Tottenham Hotspur return to Premier League action against Liverpool and Paul Merson has already made up his mind on which team will come out on top.
Much has been said of Tottenham Hotspur’s struggles at home in the Premier League. However, Spurs were victorious during their last match in North London, defeating Brentford by two goals to nil.
The same cannot be said of the club’s recent away form, with Spurs failing to win on the road since defeating Everton in October. It could therefore be assuring for Tottenham to be facing Liverpool on their own turf.
However, Arne Slot’s side are in winning form and possess far more quality than Brentford, so the fact Spurs finally won a home game might not mean much in the grand scheme of things.
Paul Merson predicts Liverpool to defeat Spurs comfortably
Ex-Arsenal player Paul Merson rarely holds back when it comes to criticising Tottenham and he has taken the opportunity to fire shots in the direction of Thomas Frank and his team.
Other than the wins over Brentford and Slavia Prague, Spurs have been very poor in recent weeks and Merson has little confidence they will do anything other than lose yet another match.
He told Sportskeeda: “Tottenham were atrocious last week against Nottingham Forest. If you take away the games against Brentford and Slavia Prague, Spurs have struggled so bad in recent weeks.
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“I said to you before, the day Thomas Frank came out and called Tottenham fans out for not being real supporters, I thought he was done at the club! Spurs are 11th in the league now. If Newcastle draw, Bournemouth and Brentford win like I’ve predicted, Tottenham could be 14th or 15th by the end of the weekend, which is not good enough.
“Hugo Ekitike has to start ahead of Alexander Isak in this game. When we look at Isak’s struggles, it just reminds us how important it is to have a proper pre-season. Liverpool could be in the top four or top five if they win, so they should play Ekitike.
“Who comes in for Salah on the right? There is the option of using Federico Chiesa and he deserves more minutes. But I just feel like Dominik Szoboszlai might play there in this game. His best position is in midfield, but Slot may use him there and deploy Curtis Jones in midfield.
“Liverpool have not set the world alight with their performances but they are unbeaten in their last five games with three wins. I can see them beating Tottenham comfortably.”
Merson’s prediction: Tottenham Hotspur 1-3 Liverpool
Spurs could rise up the Premier League table with a victory
Merson has chosen to focus on the negatives by pointing out how far down the Premier League table Tottenham could have fallen by the end of this weekend.
However, teams are separated by fine margins this season and a win over Liverpool could see Spurs re-enter the top half of the table. It is therefore essential that Tottenham prove Merson wrong and gather all three points against their upcoming opponent.