Paul Merson has predicted Liverpool to defeat Tottenham 2-1 when the sides meet at Wembley on Saturday.
The Sky Sports pundit shared that Spurs can’t afford to lose the match against the Reds after suffering a defeat courtesy of Watford ahead of the international break before predicting them to lose.
Merson shared that he favoured Liverpool in their clash with Spurs due to their strength when it comes to counter-attacking football but claimed that even though he thought they will overcome a potential title rival on Saturday, it would be difficult for them to beat Manchester City to the Premier League crown.
“I fancy Liverpool based on the counter-attack game. This game is bigger for Tottenham than it is for Liverpool – this is a game Spurs can’t afford to lose, they’ve got to have a go especially after what happened at Watford, Liverpool will pick them off,” wrote the pundit in his predictions for Sky Sports.
“If you want to win Premier League titles then you have to win these games, so Liverpool will be judged on this too. I think they’ll win this one but toppling Manchester City for the title will be so difficult.”
OPINION
While it’s nice to hear Merson back the Reds as he thinks they will win on Saturday, it’s bold of him to claim that Spurs cannot afford to lose at this early stage of the season. It will be both side’s fifth league outing of the 2018/19 campaign and is way too early to be labelling games as must-win or vital as there are still plenty of points to play for. Klopp may be happy that his side have won their opening four games of the season and could make it five out of five against Spurs but he knows the race for the Premier League title is actually more of a marathon than a sprint. Who knows where both sides will be positioned in January as England’s top-flight regularly sees the perceived weaker sides upset those thought to be challenging for the title on a regularly basis. Therefore while it’s nice the Sky Sports pundit believes the Reds will be too much for Spurs to handle on Saturday, Mauricio Pochettino’s won’t be in crisis if they lose.
