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Paul Merson has cast his eye over all of the action in the Premier League this weekend, including the London derby between West Ham and Chelsea and Ralf Rangnick’s first game in charge of Manchester United as they face Crystal Palace.
Chelsea travel to the London Stadium to take on West Ham on Saturday lunchtime, with Thomas Tuchel’s side looking to extend their lead at the top of the table.
The Blues narrowly beat Watford 2-1 at Vicarage Road in midweek, while a late Neal Maupay goal earned Brighton a point against the Hammers.
Given that neither team have been at their very best in recent games, Merson thinks that the game in east London will end in a 1-1 draw.
‘West Ham have gone backwards ever since they got into the Premier League top four,’ Merson told Sportskeeda. ‘They can’t seem to win a match now – they’ve failed to win their last three games. This is a big game for West Ham, though, and they will be tighter at the back than they were against Brighton.
‘Chelsea got lucky against Watford this week and haven’t been at their best this week. I’d play Romelu Lukaku in this match – West Ham’s biggest threat comes from set plays and Chelsea could use a player of Lukaku’s build. Chelsea are not playing particularly well at the moment and this game could turn out to be a draw.’
Third-placed Liverpool go away to Wolves on Saturday as they look to keep up the pressure on Chelsea and Manchester City.
Wednesday’s 4-1 win over Everton in the Merseyside derby took their total goals for the season to an impressive 43, and Merson is expecting the Reds to cruise to a 3-0 victory against Bruno Lage’s side.
‘Wolves have been up there in the Premier League this season but they don’t score goals,’ the Arsenal hero added….
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Source : metro
