Paul Merson’s Premier League predictions, including Arsenal v Chelsea and Man Utd v Crystal Palace | Football

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Merson: ‘Aston Villa have got to win this game. The race to qualify for the Champions League is getting very tight. Manchester United are just three points behind Villa, while Chelsea are six points adrift.

‘I don’t see Chelsea beating Arsenal this weekend. So if Villa can beat Wolves here, they open up a nine point advantage over Chelsea. With 10 games to go after this, I don’t think Chelsea can catch Villa if that happens, especially considering the Blues’ tough run of fixtures.

‘Wolves have looked decent at times. But they need to start winning games instead of looking good in patches. If we take their result against Arsenal out of our heads, you can’t see them beating Villa in this one. I believe Villa will seal Champions League qualification with a win here.’

Prediction: Wolves 0-2 Aston Villa

Merson: ‘Sunderland are on a slippery run at the moment. They did all the good work early on in the season so they’re not in trouble. That loss against Fulham last weekend would have hurt them.

‘Bournemouth, meanwhile, are turning a corner now. They are starting to look good again and at home, I’ll have to back them to get the win.

‘Sunderland haven’t been poor in recent games. It’s just that all their opponents were in fine form, which is also the case with Bournemouth now.’

Prediction: Bournemouth 2-0 Sunderland

Merson: ‘West Ham are fighting for their lives and got a big result with the draw against Bournemouth last weekend. The fact that Nottingham Forest were extremely unlucky against Liverpool helped West Ham. Now, they are just one result away from getting out of the relegation zone.

‘As we speak West Ham are joined by Forest and Tottenham in the battle to avoid relegation. The team that stays up will be the one that produces a big result in the coming weeks. I expect one of them to get a win where we all go, ‘how did they do that?’ Will it be West Ham? Not this week, no.

‘Liverpool were atrocious against Forest last weekend. But I expect them to win here. There is a lot of talk about whether Rio Ngumoha should be starting games for Liverpool. It’s hard at the moment because of the position Liverpool find themselves in.

‘Ngumoha is a great talent and he has a bright future. But Liverpool’s Champions League qualification is on the line and they cannot afford to miss out on it. That’s why I think Arne Slot will stick to experience over youth.

‘There is also absolutely no way Ibrahima Konate is signing a new deal at Liverpool! I think they will keep Van Dijk and bring someone in during the summer. Jeremy Jacquet has joined them but he doesn’t have the experience. It will be hard for Liverpool to find the perfect replacement for Konate in the current market.

‘West Ham’s momentum has changed, one defeat in eight games is not a bad run. Their big game is against Fulham in midweek. If they fail to win that game, they could get relegated because after that fixture, it’s Manchester City at home and Aston Villa away. By the time they face Wolves after these games, it may all be over.’

Prediction: Liverpool 3-1 West Ham

Merson: ‘Both Newcastle and Everton are stuck in mid-table positions. At this rate, I don’t expect either of them to qualify for European football next season.

‘I thought Newcastle were unlucky against Manchester City last weekend. They did cause City some problems in that game. Eddie Howe and his team need to start putting together a run from here. It’s been a bit of a stop-start season for Newcastle.

‘Nick Woltemade is being made to play out of position because he hasn’t got that pace. Newcastle are a counter-attacking team with Anthony Elanga, Harvey Barnes and Jacob Murphy in it. When you put Woltemade as the centre-forward among those players, you slow the team down.

‘Yoane Wissa has also been nowhere near his old self, with injuries not helping his case since the move to Newcastle. I’m still going to give them a chance here because they are playing at home.’

Prediction: Newcastle 2-1 Everton

Merson: ‘I can’t see anything but a Brentford win here. I must admit they looked a bit jaded in that disappointing loss to Brighton & Hove Albion last weekend. Burnley did great to get a draw against Chelsea, but I think they will get ripped to shreds in this game!

‘Brentford have been very impressive. If they had won against Brighton last time out, they could have gone above Chelsea with a win this weekend. It always happens to teams like Brentford when they get close to European qualification. They need to get used to the pressure of being around these places.

‘I’m backing a comfortable win for Keith Andrews’ team.’

Prediction: Burnley 1-3 Brentford

Merson: ‘This is the defining weekend. Leeds have been doing well. They got a good result against Aston Villa, of course, unlucky to concede that goal in the end. But a point away from home at Villa Park isn’t bad at all.

‘Leeds have troubled many of the big boys this season. I expect them to cause City problems. I’m going for a draw in this very difficult game for Manchester City.

‘It’s a bit of madness in me to go for a draw here, but it’s more out of hope really. There’s still something missing with City. Even against Newcastle, they went ahead and instead of running away with the game, they actually kept their opponents in the game.

‘Nico O’Reilly scored two great goals against Newcastle. But I wouldn’t say he’s a shoo-in to make the midfield for the England squad at the World Cup. He’s a versatile player so maybe he’s got a chance at left-back.’

Prediction: Leeds 1-1 Manchester City

Merson: ‘Nottingham Forest were outstanding against Liverpool, but they just couldn’t get the result in the end. This is a hard game to call. I’m not going to get carried away by that performance from Forest last weekend and I’ll tell you why.

‘If your team played that well and they couldn’t win, that is a major concern in my opinion. Liverpool were atrocious in the first half, never seen them play like that. Forest should have made it count!

‘West Ham face Liverpool and Leeds host Manchester City this weekend. So coming into this game, Forest would have considered this as a good chance to pull themselves clear of the drop zone. I spoke about how one of the teams in the relegation battle will pull out a result that will surprise us in the coming weeks. Forest can be that team.

‘However, I just think Brighton will take confidence from the win at Brentford to make it two wins on the bounce here.’

Prediction: Brighton 2-0 Nottingham Forest

Merson: ‘I’ve played a lot of derbies against Tottenham and seen many of these matches after I left Arsenal. In terms of the gulf between the two teams, I’ve not seen anything like the past two games!

‘That’s what worries me about Spurs. I don’t expect them to be relegated, but they are 100 per cent involved in the race with Forest and West Ham. I’d be shocked if they went down. They have the best stadium in the Premier League. Imagine that venue hosting Championship matches.

‘If Tottenham had Chelsea’s fixtures until the end of the season, they would be relegated! And if Chelsea had Spurs’ fixtures, they would qualify for Champions League. So at least Tottenham have the kind of fixtures where they can play their way out of this mess.

‘I don’t see anything but a Fulham win here. I just don’t see how Tottenham turn it around in this game. London derby, massive pressure on Spurs. I think Fulham playing without any pressure will help them win.’

Prediction: Fulham 2-1 Tottenham

Merson: ‘I can’t see anything but a Manchester United win here. They are on such a roll in terms of results. I say that because they weren’t playing well but still won against Everton.

‘We all know that this is not the Crystal Palace from six months ago. If they were still that team, I would have said Manchester United have a tough game.

‘In fact, we could say the same about United as well. They look completely different from six months ago. It’s like chalk and cheese for both teams.

‘The big advantage for Manchester United is that they only play once a week and can rest well. I expect them to secure a comfortable win.’

Prediction: Manchester United 3-0 Crystal Palace

Merson: ‘Massive game. We saw in the Carabao Cup how Chelsea parked the bus. I think Chelsea can’t afford to do that again. They have to go for it in this one. If Aston Villa, Liverpool and Manchester United win like I predicted, Chelsea are under serious pressure.

‘Chelsea let in a goal every week without fail! It was a really bad result against Burnley last weekend. I expect Chelsea to be a threat but I can’t see them keeping a clean sheet in this game. Apart from one or two winnable games, all of the upcoming fixtures till the end of the season will be a huge challenge for Chelsea.

‘Arsenal should go with Eberechi Eze in this game. He scored twice in the derby, so I can’t see it being any other way. Barring the Manchester United game, Arsenal are still unbeaten at home. But this is still a tough game for them because they have to come out and win this. They didn’t have to do that in the second leg of the cup game at the Emirates!

‘If Leeds beat City, Arsenal have a free hit here. Otherwise, they must not lose. I believe they will just edge Chelsea and secure three points.’

Prediction: Arsenal 1-0 Chelsea