Can Aston Villa Halt Manchester City's Perfect Start?

Manchester City has kicked off the season in spectacular fashion, winning their first seven Premier League matches. But can they maintain this flawless record when they travel to face a resurgent Aston Villa on Saturday? "Aston Villa has gotten the better of City in this matchup for the past three seasons under Unai Emery," noted BBC Sport's football analyst Chris Sutton. "They’ll be feeling confident this time around too - they're on a seven-match unbeaten streak across all competitions, and their momentum is impressive." Sutton is busy making predictions for all 380 Premier League fixtures this season, competing against AI predictions, BBC Sport readers, and a host of special guests. For this week's predictions, he’s up against none other than Waffle the Wonder Dog and his owner Simon, portrayed by actor James Merry. Waffle's After School Club, which features their delightful escapades, is currently airing on CBeebies and BBC iPlayer, making it a perfect family watch. Do you have your own predictions? Join in by selecting your scorelines below. Each week, the most popular predictions contribute to the scoreboards and tables featured at the bottom of the page. If you guess a win, draw, or loss correctly, you earn 10 points, while nailing the exact score gives you a whopping 40 points. Want to keep the prediction fun going? Check out BBC Sport's new Match of the Day predictor game, showcasing six fixtures from both domestic and European competitions. Waffle's After School Club often ends in delightful chaos, and it’ll be interesting to see how he fares with his predictions this week. As a dog with a flair for football, Waffle shared, "I’m a huge fan of the game! My ideal position? Right-back... on the sofa. My favorite player is Harry Kane, and being a Liverpool supporter, my all-time hero is Kenny Dog-leash. You know, the Reds never walkies alone!" Waffle enjoys catching Liverpool matches on Match of the Day, although he has to catch up later on iPlayer after an early morning garden stroll. In real life, James Merry is an Aston Villa supporter with deep roots in the club. "Growing up in Sutton Coldfield, everyone around me was a Villa fan," he said. "My family’s ties run deep; my great-aunt held a season ticket for decades, and my nan lived just down the road from Villa Park." James even worked there as a teenager, serving burgers on matchdays and cleaning executive boxes during the summer. "I had the run of Villa Park; it was like a dream come true!" Chris Sutton, Waffle, and James Merry shared their insights with BBC Sport's Chris Bevan. The AI predictions were generated using Microsoft Copilot Chat, simply tasked with forecasting this weekend's Premier League scores. So, I'm up against a talking dog for this week's predictions? I’m not sure that improves my chances! After all, I’ve been barking up the wrong tree with my predictions so far this season. But one of us has to outsmart the AI. This match is a tough call, though, and it’s bound to be closely contested. Nottingham Forest has struggled to find the back of the net, managing only five goals in their first seven league games. It gave me a chuckle when I heard that Forest manager Oliver Glasner brought in Chris Wood to coach the strikers on finishing—maybe they should just let Wood play instead! Ipswich is currently at the bottom of the table according to my predictions, but they pushed Manchester City hard last week and are exceeding expectations. Their boss, Gary O'Neil, is doing a great job, and they've already notched three league wins—last time they were in the Premier League, they only managed four all season. Forest needs points desperately, sitting second from the bottom, while Ipswich has yet to draw a game, so I’m predicting a stalemate. Sutton’s prediction: 1-1 Waffle’s prediction: 1-2 James’ prediction: Tim Hopewell, the director of Waffle, is a Forest fan, and I’m backing them too. They play a nice style of football. 1-2 At Villa Park, Aston Villa is showing signs of returning to last season's form. They recently secured a solid win in the Champions League, which was expected against Viking. Emery’s squad performed well against Newcastle last week, but I felt Newcastle was a bit too reckless, which cost them. City, however, is more seasoned in tight matches. Eventually, City will face a setback this season. Still, the fact they’ve lost their last three visits to Villa Park makes me think this could be a different story. With Erling Haaland back in action, that’s a significant boost. Given the current pressure on the club, this season might just see them continue this incredible run. Sutton’s prediction: 1-2 Waffle’s prediction: Ross BARKley will score two for Villa, but I see Erling HOWLand netting a hat-trick. Sorry, dad! 2-3 As for James’ favorite Villa players, he reminisces about the early '90s heroes like Dean Saunders and Dalian Atkinson. They were part of a golden era for him, along with club legend Paul McGrath. Today, he believes John McGinn is a standout player who has made a lasting impact for the club.