Paul Merson and Chris Sutton make Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham predictions as 'even better' claim made

Another big weekend of Premier League action awaits, with Arsenal and Chelsea in action on Saturday, while Tottenham will get back to it on Sunday after playing in the Europa League on Thursday night.

The Gunners will be looking to keep pace with the Manchester City and co, while Chelsea will be determined to keep building momentum after some good results of late. Tottenham have had a slow start, but they have a chance to make a big statement at Old Trafford on Sunday. In the meantime, we have rounded up the predictions for this weekend’s fixtures from BBC Sport’s Chris Sutton and SportsKeeda’s Paul Merson.

Chelsea vs Brighton

Paul Merson

“I've always said this from the word go, Chelsea are a pundit's nightmare because you simply don't know what you're going to get from them. They got the big win at Wolverhampton Wanderers, drew at home to Crystal Palace, needed a late penalty to get past Bournemouth and then, they go out and rip West Ham United apart last weekend!

“Chelsea are so up and down, but I expected these inconsistencies from them if I'm being honest. It's a new team, new manager, so they will need time. I don't expect Chelsea to challenge for the title. But I do think they can go from sixth last season to maybe fourth this time around.

“This could be a big test for them against Brighton. If they win this one, this result could serve as the benchmark for the season. I still expect the Seagulls to make it difficult for Chelsea because they are a team that plays good football.

“No disrespect to Christopher Nkunku, but his hat-trick in midweek came against Barrow and it's expected of him to put these teams to the sword. I still prefer Nicolas Jackson, he's not a bad player. Last year, he was young and he had to play every week since they had no one else. His finishing was good against West Ham, I back to him get even better with time.

“Chelsea have a lot of wingers who can play either side of Jackson. But the problem is that none of them will get enough time to make a lasting impression since they have too many options. It's unfair if you go out of the team due to one bad or average game, that's not good on anyone. But that happened to Pedro Neto and I just think it'll still be Jadon Sancho ahead of him in the line-up.” Prediction: 2-1.

Chris Sutton

“Chelsea deserved the criticism they got when their performances were all over the place, so people need to give them praise now they are playing well. There is still some turbulence at the top level, in terms of the power struggle that seems to be going on in the boardroom, but you cannot fault what they are doing on the pitch.

“I have struggled to predict their results in the past, and for good reason, but hopefully that will start to get easier now they are showing the consistency they had previously been missing. Having said all that, this is still a very tricky game to call. Brighton have also made a decent start, and they will definitely carry a threat.

“So, I had to think hard about this but I am going to for a narrow Chelsea win, with Cole Palmer to do the business for them, and Nicolas Jackson to carry on his good form too.” Prediction: 2-1

Arsenal vs Leicester City

Paul Merson

“I'm backing Arsenal to get a comfortable win here against Leicester. Some Leicester fans wanted to come to the top flight and be in the top half of the table, that just makes me laugh. They're in big trouble and so is Steve Cooper. From now until the end of the season, Arsenal should not let in more than one goal in any football match, that should be their aim. They're always going to score goals, that's not an issue. If they keep it tight at the back, they have a chance of winning something.

“I still don't believe Arsenal are favorites for the title now after the injury to Rodri. You look at the substitutes that Manchester City have, and look at the size of that squad compared to Arsenal, who were bringing on Gabriel Jesus, who City actually let go, there is certainly a difference. If Arsenal had to take one player out of the City team to help them win the title, that would be Rodri - no doubt! So he's definitely a big miss, but City may still have enough in them to go all the way.

“There was a scuffle between Erling Haaland and Gabriel Magalhaes, it's just something that comes out of frustration in these games. That was some old school football though, we'd all be happy if we saw that every week. That game had everything in my opinion! In the aftermath of it all, what stands out for me is that Arsenal went 1-0 down and they went 2-1 up before half-time. That wouldn't have happened a few years ago, they may have gone 3-0 or 4-0 down after conceding first. How many teams can do that to City at home? Not too many.

“Leandro Trossard deserved a red card in my opinion. We want to see football, don't we? We're not here to watch people kicking the ball away. I've played the game for a long time and that's not how you pass a ball. Trossard wasn't passing it to his teammate, he was just booting the ball away. But the problem I have here is with the consistency. Jeremy Doku did the same thing and he didn't get punished. That's not fair.” Prediction: 3-0.

Chris Sutton

“Are we going to see Arsenal park the bus again? It was more like a couple of buses than just one in front of their goal against Manchester City. There is a lot of attention on Gunners boss Mikel Arteta and his approach, and whether people view his team as too negative - they were also very defensive against Atalanta in the Champions League last week - but it's what happens in the end that counts.

“If this is all part of a long-term plan and Arsenal end up winning the Premier League, then you have to take your hat off to Arteta. In any case, I'm expecting them to be much more attack-minded here. There was a bit of negativity towards Leicester boss Steve Cooper from Foxes fans when their side got past Walsall on penalties in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday, but they need to be patient with him.

“I always felt it was going to be very difficult for all three promoted clubs this season, and I predicted they would all go down, just like all three did last time. Leicester have had great success in the Premier League previously, finishing fifth two seasons running in 2020-21 and 2021-22 after winning it in 2015-2016, but their circumstances are completely different now. Right now their season is all about their struggle to stay up.

“Losing Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall to Chelsea in the summer was a big blow because he knitted everything in midfield and, as a team, I would say they are a work in progress. The problem for Leicester is you don't want to be playing Arsenal when you are a work in progress. This is going to be an extremely tough afternoon for them, and I can't see them getting anything at the Emirates.” Prediction: 2-0

Man Utd vs Tottenham

Paul Merson

“It's hard to point out what's exactly going wrong at Manchester United at the moment. But I can tell you, something's definitely not right. They have to get back into the top four, that should be like bread and butter for a club of this stature.

“It was the perfect game against Twente for them to get a win and take some pressure off themselves. But look at how it went, they failed to win despite taking the lead! If they lose to Tottenham on Sunday, it's a massive problem for United. Ten Hag has to win this game for sure, nothing else would do for them.

“We're potentially looking at Villa and Chelsea winning this week, so if Tottenham also get a win over them, that's a huge blow in the race for top four. Let's not forget they failed to win last weekend as well, so it's massive pressure.

“If Rasmus Hojlund is fit, I think he should always play and that's the same with Marcus Rashford. They should figure out a way to play both Alejandro Garnacho and Rashford together, that'll give them an edge in attack. But the funny thing is, I would be surprised if all of them play together. We saw the other day how Rashford was on the bench even when he was in form.

“Spurs have been alright this season. Against Arsenal, the quality of set-pieces were the only difference between them. But they should've beaten both Newcastle and Leicester, if they don't win these type of games, it starts to look a bit Spursy! As things stand, there's not a lot of problems with them. But if they lose this game, they are the team with the fourth-best chance of finishing fourth.” Prediction: 2-2

Chris Sutton

“My first thought was that I fancy Manchester United to win this but, the more I think about it, the less likely that seems. United made heavy weather of their Europa League draw with FC Twente on Wednesday, with a performance that was very uninspiring. Mind you, we need to see more from Spurs in the final third too, so I am going to stick with my instincts and go for a United win. Let me explain why.

“In my opinion, United cannot beat Spurs by going toe-to-toe with them, but there is an argument that Tottenham's playing style will suit Erik ten Hag, because it is in these sort of games where Ten Hag's counter-attack football works best. am not exactly confident they will beat Spurs though.

“What worries me most about tipping United is what happens in the centre of the park. Are United going to rely on Christian Eriksen again, against his former club. A great player, but does he have the legs?” Prediction: 2-1