Paul Merson predicts Tottenham vs Manchester City and other Premier League GW27 fixtures

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The Premier League title race is done! It is impossible for Arsenal to keep up pace with Liverpool now. I'm not even exaggerating here. It would be the biggest collapse of all time if Liverpool slip up. Liverpool should book the bus for their trophy parade now if they want to get it at a cheaper rate. Go do it now!

Last weekend virtually sealed everything except for top four in the Premier League. Liverpool will win the league title, while the bottom three of Southampton, Leicester City and Ipswich Town will get relegated. The race for top four is still very interesting though. Manchester City in fourth-place have 44 points, while Brighton & Hove Albion in ninth are just four points behind them. It is still all to play for in the race for Champions League qualification next season.

Without further ado, let us dive straight into my predictions for gameweek 27 in the Premier League.


Brighton & Hove Albion vs Bournemouth

Brighton & Hove Albion v Chelsea - Emirates FA Cup Fourth Round - Source: Getty
Brighton & Hove Albion v Chelsea - Emirates FA Cup Fourth Round - Source: Getty

When the pressure is on and everybody is looking at them, something almost always goes wrong for both Brighton and Bournemouth. We had that with Brighton when they went second in the table early on in the season. What followed was not the best of runs for Brighton but now they seem like they are back on track.

Similarly, Bournemouth were flying a few weeks ago and just when talk of a Champions League finish came up, they went and lost to Wolves! If Bournemouth win this game, they will back themselves to finish in the top four. But I don't think they will beat Brighton here.

Brighton have had an extra day to rest and I think that will play a huge role in the outcome of this game. I'm backing them to beat Bournemouth.

Prediction: Brighton & Hove Albion 2-1 Bournemouth


Crystal Palace vs Aston Villa

Fulham FC v Crystal Palace FC - Premier League - Source: Getty
Fulham FC v Crystal Palace FC - Premier League - Source: Getty

This is a good game. Crystal Palace are flying now, they have been excellent away from home lately. Selhurst Park is a tough place to go to when the home fans are in the mood and Aston Villa will feel that here. I actually think this is a very tough game to predict, the safe option is to sit on the fence and I'm going to do that here!

If Villa win and other fixtures go their way, they could finish this gameweek inside the top four though. Considering the upcoming games in the cup and in the league, Villa need to win this match to stand any chance of finishing in the top four.

Palace, meanwhile, have improved so much in recent weeks. Jean-Philippe Mateta was not actively involved at the start because they paid a lot of money to sign Eddie Nketiah. Now that Palace have turned to Mateta again, they are reaping the benefits. On his day, Mateta is unplayable and he has made all the difference when it comes to Palace's upturn in form.

Credit to Palace for sticking with Oliver Glasner. The easier decision would have been to sack him early on in the season but Palace stuck with him and are now a dangerous team. I wouldn't bet against them having a little run in the FA Cup either.

Prediction: Crystal Palace 1-1 Aston Villa


Wolves vs Fulham

AFC Bournemouth v Wolverhampton Wanderers FC - Premier League - Source: Getty
AFC Bournemouth v Wolverhampton Wanderers FC - Premier League - Source: Getty

That win for Wolves against Bournemouth has virtually sealed their survival in the Premier League in my opinion. Fulham let themselves down against Crystal Palace last weekend. They are a better team than that and they got well beat in that game. If I was Fulham, I would have one eye on the FA Cup. I believe they have the team to go on a dream run in the competition.

To be fair, Wolves showed they are a decent team during that game against Liverpool. They were unlucky to not come away with a point, but did show some promise against the league leaders. The sending off to Bournemouth helped them in the last game, however, there are no doubts that they are a decent team.

Matheus Cunha is the X-factor in that team and I have a feeling they can get something from this game. Another point would steer them further away from the bottom three.

Prediction: Wolves 1-1 Fulham


Chelsea vs Southampton

Aston Villa FC v Chelsea FC - Premier League - Source: Getty
Aston Villa FC v Chelsea FC - Premier League - Source: Getty

This is a must-win game for Chelsea. If they had to pick a game to play in this situation, they would choose Southampton as their opponents any day! Chelsea are in desperate need of a result. They have lost three games on the trot and have suffered defeat in four of their last five matches across competitions. Chelsea weren't great in the only game they won during this run either.

On the bright side, Chelsea have Southampton and Leicester coming up next in the Premier League. These are two winnable games and they cannot afford to drop points. If they get the six points on offer here, they will reach 49 points with 10 games to go and that's a good place to be in the race for top four.

I said this last week too. In the absence of Nicolas Jackson, Cole Palmer is really struggling to make an impact. A lot of people criticise Jackson but his hard work goes unnoticed at times. All of a sudden, Chelsea are now looking like an average team without him!

I also believe Chelsea are missing Romeo Lavia. I know he has struggled for fitness ever since joining the club, but with him in there, Chelsea have more legs in midfield. Lavia is also someone who can win the ball back. Both Enzo Fernandez and Palmer are good passers of the ball unlike Moises Caicedo, who is also a natural ball-winner like Lavia. This is affecting Chelsea in games.

If Chelsea fail to win any of their next two games, Enzo Maresca will be under serious pressure. I don't see that happening though. Southampton have been atrocious and should get beaten easily.

Prediction: Chelsea 3-0 Southampton


Brentford vs Everton

Leicester City FC v Brentford FC - Premier League - Source: Getty
Leicester City FC v Brentford FC - Premier League - Source: Getty

Few weeks ago, Brentford were unbeatable at home and they can't stop winning on the road now! They are on a five-game winless run at home, while winning their last four games on away turf. The tables have completely turned, it's just mind-blowing.

Last week I said I'd be shocked if Everton failed to beat Manchester United. They literally had United in the bag when they were leading 2-0 and will be extremely disappointed with the draw in the end.

Brentford are a dangerous team and I expect them to ruin a few of the other team's push for a top four finish in the coming weeks. Thomas Frank's men face a lot of teams in and around them in the table soon and they will relish this opportunity. Every game Brentford win from here, they will gain advantage over teams above them. It will be interesting to see how the next few weeks work out for them because I'm backing them to win here.

Prediction: Brentford 2-1 Everton


Tottenham Hotspur vs Manchester City

Manchester City FC v Liverpool FC - Premier League - Source: Getty
Manchester City FC v Liverpool FC - Premier League - Source: Getty

Manchester City reminded me of Arsenal against West Ham when they lost to Liverpool. I mean, they could have played till the next morning and they still wouldn't score! Jeremy Doku beat Trent Alexander-Arnold so many times, yet he failed to create a clear-cut chance. It's alright going past players, but if you can't create chances at the end of it, what's the point?

I expect Tottenham to trouble City. If Erling Haaland isn't fit and it becomes an end to end game, I have to back Spurs for the win. City have no firepower, they don't look like scoring at all! The new signings have not worked for them either. They obviously can't go out and spend £70-80 million on new players like how they used to due to Financial Fair Play (FFP).

No one is ever going to have another squad like City from their golden years due to FFP. I mean, they had two proper £70 million-worth internationals for each position during that time.

I don't want to sound horrible, but Nico Gonzalez looks a bit lost in that City midfield. He got destroyed against Real Madrid and I'm not looking at him going, 'wow, what a signing'. Even Abdukodir Khusanov has struggled so much. I can't remember any of the big teams wanting to sign Khusanov. If he was really good, surely PSG would have bought him!

City can still finish in the top four, but they have some tricky fixtures against Nottingham Forest and Brighton. If they fail to beat Spurs, they could be playing catch up to other teams by the time they face these sides and that's never a good thing.

Tottenham's front three have goals in them and with Son Heung-min playing with a lot of confidence, Spurs will definitely trouble City.

Prediction: Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 Manchester City


Manchester United vs Ipswich Town

Everton FC v Manchester United FC - Premier League - Source: Getty
Everton FC v Manchester United FC - Premier League - Source: Getty

Manchester United are terrible and were lucky to come away with a point at Everton. If Ashley Young didn't go down like he did, he would have definitely gotten a penalty! Soon as he starts diving like he did, the decision will always going to go against him.

I think Jose Mourinho claiming that his biggest achievement in football is helping Manchester United finish second is now starting to make a lot of sense, this team is so poor.

I'll give you an interesting stat now, the last time Manchester United would lead at Old Trafford at half-time and got beat at the end was against Ipswich Town back in 1984! Will that happen again? I'm reluctant to say yes and it feels like United will win. But I must admit, it wouldn't shock me if Ipswich got something from this game!

Prediction: Manchester United 2-1 Ipswich Town


Nottingham Forest vs Arsenal

Leicester City FC v Arsenal FC - Premier League - Source: Getty
Leicester City FC v Arsenal FC - Premier League - Source: Getty

I watched Arsenal last week and I can't see them scoring a goal! I honestly don't know how they are going to do it. Even if Arsenal play this game with their strongest team, this is still a tough ask away from home at Nottingham Forest. Without a proper front-three, I expect them to be in trouble because I can't see Forest not scoring here.

I couldn't believe what Mikel Arteta did the other day by playing Mikel Merino as striker from the start. I know he came on and scored to beat Leicester, but it's easy to do that when he comes off the bench against a tired team. But to do that against West Ham, my god what was he thinking? Merino looked like a fish trying to climb a tree in the last game and I hope it doesn't happen again.

I don't see Newcastle or City winning this week. But I expect Chelsea, Bournemouth and Villa to get three points. All these teams are involved in the top four race with Forest and hence, they should also win to put their best foot forward. I believe Forest have a better chance of winning against Arsenal than City next week. By the time they face City, Haaland will be back whereas Arsenal have no real firepower at the moment.

Forest's current front-three are better than the injury-free players Arsenal have at their disposal now. I'd be shocked if the hosts lost this game to Arsenal.

Prediction: Nottingham Forest 1-0 Arsenal


Liverpool vs Newcastle United

Manchester City FC v Liverpool FC - Premier League - Source: Getty
Manchester City FC v Liverpool FC - Premier League - Source: Getty

Newcastle started poorly the other day before being rampant for 12 minutes and securing a big lead. After all that, they almost allowed Forest to get back into that game in a crazy 4-3 result. If Newcastle allow this game to become a similar, 'I have a shot, you have a shot' affair, I think Liverpool will batter them!

I really believe Liverpool don't get enough credit. They are a phenomenal team and made City look average on Sunday. This team is so entertaining and will be deserved winners this season. If they win this game and Arsenal lose like I predicted, they can easily start resting players in the league to focus on the Champions League. That could make a massive difference to their aspirations in Europe.

I was a bit surprised with Arne Slot deciding to not include Diogo Jota in the line-up to face City, but he got that call absolutely spot on so credit to him. Darwin Nunez did not start either and If I'm being honest, I thought the stick he received the other day was a bit harsh. It wasn't much of a sitter like many people said. Let's not forget that he scored the important winning goal against Brentford a few weeks ago, that was an invaluable contribution.

Mohamed Salah's numbers are just mind-blowing. But performances in the Premier League alone won't help him win the Ballon d'Or. Liverpool have to win the Champions League for Salah to become a Ballon d'Or winner in 2025. I don't like that if I'm being honest because we are in the toughest league and performances here should be deserving enough, but this is just how these awards work.

Salah has scored and assisted in a game on 11 different occasions this season. Most players would be happy if they did that in their entire career! He's certainly one of the best players in the world. Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Jr are the other candidates, both of them will stand a chance at winning the Ballon d'Or if Real Madrid win the Champions League.

Prediction: Liverpool 3-1 Newcastle United


West Ham United vs Leicester City

Arsenal FC v West Ham United FC - Premier League - Source: Getty
Arsenal FC v West Ham United FC - Premier League - Source: Getty

West Ham have had a tough season and that win against Arsenal is a huge boost. They are good at playing against teams that force them to sit back and play on the counter. But in games where they are forced to take initiative, I worry for West Ham. That's exactly the case here with the Leicester game.

Don't get me wrong, it was a brilliant result against Arsenal. But let's face it, no West Ham fan wants to watch that team sit behind the ball and play like that every weekend!

I'm surprised that Ruud van Nistelrooy is still the manager at Leicester. If they want to back him for the long run, it makes sense. But if they want to get rid of him, why are they holding back? Clearly, there isn't much improvement and they are only five points away from safety. Everton have already proved that a good appointment can change things around, so why aren't Leicester taking that chance?

I expect Leicester to have tough run now. Honestly, I don't see them avoiding the drop.

Prediction: West Ham United 2-0 Leicester City