Sutton v AI: Final-Day Predictions Showdown as PL Season Ends

Chris Sutton needs one more outright win on the Premier League's final day to pip Microsoft's Copilot AI to the BBC predictions title, with singer-songwriter Sam Tompkins along for the ride.

The Premier League season reaches its conclusion on Sunday, and while the drama at the bottom of the table will have millions glued to their screens, there is a parallel contest that has gone right down to the wire — the BBC Sport predictions league.

Chris Sutton, the BBC's resident football expert, is locked level on outright wins with Microsoft's Copilot AI heading into the final round of fixtures. The problem for Sutton is that he sits second on the table because the AI has accumulated more tied victories, meaning only an outright win on Sunday will be enough for him to lift the title.

"The BBC readers and the guests have put up a pretty pathetic fight," said Sutton. "It is just down to me now. I am a bit like Doctor Who, in that it is all down to me to save the human race."

The stakes, clearly, are enormous.

Sam Tompkins joins the final-day panel

Joining Sutton for the final week of predictions is singer-songwriter and self-confessed Arsenal fan Sam Tompkins, whose new single Beauty Queen is out now. Tompkins, who began his career busking on the streets of Brighton and has since racked up two UK Top 10 albums and more than 300 million global streams, is coming off quite the personal high.

He was in Paris with his partner when Manchester City drew with Bournemouth in midweek, triggering Arsenal's first title in 22 years. "We had gone out for a really nice dinner and I'd been trying to look away from football for the evening," he told BBC Sport. "Then my mate texted me at half-time, saying '45 minutes'. At first I was like 'what does that mean?', before I realised that Bournemouth were winning."

What followed, by his own account, involved running through the streets of the French capital in a state of considerable excitement. Understandable, given the wait involved.

Now Tompkins has one eye on Sunday's relegation scramble — specifically on what happens to Tottenham — and the other on the Champions League final in Budapest next weekend, where Arsenal face Paris St-Germain. "The title is in the bag and we have Budapest to look forward to," he said. "Now we can sit back and see what happens to Spurs on Sunday. What a month it would be if everything comes off."

What are they predicting?

All ten Premier League games kick off simultaneously at 16:00 BST on Sunday 25 May. Here is a flavour of where Sutton and Tompkins diverge:

Brighton v Manchester United: Both Sutton and Tompkins go for a 2-1 home win. Sutton believes Danny Welbeck will score the winner and that Bruno Fernandes will still manage the assist he needs to break the single-season Premier League record. The AI goes for 2-2.
Burnley v Wolves: Sutton backs Burnley to edge a grim contest 1-0, acknowledging he is taking a risk in the pursuit of the predictions crown. Tompkins calls it differently, going 2-0 to Burnley. The AI also lands on 1-0.

Brighton's final-day result matters beyond predictions, of course. A win at the Amex would secure Fabian Hurzeler's side seventh place and European football, with sixth still possible if Bournemouth slip up elsewhere.

The format

Sutton has been making predictions for all 380 Premier League games this season, pitting himself against Copilot, BBC Sport readers and a rotating cast of guest pundits each week. A correct result — picking the right outcome regardless of score — is worth 10 points; the exact score earns 40. The outright wins metric is the decisive tiebreaker.

Sunday, then, is not just about survival scraps and European qualification. There is a very human pride on the line. Sutton has warned us about the machines all season long; now he has one final chance to prove the point.

Frequently asked

What time do the final Premier League games kick off on Sunday?: All ten fixtures on the final day of the 2024-25 Premier League season kick off simultaneously at 16:00 BST on Sunday 25 May.
What does Brighton need to qualify for Europe on the final day?: A win for Brighton at the Amex would secure them at least seventh place and European football next season. They could even finish sixth if Bournemouth fail to win their final fixture.
What Premier League assist record could Bruno Fernandes break on the final day?: Bruno Fernandes needs one more assist to set a new Premier League record for assists in a single season. He has the chance to achieve it when Manchester United travel to Brighton on Sunday.