Mersons predictions Paul Mersons Premier League predictions - Week 8 Soccer Saturday pundit tips wins for Liverpool, Man City, Chelsea & Everton By Paul Merson Twitter @PaulMerse Last Updated: October 18, 2013 7:43am 0 Crystal Palace: need a win to keep survival bid realistic, says Merse Sky Bet Football Betting Get a £5 free bet every week Crystal Palace v Fulham (7pm, Mon, Sky Sports 1) v Live Monday Night Football C Palace vs Fulham October 21, 2013, 7:00pm Sky Sports 1 Remote Record Get a Sky Sports Day Pass Upgrade to Sky Sports If Crystal Palace lose this game then I think they will be relegated. Its quite tight down at the bottom and a few teams will be in the fight, but if you lose at home to Fulham then it leaves you sitting and wondering where youre going to get another point from. Fulham got a good result last time against Stoke, but they are not the best away from home and Ian Holloway will have highlighted this fixture, without a doubt. They went 3-0 down to Liverpool in their last game and I thought they had a good go in the second half and made chances, but its easy to play when youre losing like that. If they make chances like that against Fulham then they should win. I think Palace will win this, but Fulham are one of those teams that are so hard to predict. They could go there and win 3-0 and look like the best team youve ever seen on Monday Night Football, but they could easily go there and get beat. If Palace lose then, for me, they are relegated but if Fulham dont get a draw then I think they are in major trouble and will be dark horses to go down. PAUL PREDICTS: 2-1 Aston Villa v Tottenham (3.30pm, Sun, Sky Sports 1) v Live Super Sunday A Villa vs Tottenham October 20, 2013, 3:30pm Sky Sports 1 Remote Record Get a Sky Sports Day Pass Upgrade to Sky Sports I think Andre Villas-Boas dropped a clanger by starting Jermain Defoe against West Ham. I like him, but I think hes best as a substitute and is the sort of player to put on when things arent going well. I know hed scored against Villas reserves in the Capital One Cup and against Anzhi who are as bad as you can get, but West Ham were always going to sit back and deny him space and he isnt the type to hold the ball up. Roberto Soldado hasnt been scoring too many goals, but something must have been working because theyd been winning matches. I think the manager missed a trick there. This will be a hard game for Tottenham and with Christian Benteke back in the side I think Villa will get a result. Spurs dont score a lot of goals, so youre always in the football match and someone like Benteke looks like hes going to score a goal every time he goes on a football pitch. Both teams will want the other team to attack them and play on the break, so it will be interesting. I think it will be a draw. PAUL PREDICTS: 2-2 West Ham v Man City (5pm, Sat, Sky Sports 1) v Live Saturday Night Football West Ham vs Man City October 19, 2013, 5:00pm Sky Sports 1 Remote Record Get a Sky Sports Day Pass Upgrade to Sky Sports After Soccer Saturday a fortnight ago, poor Jeff was certain that Hartlepool were going to win the Performance of the Week after they won at Exeter - and then the next day West Ham went and smashed Tottenham 3-0 and topped them in my opinion. Nobody saw that coming, even the West Ham faithful, but I dont see them repeating that on Saturday Night Football. They played with no strikers and it worked in a game where nobody was giving them a chance, but I dont think it will work against Man City at home. They will be expected to take the game to them a bit more. Manchester City are still my tip for the title. They are strong all over and have got a big squad so I think theyre best equipped. Vincent Kompany is injured, but West Ham arent really a threat without Andy Carroll and might not play any strikers again so I think City will cope and keep a clean sheet anyway. PAUL PREDICTS: 0-3 Arsenal v Norwich I think Arsenal will win this, but I do believe this is a big game for them. This is where league titles are won and lost. People will turn up thinking its only Norwich and that youre going to wipe the floor with them, but you have to be careful - especially after everybody has been away on international duty. I think Arsenal are playing with too much confidence and when they dont play well - as they didnt against West Brom - they are avoiding losing matches. Thats important. PAUL PREDICTS: 3-0 Chelsea v Cardiff Chelsea havent really got going and I thought they were lucky to get the three points against Norwich. They were under the cosh for a while and even though Jose Mourinho deserves credit for making changes, that scoreline could have gone anywhere. He still doesnt know his best team, which is not good, but I still think they will be too strong for Cardiff and should win comfortably. PAUL PREDICTS: 3-0 Everton v Hull I have been impressed with Hull this season. Steve Bruce has made them difficult to beat but I always say that Goodison Park is a hard place to go for any side. Everton lost their unbeaten record in the last game, but that was a great result for Manchester City and I fully expect Everton to get back to winning ways at home. PAUL PREDICTS: 2-0 Man Utd v Southampton This is a big game for Man United - and I mean massive. If they dont win this then they cant win the Premier League, its as simple as that. David Moyes has said they had a hard start and their early run of games wasnt fair, but they lost to West Brom and fell over the line against Sunderland - I thought they were lucky in that match - and now they need to beat a Southampton side that is playing well. However, Ive got to go for Man United at home. PAUL PREDICTS: 2-0 Newcastle v Liverpool St James Park isnt the hardest place in the world to go at the moment and if Liverpool want to be contenders for the top four then they need to go and win at places like this. Thats the way I look at it. I just think that with Daniel Sturridge and Luis Suarez up front together they will always be in the football match and they should win. On their day, Newcastle can give anybody a game but they are a bit hot and cold. PAUL PREDICTS: 1-3 Stoke v West Brom This is such a hard game to call because both teams have been playing well. I thought Stoke did well in their last home game against Fulham and shouldnt have lost it, but West Brom are doing well too. Theyve taken four points in two games against Man United and Arsenal and you cant argue with that. PAUL PREDICTS: 1-1 Swansea v Sunderland I like Gus Poyet. He hasnt managed in the Premier League, so it could be difficult, but he did nothing wrong at Brighton and you have to give people chances. It isnt a bad appointment in my eyes. I was disappointed with Swanseas display against Southampton and I wonder if playing Sunday-Thursday is catching up with them. They have put a lot into the European basket and have been playing their strongest team in the Europa League, unlike the Capital One Cup. Foreign managers seem to like that competition because its good for their CV and that could have an impact on their league form. They are not going down though and I think theyll be too strong for Sunderland. PAUL PREDICTS: 2-0
Posted on: Fri, 18 Oct 2013 07:01:52 +0000
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