Chelsea will welcome Crystal Palace at Stamford on Sunday in a London derby. The Blues are experiencing one of their worst runs in the Premier League, and pressure is already mounting on Graham Potter.
Newcastle United hopes to continue their unbeaten runs in the Premier League when they face in-form Fulham at St. James Park. All eye will be at the Tottenham Stadium when Antonio Conte’s side face Arsenal in the North London Derby.
Check Former Arsenal playmaker Paul Merson’s predictions for those matches on Sportskeeda below:
Chelsea vs Crystal Palace
This is a massive game, and the outcome depends on what happens with Chelsea against Fulham tonight. If they lose or draw, Palace will have the ammunition to counter this Chelsea side. If Chelsea can nick six points in the next four days, they can revive their season.
“It’s a hard one with Hakim Ziyech – my worry is that Potter doesn’t know his best team. Ziyech needs a run of games, and Potter’s got to have some confidence in his players. He’s changing so much every week that his team can’t get settled.
“Chelsea have also been unlucky with their fixture list. If they’d played a couple of kinder fixtures, we would have been looking at this very differently. I’m going to back Chelsea to win this game. Prediction: Chelsea 2-0 Crystal Palace.”
Newcastle United vs Fulham
“Newcastle have been going along very nicely. They don’t concede a goal even when they don’t play well – their defence is brilliant. Miguel Almiron’s been outstanding, and he’s working very hard.
“Fulham have also been excellent and if they win their next two Premier League games, they’ll be only one point behind Newcastle. That just shows that when you get two quick games and you can get six points, it’s a big deal.
“Everything that Newcastle have done has worked so far, and everybody’s been an eight on ten for them. They’ve got good fixtures coming up, and I think they should be able to win this game. Prediction: Newcastle United 2-0 Fulham .”
Tottenham Hotspur vs Arsenal
“This is the only time I miss playing football. This game never lets you down. Everyone goes on about all the other big games, but you never come away from this derby with nothing happening. It’s the most entertaining Premier League game on a consistent basis – goals galore!
“Eddie Nketiah is playing very well at the moment, and I expected nothing less in his first three or four games. He needs to keep going now – that’s how the top players do it. He will score goals, and he’s got attributes that Gabriel Jesus does not have. He’s been patient and I’ll give him his due – I hope it keeps going for him.
“I think Odegaard and Saka have been great. Everyone has been outstanding for Arsenal, and that’s why they are where they are. Tottenham, on the other hand, are nine on ten in one game and five in the next.
“Harry Kane causes Arsenal problems, and Arsenal cause Tottenham problems. If Tottenham want to play defensively, Arsenal will run out of ideas quickly like they did against Newcastle. If Tottenham play a dangerous game, however, Arsenal could run riot. I don’t see this game as a foregone conclusion – I hope Arsenal wipe the floor with Tottenham, but I don’t think they will. Prediction: Tottenham Hotspur 2-2 Arsenal.”
