Paul Merson predicts Liverpool vs Manchester City and other Premier League GW13 fixtures

We have witnessed an unbelievable few weeks in terms of Manchester City hitting this dramatic slump in form. Nobody in the world expected them to go through this. I did say last week that I expected them to have a tricky game against Tottenham, but never in my wildest dreams did I imagine it would be 4-0! And to think they threw away a 3-0 lead to Feyenoord in the Champions League, my goodness.

City are capitulating and it doesn't get any easier for them this weekend. If they were a book, this would be the part where you'd throw it in the sea! Pep Guardiola has never been in this situation his whole life - not as a player or manager. It will be hard on him. I've experienced something similar as a manager, albeit in a much lower league.

Great managers always find a way around such moments. It will be interesting to see how Guardiola deals with it. The trip to Liverpool could potential end their hopes of retaining the league title.

Without further ado, let us dive straight into my predictions for Premier League gameweek 13:

Brighton & Hove Albion vs Southampton

I thought Southampton were really unlucky the other day against Liverpool because they played well in that 3-2 defeat. Now everybody is like, 'if they play like that, they will be fine' [in the race to avoid relegation]. But they are still letting goals in and that's a big problem in my opinion.

Brighton got a brilliant win away from home to Bournemouth last weekend. Starting with this game, they now have a set of winnable fixtures coming up. This is their moment to try and string together a good run of results. They sit fifth above Tottenham and if they can go snatch a few more wins in the coming weeks, I fancy them to be in the driving seat for a top six finish.

I'd be shocked if Brighton don't win this game at home. Southampton never learn from their mistakes. They will continue to play out from the back and shoot themselves in the foot in the process yet again. If you can't play out from the back, don't do it. It's that simple! I don't think it's a sensible approach, but I'm sure they'll go down that road like always.

Prediction: Brighton & Hove Albion 3-1 Southampton

Wolves vs Bournemouth

It was a phenomenal result for Wolves last weekend, no other word to define it. Fulham are a good team and for Wolves to go there and win 4-1 was something incredible. Wolves will not get relegated in my opinion. Matheus Cunha is their match-winner without a doubt. As long as he stays with them, Wolves will be safe in the race to avoid the drop from the Premier League.

The only concern I have about Cunha is that he can sometimes not turn up in certain games. If he is in the mood, he is such a fine player. But he has to do that on a more consistent basis.

Wolves won't have it easy against Bournemouth though. I think this will be a really interesting game and I don't expect Bournemouth to lose even though they are away from home. Wolves may have beat Fulham, but this is a dangerous game for them. I'm going for a draw here, but not without some entertainment.

Prediction: Wolves 2-2 Bournemouth

Crystal Palace vs Newcastle United

When you talk about results from last weekend, the one that I did not see coming was Newcastle losing to West Ham. I was expecting them to turn up and win easily. That is a really bad loss for Newcastle in my opinion. It baffles me how they ended up losing to that West Ham team!

They now face Crystal Palace, who I thought were really good away from home against Aston Villa last time out. They looked like a serious threat on the counter and used pace to their advantage. You could say Palace rode their luck at times in that game, but so did Villa.

Palace are 19th at the moment and will now face an uphill battle to avoid relegation. Southampton are the only team with fewer goals than them this season, so that's an area where they must improve if they want to survive in this division.

I can definitely see Newcastle scoring in this game, but I have a feeling Palace can match them.

Prediction: Crystal Palace 2-2 Newcastle United

Nottingham Forest vs Ipswich Town

I watched Nottingham Forest in the last couple of weeks and I thought they got absolutely destroyed in each of their last two games. We were talking about them having an outside chance of qualifying for Europe after their impressive start, but Newcastle and Arsenal ripped them apart.

Ipswich are unbeaten in their last three games and I was very impressed with their performance during the draw with Manchester United. I wouldn't be surprised if Forest nick this game, but I have a strong feeling Ipswich will walk away with a point. They are in a confident mood at the moment and could make life difficult for Forest here.

Prediction: Nottingham Forest 1-1 Ipswich Town

Brentford vs Leicester City

It makes me laugh, Leicester have made a pathetic decision by sacking Steve Cooper! They are fifth from bottom and out of the relegation zone, what else did you expect? Did you think you would come up from the Championship and push for a place in Europe?

Leicester will get relegated. I watched them against Chelsea and they were all over the place. They got lucky with the penalty in the end, but honestly it could have been six or seven nil. The players partying before the sacking of Cooper sums up where they are as a football club at the moment.

Brentford are a team that likes to score goals and I don't see this game being any different. They could run riot and pile further misery on Leicester.

Prediction: Brentford 3-0 Leicester City

West Ham United vs Arsenal

I cannot see anything but an Arsenal win here. I saw them in action against Sporting in the Champions League and Arsenal completely destroyed that team. The same thing happened with Nottingham Forest last weekend, I can sense Arsenal finding their mojo again after a few tough results.

Martin Odegaard is different class, what a player. He makes Bukayo Saka 10 times better! Don't get me wrong, Saka is a good player but Odegaard just elevates him to another level.

West Ham got an incredible win against Newcastle. But they are never going to keep this free-flowing Arsenal team out of the game. I have a feeling Arsenal will destroy West Ham's midfield. If Thomas Partey, Declan Rice and Odegaard play together, it will be impossible to stop them. In comparison, West Ham's midfielders are no match for Arsenal. I think this will be a comfortable win for the visitors.

Prediction: West Ham United 0-3 Arsenal

Chelsea vs Aston Villa

It's funny how things change so quickly in football. Aston Villa were flying along a few weeks ago and look at them now. They are without a win in their last six games in all competitions! Villa have definitely lost their way a little bit. They struggled without Ezri Konsa in the last game. The back-four looked shaky against Crystal Palace and their high line did not work.

Youri Tielemans and Ross Barkley played as the two midfielders in that 2-2 draw with Palace. If they both start against Chelsea, Cole Palmer will find plenty of space to operate with. Both Tielemans and Barkley are more ball-playing midfielders than the ones that can shut down Palmer.

Chelsea have a big opportunity this weekend. Manchester City don't look good and if they lose to Liverpool, a win will lift Chelsea to second in the table. If they manage to remain consistent from there on, who knows they might even have an outside chance at catching Liverpool at the top! Chelsea have decent winnable fixtures coming up so they must look to make hay while the sun shines.

I'm expecting Chelsea to get another win here. Villa have too much going on for them now with the Champions League as well.

Prediction: Chelsea 3-1 Aston Villa

Tottenham Hotspur vs Fulham

Despite Tottenham beating Manchester City 4-0 and Fulham losing 4-1 to Wolves, it wouldn't surprise me if Spurs drop points in this game! That is how this club works. Tottenham can either wipe the floor with teams or comfortably get beat. Remember it was only two weeks ago they lost to an Ipswich side that had not won until then.

I reckon this will be a tough game for Spurs and I'm actually backing Fulham in this one. I don't think Fulham are as bad as the scoreline against Wolves suggests. They are a decent team and can upset any of the big boys in this division on their day. I have a feeling that will happen against Tottenham.

Prediction: Tottenham Hotspur 1-2 Fulham

Manchester United vs Everton

Nothing changed for Manchester United last week in my opinion. Ipswich were by far the better team! I think even Ruben Amorim was shocked by what happened. If they don't start winning games, Amorim will have to start answering a lot more questions whether he likes it or not. That is just how big this club is and how the Premier League is in a nutshell.

I'm not entirely convinced about Manchester United's new system under Amorim. After a point in that game, you would've thought Ipswich were the bigger club and not United, that's how it went. You could say everyone was away on international duty and he did not have enough time. But if that performance was against one of the big boys in the league, Manchester United would have been destroyed by four or five goals!

Everton are a team who have a special X-factor in them. They always have that one fixture every season when they just spring to life and surprise us. I'm going for a United win, but I can't help but admit that I have a sneak feeling about Everton.

Prediction: Manchester United 2-0 Everton

Liverpool vs Manchester City

It's quite unreal, isn't it? Manchester City are eight points behind Liverpool now and if they lose on Sunday, that's an 11-point gap between them. Even if City end up winning 15 games in a row after that, they would still end up behind Liverpool! To put things into perspective, that would be 28 games played, 10 more to go, City going on one of the best runs ever in Premier League history and still being behind.

Liverpool have to lose four games out of the next 15, if City are to get ahead of them in this case. That explains how big this match is for City now. After this game, there is also the possibility of City even dropping out of the top four. It's unbelievable how everything can change so much in the Premier League this weekend.

I don't trust Manchester City after what happened against Feyenoord. I have never seen anything like that and I can't back them anymore. If Rodri was there, City wouldn't have lost that game. I also think Julian Alvarez is a big miss for them now. Don't get me wrong, they had to sell him for that kind of money but that is now coming back to bite them.

I know this sounds silly, but Liverpool are better off resting everyone against Real Madrid in the Champions League. Why take the risk when you play Manchester City at the weekend? If Liverpool lose to Real Madrid, what difference does it make? They have won all four games so far in the Champions League and can finish in the top eight even if they lose to Real Madrid.

If they win on Sunday, they will be 11 points clear of the Premier League and they should priorities that in my opinion. You have to rest Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk because it's a nothing game against Real Madrid. Liverpool get nothing in return if they win that one. If they win 8-0 against Real Madrid and then lose 1-0 to City at the weekend, what's the point?

Thanks to the start Liverpool have in this new format, they can afford to take this fixture lightly. That's the way I would be thinking if I were Arne Slot. Liverpool have an advantage that no one else in the league has thanks to their options in attack. No matter who plays, it doesn't weaken them.

A lot of people say they will face stern challenges as the season moves forward. Let me remind you they were 2-1 down at Southampton and they came back and won that game 3-2. They did not draw, they won. Liverpool are slowly starting to run away with the league now and City cannot catch them if the hosts win at Anfield.

If Liverpool play their strongest team against Real Madrid, I don't see Manchester City losing this one. If they rest both Salah and Van Dijk, I see them winning.

The contract situation of their key players is a big problem for Liverpool. He turns 33 soon and probably wants a three-year deal. You can't give someone £300,000 or £400,000 every week at this age because football changes and the legs go quickly. I know Salah takes care of his body well and people are like he can replicate Cristiano Ronaldo in terms of longevity. Well Ronaldo came back to this league and it was just him scoring goals and not the team doing well!

A two-year contract would be the best choice. He can still be great next year and then maybe have an okay season after that one. What is happening at Liverpool is a joke, in footballing terms it's criminal. The people in charge who are letting three of their best players run down their contracts like this should take a look at themselves because it is pathetic! This situation should have been nicked in the bud a year and a half ago or something.

I'm finding it hard to make a case for City after what happened against Feyenoord. They will score but I can't see how Liverpool will lose at Anfield. City are so low in confidence at the moment and it does not augur well for them.

Prediction: Liverpool 2-1 Manchester City

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