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A look at the predictions made by Chris Sutton and Paul Merson for this weekend’s fixtures.
Another big weekend of Premier League football is about to kick off, with Arsenal taking on strugglers Everton knowing they must get back to winning ways to prevent the title race from getting away from them.
Chelsea find themselves in the thick of the race, and they take on London rivals Brentford hoping to keep it that way on Sunday evening. Spurs are also in action on Sunday, taking on Southampton after a frustrating draw with Rangers on Thursday. Here we round up the predictions from BBC Sport’s Chris Sutton and SportsKeeda’s Paul Merson for those fixtures,
Arsenal vs Everton
Chris Sutton
“Arsenal dominated Fulham in their draw last weekend, but did not create much from open play. Fulham are a well-organised team, but I was still a little disappointed in Mikel Arteta's side. Martin Odegaard was not as influential as usual, and it showed, but the Gunners were still a threat from set-pieces, which is how they got their goal.
“People joke about how Arsenal are like Tony Pulis' old Stoke City side in that respect, but I see their ability to score from corners as being a feather in their cap rather than something to sneer at. The Gunners are definitely more pragmatic this season but fair play to them for being so effective at set-pieces - a few other teams must wish they carried the same level of threat in those situations - and I don't see them slipping up against Everton.
“Sean Dyche's side will sit in and they don't mind a set-piece either, so this could be a battle of who is better at corners, but I'd back Arsenal to come out on top. Prediction: 2-0.”
Paul Merson
“If you're Everton, you'd be thinking of getting this fixture out of the way quickly and focusing on the next one. But it doesn't get any easier for them with games against Chelsea and Manchester City to follow. I don't really expect them to get anything from the next three games if I'm being honest.
“Arsenal had a really bad result against Fulham in their last league game. That draw has now left them six points behind Liverpool, who have a game in hand. Chelsea are also two points ahead of the Gunners now.
“Everton players getting an extra week off due to the Merseyside derby being postponed will not matter against Arsenal in my opinion. In fact, I think it's a nightmare for them that the derby did not go ahead as planned. Liverpool were coming off the back of a draw, bit jaded and had Mac Allister suspended. The conditions were also going to be tricky due to the storm so Everton may have sensed an outside chance of getting something from it.
“Now they've had to have an extended break after that 4-0 win over Wolves and it won't do them any good. I expect Arsenal to win this quite comfortably. Prediction: Arsenal 3-1 Everton.”
Chelsea vs Brentford
Chris Sutton
“I really admire the job Thomas Frank has done with Brentford because under him they have evolved as a team, and grown as a club. But this is another pretty obvious prediction, because the Bees are awesome at home and useless away.
“I really can't see past a Chelsea win here, with Cole Palmer's Panenka penalty against Tottenham illustrating how high their confidence is. The way they are playing, they are definitely title contenders no matter how many times their manager Enzo Maresca denies it.
“It will be odd for fans to have a game starting so late on a Sunday night, but the Premier League have caved in to teams who want a bit of extra rest after playing in Europe on Thursday. I am not sure the Premier League have thought this through, and they might have opened a can of worms here.
“All teams like to complain about not getting enough rest, especially over Christmas, so the Premier League probably need to come up with a minimum time period that teams should have between games, and stick to it. Prediction: 2-1.”
Paul Merson
“Brentford are Chelsea's bogey team. It's incredible how they have won in each of their last three games against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge! Based on current form, it's impossible for Chelsea to not win. Brentford have a terrible away record in the Premier League this season, that form is extreme and it's not at all ideal. They are top of Liverpool and Arsenal on home form, but behind Everton, Leicester and Wolves when it comes to away form. How is that even possible?
“There is no doubt that Chelsea are now in the title race. Some people might say no, but you look at their upcoming fixtures and there are plenty of winnable games. Chelsea are not involved in the Champions League and they have a completely new team just for the Conference League!
“They have a fixture near the China border in Kazakhstan this week, it's miles away and it will be freezing cold there. But the advantage they have is that none of their senior players will be involved, they can afford to rest and focus on the Brentford game. Prediction: Chelsea 3-1 Brentford.”
Southampton vs Tottenham
Chris Sutton
“This should be a great game of football. It's one for the purists, really, because Southampton will play their defined style under Russell Martin and Ange Postecoglou's Tottenham will definitely do the same. Both managers have been criticised recently and some of the stuff written and said about Postecoglou after Spurs lost to Chelsea was staggering, although it is the same after every defeat.
“As I said on the Monday Night Club, on their day Spurs are the best team to watch in the Premier League, but they are just patchy. They should get over the line here, though, because Southampton have bigger problems. It looks like Saints are going to get relegated but I hope they see the bigger picture when it comes to Martin.
“For starters, he got them promoted, which wasn't an easy job. Keeping them up was always going to be even harder but, because Southampton have had a pretty recent spell of doing OK in the Premier League, their fans think they should be doing much better.
“It was a similar story with Leicester under Steve Cooper, where expectations were unrealistic. He got the sack but I hope Saints stick with Martin because with a bit of patience they could come back, stronger. Prediction: 1-2.”
Paul Merson
“It all depends on what happens with Tottenham against Rangers in the Europa League. I was watching the Chelsea game and I predicted them to pull off a comeback against Spurs after half-time. I wasn't surprised at all by how Spurs blew their lead and ended up losing that game!
“Now that's a huge problem for Tottenham because they are now slowly becoming a team that is entertaining without getting the results they actually need. Spurs will play exactly like Southampton in this game. But this might suit Ange Postecoglou because they have better players compared to their opponents.
“I expect this game to be very open with both teams having a real go at each other. Spurs could win simply because of the quality they have in their ranks compared to Southampton. Prediction: Southampton 1-3 Tottenham Hotspur.”
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