Paul Merson's predictions for Premier League GW 25 fixtures
The Premier League features another round of matches this weekend, and we’re all set to witness a few more twists to what has been an unpredictable season. This is a particularly exciting week full of six-pointers at either end of the Premier League table.
The previous set of games in midweek produced a fair share of intriguing results. Manchester United failed to get the better of Burnley in what should have been a victory for Ralf Rangnick. Liverpool and Arsenal managed to win their games, while Tottenham were stunned by an exceptional Southampton performance.
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The Premier League’s relegation battle is also heating up, with the likes of Norwich and Newcastle battling hard to avoid the drop. Watford and Burnley have slipped to the bottom of the Premier League and are running out of time this season.
With only three months left in the season, the Premier League’s teams will need to get their ducks in order to achieve what they’ve set out to achieve. Here are my predictions for this weekend’s matches.
Manchester United vs Southampton
This is a massive football match. I thought Manchester United would definitely beat Burnley. They battered them in the first half and did not need that half-time break. West Ham and Arsenal won their games – that didn’t help them either.
If Southampton play like they did against Tottenham, they’re not losing this match. But Southampton are Southampton – that’s why they are where they are in the Premier League. That probably was Southampton’s best performance in 15 years, and I don’t know if they can do it in back-to-back games.
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James Ward-Prowse is a very good player. He doesn’t get enough recognition because of where he plays. He’s the one player in English football who can sway the ball around. We haven’t got many of them, and he ticks that box.
Ronaldo will be back in the starting eleven this weekend. The manager’s not getting Cavani right – the Burnley game was the poorest I’ve ever seen him play. If Manchester United don’t get a result here, they can kiss the top four goodbye. They’re at risk of losing out on Champions League football next season, and they have to win this match.
Prediction: Manchester United 2-1 Burnley
Watford vs Brighton & Hove Albion
I thought Watford did pretty well against Watford the other day. But when you play the way you play and lose 1-0, it doesn’t look good – you can’t play like this every week. They were unlucky in the end with that deflected shot, but they’ll need to win a game sooner rather than later.
Watford and Burnley are more than just one win away from getting out of trouble. When you’re more than a result away from safety, you’re in trouble. Watford need to win this football match.
Brighton are a good team to play against, in a sense. They have nothing to play for this season. I think it’ll be a cagey game, and I don’t see Watford going gung-ho this weekend. If Watford don’t win this game, I think they’ll be relegated because the fixtures coming up are not kind at all.
Prediction: Watford 1-0 Brighton & Hove Albion
Brentford vs Crystal Palace
I’ve chosen to do this game on Soccer Saturday this weekend. This is Brentford’s cup final – their most important game of the season. If they lose this match, they’re in major trouble.
Crystal Palace are a nice team to watch. But you can get a Palace that are inconsistent, and Brentford will be hoping for that. Brentford lost to Manchester United and Manchester City – those defeats are not much of a problem because they weren’t playing against teams around them in the Premier League table.
If they lose this game, their matches against Norwich and Newcastle become six-pointers. They wouldn’t want to go into those matches without a good result here. I’m not sure why, but I’m going to go with a Brentford win. There’s more at stake for Brentford than for Crystal Palace, and I hope Brentford play this game like they know what’s on the line.
Prediction: Brentford 2-1 Crystal Palace
Everton vs Leeds United
Everton were fortunate that Norwich drew their game this week. If they’d held on to win it, Everton would be in major trouble now. This is a nightmare of a game for Frank Lampard.
Leeds are a lovely team to watch, and you could see that against Aston Villa. They just never give up. This is a dangerous game for Everton. They were well beaten the other day. I didn’t like what Frank Lampard said after the game either – he said there’d be plenty more of these. That’s what he’s been brought in to stop.
Everton were poor the other night. Leeds will put pressure on Everton at Goodison Park, and they’re going to play like they always play. A 0-0 with Leeds is very rare, and this will be an open football match. Both teams are defensively all over the place, but I’m going to back Leeds to win this game.
Prediction: Everton 2-3 Leeds United