Paul Merson’s Premier League predictions, including Man Utd v Man City and Forest v Arsenal

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Usually in derby games, form goes out of the window. It’s not the same here because quite honestly, I can’t see anything but a Manchester City win! I’d be amazed if Manchester United won.

In the last two or three derbies, the contest was more even in the sense that we knew Manchester United had a chance. I can’t say it’s the same now. Don’t get me wrong, I still think City concede too many chances. But their attack is just miles ahead and will have too much for United.

The appointment of Michael Carrick as interim head coach buys Manchester United time. And they must now ensure they get it right whenever they decide on a permanent manager. The answer might even be Carrick, who knows?

This decision is better than rushing it because people like Thomas Tuchel could come into the equation later. Manchester United must have sensed it too. Otherwise, they would have appointed someone permanent already.

Antoine Semenyo has hit the ground running at Manchester City. I don’t see him not being in the starting line-up for this game. He has been bought in for a reason and it is to play games like these. I would pick Erling Haaland, Rayan Cherki and Semenyo as the front-three.

When Cherki doesn’t play, City have something missing. They sort of struggle when he’s not on the pitch. This front three has goals, pace, power and guile in them. That should be enough to get all three points at Old Trafford.

Paul Merson’s prediction: Manchester United 1-3 Manchester City

Crystal Palace have hit a brick wall. I’ve been saying for a few weeks that they look tired and it is taking a serious toll on them now. It was a shocking loss at Macclesfield, the biggest ever upset in FA Cup history!

Sunderland are always competitive. A lot of their players are coming back from the AFCON now. What Sunderland have done without these players is incredible and they will only get stronger.

Keep an eye on Sunderland. If they can put together a decent run, I believe they can finish in the top half of the table. Palace were always a dangerous team in my eyes. But they are one-paced and a bit all over the place now. I expect Sunderland to win.

Paul Merson’s prediction: Sunderland 2-0 Crystal Palace

This is a very interesting game. Brentford are flying. I didn’t see them getting relegated from the very beginning. Igor Thiago has been the big revelation of the season.

I saw the first two games of Liam Rosenior’s reign at Chelsea. As per my understanding, what he’s trying to do is play through the middle. It worked against Charlton, who are nowhere near the same level. But they can’t keep playing that way!

We saw it against Arsenal in the Carabao Cup. They will be so up and down for the rest of the season, if they stick to that style. Chelsea will destroy some teams and get blown away by others.

Apart from that, I wouldn’t pay too much attention to the loss against Arsenal. Chelsea had many big players unavailable. When the fans saw the team, they would have only hoped for staying in the tie for the second leg.

Even though Arsenal are terrific at home, going to the Emirates trailing 3-2 isn’t as bad as many people think. But I can assure you it will be a big ask for Chelsea if they are receiving the ball in midfield with their backs to the Arsenal goal and are then forced to turn and play through the middle.

Chelsea fans will turn up expecting to win against Brentford on Saturday. But this is a hard game. Brentford are playing with unbelievable confidence, while Chelsea are a work-in-progress. I think the hosts will edge it.

Paul Merson’s prediction: Chelsea 2-1 Brentford

Barring the game against Brighton, Burnley have not been well beat, and they always work hard. I thought that loss to Brighton was their worst performance over the festive period. Having said that, I can’t imagine Burnley getting something from this game.

Florian Wirtz and Hugo Ekitike have returned to full fitness and were on the scoresheet in the FA Cup. No disrespect to Barnsley, but the level of their opponents need to be taken into consideration.

From what I’ve noticed, when Wirtz plays, Liverpool operate on a different level. I expect him to get better and better, not worse. I’d be shocked if he doesn’t become a big success at Liverpool.

The real fun starts again when Mohamed Salah returns from the AFCON! Does he go straight back into the XI? If I’m being honest, I don’t think Salah was very good at the AFCON. Them days where he gets goals out of nothing are gone!

I don’t think Salah even gave his opponents’ full-back a hard time at the AFCON. I just don’t see him being that guy anymore. So it will be interesting to see if Liverpool feel the same way.

Paul Merson’s prediction: Liverpool 3-0 Burnley

You know what? As a Chelsea fan, I’m not happy with Conor Gallagher joining Tottenham. But what a signing that is! It is just brilliant from a Spurs perspective.

The one thing Tottenham struggle with is the lack of legs in midfield. They can’t dominate games because of it and so Gallagher ticks every box. He will be infectious with the others in the sense that he’ll push his teammates to be better.

I would like to think Gallagher goes straight into the line-up for this game. If he plays, Tottenham will beat West Ham! Spurs fans would demand only one thing from a player now – just work hard. Gallagher gives you that assurance.

The problem with Tottenham is that they only start playing when they’re losing games. We saw that in the second half against Aston Villa in the FA Cup. It was all done and dusted by the time they turned it on.

As I said, Spurs win if Gallagher plays. If he doesn’t, I think West Ham win it 2-1!

Paul Merson’s prediction: Tottenham 2-1 West Ham

You know what worried me about Leeds against Newcastle the other day? They kept going for it. They were playing well and kept going in for more. I think they should have just tried to settle for a point there.

Now that Leeds have lost that game, I hope it doesn’t come back to bite them again. They should have just shut up and shop at 3-3 and walked away from St. James’ Park with a draw.

This is a massive game for Leeds. If they lose to Fulham, they are back in the battle to avoid relegation. Fulham look confident now. Harry Wilson looks like someone who is going to score every time he walks onto the pitch!

A win for Leeds would ensure safety in my opinion. They are already eight points clear of West Ham. If they get three points and West Ham lose this weekend, the gap becomes 11 points.

For the record, West Ham have won just three games in 21 games this season. So essentially, the Hammers will have to win four games from the remaining 16 and Leeds should basically lose all the upcoming matches for them to survive. That tells you everything!

I expect Leeds to score and give away chances to Fulham. This could be an entertaining watch.

Paul Merson’s prediction: Leeds 2-2 Fulham

Nottingham Forest enjoyed a huge result against West Ham last time out in the Premier League. They could have been 2-0 down in that game and ended up winning 2-1 courtesy of an 89th minute penalty. That was a big win for them.

But I just can’t look beyond an Arsenal win here. This game is a potential banana skin for the Gunners. These are the kind of games that win you the league, not the one against Liverpool at home!

Arsenal must turn up and perform in a game they are expected to win. If their attitude isn’t right, they will be up against from the start. I expect them to take care of the result quite comfortably.

Paul Merson’s prediction: Nottingham Forest 0-2 Arsenal

Wolves have turned a corner, haven’t they? They are looking good at the moment. If Jordan Pickford does not make that incredible save at the end, they would have beaten Everton in the last game.

I know Wolves are still a lot of points away from safety, but they are showing signs of being competitive. The good thing for them here is that Newcastle haven’t been very consistent.

You just don’t know what you’re going to get from Newcastle. They are entertaining in attack but very open at the back as well. Wolves need to stay in the game and at some point, they will be presented with a chance.

I expect Newcastle to win, but I don’t think it’s an easy game for them. Maybe four weeks ago, this game had three points written all over it but not anymore.

Paul Merson’s prediction: Wolves 1-2 Newcastle

Everton have really lost their way recently. They got well beat by Brentford, nervously held on for a draw against Wolves and were knocked out of the FA Cup by Sunderland on penalties. That’s one win in seven games now!

Aston Villa are a good team. Even though Everton have performed well away from home, where they can sit back and hit teams on the break, Villa hold the upper hand in this one.

Iliman Ndiaye will only return after the AFCON final and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall is still injured. Without the two of them alongside Jack Grealish, Everton are not the same team. I’m backing Villa to secure a comfortable win. I hope Grealish gets a good reception at Villa park, but I doubt he will.

Paul Merson’s prediction: Aston Villa 3-0 Everton

I was fortunate to watch the cup game the other day and Bournemouth played some good football against Newcastle. Let’s not forget that over the last 12-18 months, they have sold four of their best players to four top clubs in Europe.

They get 12,000 fans at the stadium every weekend, incredible what they are doing in terms of performances despite losing such key players.

Brighton are also playing well at the moment. Seven or eight weeks ago, I sat here and I was a bit worried about them. But they have turned it around now. If you want to watch goals this weekend, this is the game for you.

Both teams like having a go at each other and if someone asked me which game will have the most goals this weekend, my best bet would be this one.

It will be interesting to see what happens with Andoni Iraola at the end of the season. Six or seven weeks ago, we would have put him and Oliver Glasner as the top candidates for the managerial job at Manchester United.

But when the job was actually available, both Iraola and Glasner were having a terrible run of form. It’s hard to appoint managers at big clubs when they’re going through such tricky runs. I wonder if either of them will be considered in the summer, or has that ship already sailed? It’s all about timings in football, and only time will tell.

Paul Merson’s prediction: Brighton 2-2 Bournemouth