Arsenal are only three victories away from securing their first Premier League title since 2004. However, can they avoid a stumble against West Ham, who sit third from bottom, on Sunday?
“This is the kind of match where Arsenal fans will look at it and think, if they can get past this hurdle, the trophy is theirs,” said BBC Sport football expert Chris Sutton.
Sutton is predicting the outcome of all 380 Premier League matches this season, competing against AI, BBC Sport readers, and a rotating cast of guests. For week 36, the former Norwich City forward faces boxing world champion Fabio Wardley, a lifelong Ipswich Town supporter.
Wardley is set to defend his WBO heavyweight title for the first time against Daniel Dubois in Manchester on Saturday. The fight will be broadcast live on DAZN, with commentary available on BBC Radio 5 Live.
Unfortunately, a real bout between Sutton and Wardley wasn’t possible. Instead, their battle of predictions—alongside some verbal sparring—will have to do. This comes after Ipswich’s promotion to the Premier League, while rivals Norwich finished ninth in the Championship.
“Chris would probably call himself a Norwich legend,” Wardley said. “That lot like to do that. We’ve already beaten them twice in the Championship this season, so if I can add another win by topping him here, I’ll take that.”
“Fabio looks a bit chubby to me,” Sutton responded. “But I wish him all the best in his fight. I’m genuinely pleased his team got promoted—it’s quite convenient for me if I ever need to work in Ipswich, and I hope they enjoy their Premier League season.”
Ipswich secured their return to the top flight last weekend. Wardley’s fight preparations meant he couldn’t join the celebration at Portman Road on Saturday or attend Monday’s promotion parade, but he still celebrated their crucial 3-0 final-day win over QPR from a distance.
“It’s really exciting for us to be back up there, and I couldn’t be prouder of the team,” he told BBC Sport. “It was the first time in a long time I missed the last game of the season, and I was gutted I couldn’t make the parade either. I spoke to chairman Mark Ashton and told him I was with the guys in spirit—but I’ve got my own job to handle this weekend. They understood completely, and they’ll be there to support me on Saturday night.”
Ipswich were promoted to the Premier League in 2024 as well, but were relegated after winning just one of their final 19 matches. Wardley, however, is optimistic about next season.
“It didn’t go our way, but that season was still great for the club and the whole area,” he explained. “Everyone was buzzing whenever a big team visited. For any promoted side, staying up is the main goal, and we gave it a good try the first time. Clearly there were adjustments to make, but we’ve bounced straight back and I feel we’re much better equipped now—firstly in terms of experience, but also the quality of players and the team unit we have. We’re much stronger defensively, for example; we’ve conceded 10 fewer goals this season than when we last went up. Even in that area alone, there are big improvements. Now we can bring in a few new players and turn a good team into a great one.”
Chris Sutton and Fabio Wardley spoke to BBC Sport’s Chris Bevan. The AI predictions were generated using Microsoft’s technology.
