Paul Merson's Premier League predictions for Tottenham vs Manchester City, Brighton vs Chelsea and Newcastle vs Manchester United
With the Premier League title race set to draw to a dramatic climax, Manchester City face a Tottenham Hotspur side away from home in a game that'll have the red half of North London looking on keenly. Arsenal will want a massive favor from their arch-rivals, while Tottenham themselves will look to get a win to keep their slim hopes of securing a top four spot alive.
Elsewhere, Chelsea and Brighton & Hove Albion lock horns in what could be an entertaining game of football, while Newcastle United host a hapless Manchester United side at St James' Park.
How will the three midweek games turn out?
Tottenham Hotspur vs Manchester City
I can't see anything but a Man City win. I know Ange Postecoglou has said they want to win this game, but he's obviously not going to come out and say the last thing he needs is for Arsenal to win the Premier League! There will be Tottenham fans with 'Manchester Hotspur' flags and if Spurs somehow end up winning, you wouldn't want to be the player who ends up scoring the winning goal!
If Man City go ahead, I'm pretty sure Spurs fans will be signing 'Are you watching, Arsenal?' while they are two or three-nil down. As someone who is rooting for Arsenal in the Premier League title race, I'd rather Manchester City face Burnley away than Tottenham this weekend.
Man City have struggled in this fixture in recent years, but Harry Kane used to play for Tottenham at the time. At the moment, the defending champions are just breezing past teams and that must be so demoralizing for Arsenal, who have done incredibly well to take the title race to the last day. Last week, Tottenham beat Burnley but the Clarets were slicing through them like a knife through butter, so I can't see anything but a Manchester City win.
Phil Foden has been the main man for Pep Guardiola this season and I believe he has been the standout player in the Premier League. Cole Palmer has done great things at Chelsea, but the pressure is different at Manchester City and Foden has scored big goals in big football matches to take them within touching distance of another Premier League trophy.
Prediction: Tottenham Hotspur 1-4 Manchester City
Brighton & Hove Albion vs Chelsea
Chelsea are finishing well, fair play to them. However, as good as they've been over the past three weeks, the Arsenal demolition last month is still fresh in my mind.
As a Chelsea fan, that's where I want my team to be and they should strive to get there next season. The Blues need to be rubbing shoulders with the likes of Arsenal and Manchester City, not West Ham United! All of a sudden, Chelsea can get into Europe if they win their two games. They look set to finish above Manchester United, which is unbelievable considering their atrocious start to the season.
Chelsea need to sit down at the end of the season and finalize what direction they want to go in. Mauricio Pochettino has done enough to stay and has the experience to deal with their young squad. With Thiago Silva set to leave at the end of the season, the Blues need a couple of experienced additions to their squad to overcome their inconsistency and I think they'll tackle that by signing a central defender and a centre forward. If they get a couple of good signings, I think they will be in the race for a top-four spot next season.
Brighton have also picked up some form recently and have become a much better team at the back end of the season with nothing to play for. I think this will be an entertaining game of football so I'm going for a 2-2 draw.
Prediction: Brighton 2-2 Chelsea
Manchester United vs Newcastle United
Newcastle United will have miles too much for Manchester United, I expect them to win this one quite easily. Arsenal played in second gear against Man United last weekend.
If the Red Devils were still playing now, they still wouldn't score - that's how desperately devoid of ideas they were! With Alexander Isak and Anthony Gordon up front, Manchester United won't be able to cope, so I'm going for a 3-1 home win.
I was at Old Trafford when the roof was leaking and I have to say the stadium was flooded. This is one of the biggest clubs in the world and we've heard about a hole in their roof for god knows how long! It's absolutely embarrassing and cringeworthy for a club of such stature to be going through what they are on and off the pitch.
It's quite sad but I'm not sure when they'll be back as teams around them are just continuing to get better and better. I know there are cycles but it doesn't look good for Manchester United and I think they don't stand a chance of making it into the top four next season. They are a million miles off at the moment and things need to change drastically this summer for them to be in with a chance.
Prediction: Newcastle United 3-1 Manchester United