging the misery for him, really,” said Sutton, who predicts a 3-1 Chelsea win. Chelsea, beaten by Tottenham and then knocked out of the cup by Liverpool, have Xabi Alonso without the injured Joao Pedro, but Danny Welbeck will lead the line and Cole Palmer returns from suspension.
Hannah reached for a familiar and painful comparison for United supporters.
“With Carrick under pressure, it just feels like Ole Gunnar Solskjaer all over again. He won a few games in a row then they gave him the job and now he doesn't win any,” he said.
What else Sutton and Hannah fancy
- Bournemouth v Leeds: Bournemouth have beaten Aston Villa, Manchester United and AC Milan in succession, but Sutton wonders how much the past week has drained them and tips 1-1 against Daniel Farke's well-drilled Leeds. Hannah goes 2-2.
- Nottingham Forest v Brentford: Forest, bottom three and profligate under Oliver Glasner, meet a Brentford side that draws heavily. Hannah backs the Bees 2-1.
- Coventry v Sunderland: A duel of the bottom two. Sutton backs Sunderland, aided by Brian Brobbey's return from injury, to win 0-1; Hannah goes 0-2.
- Hull v Ipswich: Both promoted sides sit on 10 points. Against the obvious draw, Sutton backs Ipswich to win away, 1-2. Hannah fancies Hull 2-0.
- Manchester City v Brighton: Sutton, on commentary duty, expects goals and “can see Erling Haaland getting a couple of them”. Hannah backs City 3-1.
- Crystal Palace v Tottenham: Sutton worries for Palace boss Pierre Sage and tips Spurs 2-0; Hannah, who watched Palace when he first arrived in London, goes 0-1.
- Fulham v Aston Villa: Villa are flying and Nicolas Jackson is in form, but Hannah, whose friend holds a Fulham season ticket, goes 0-0.
- Newcastle v Everton: Sutton has “a sneaky feeling” open Newcastle will leave the door ajar for David Moyes's side. Hannah predicts 1-1.
The machine wins again, and that should give us pause
There is a wider story here, and it is one that ought to trouble anyone who values human judgement. In the week eight table, Sutton managed five correct results including two exact scores, for 110 points. The BBC's readers managed four correct results for 100 points. Last week's guests, Waffle the Wonder Dog and his owner Simon, averaged 50 points, as the BBC reported.
The weekly winner, for the fourth consecutive week, was the artificial intelligence. It matched Sutton's five correct results but landed three exact scores, finishing on 140 points. A machine has now beaten the BBC's resident expert, a Hollywood actor and 28,000 human punters, month after month. One does not have to be a Luddite to note that the pundit's trade, once the preserve of men who earned their opinions on the pitch, is being quietly taken over by software. KickOff's prediction tracking confirms the pattern is now well established.
There was, at least, one moment of collective human triumph: Arsenal's 2-0 win over Everton was correctly picked by Sutton, the machine and the readers alike, with more than 11,500 of the 28,000 entries landing on that exact scoreline. Whether Arsenal's supporters will enjoy Sunday's trip to Anfield quite so much is another matter.