Paul Merson makes West Ham, Crystal Palace and Fulham predictions as 'banana skin' claim made

Another big weekend of Premier League football gets going on Saturday, and we have an all-London clash to enjoy, with West Ham and Crystal Palace go head-to-head, currently separated by just two points.

Elsewhere, Brentford take on leaders Liverpool hoping to spring a surprise, and Fulham head to the East Midlands to take on strugglers Leicester City. Here we round up the predictions from SportsKeeda’s Paul Merson for those fixtures.

West Ham vs Crystal Palace

“If I'm being honest, I thought West Ham were quite fortunate to beat Fulham in the last game. Fulham had chance after chance at the start and then shot themselves in the foot later. That 3-2 win is definitely a case of the result covering over the cracks at West Ham in my opinion!

“Graham Potter will need time to make West Ham play the way he wants. It's completely different, and certainly positive football, compared to what we saw them play under David Moyes and Julen Lopetegui. Potter has good talent in that squad so that ticks one box. Now he needs time and I hope the board will give him that. For now, I see West Ham as a team that will score goals while letting in quite a few at the other end as well.

“Even Crystal Palace were quite lucky to win 2-0 and keep a clean sheet against Leicester in the last game. But they have too much quality and won't get relegated. Palace desperately needed that win over Leicester though, beating teams in and around them in the table is what will help them at this stage. I think this will be a hard-fought game where both teams share points in the end. Prediction: West Ham United 2-2 Crystal Palace.”

Brentford vs Liverpool

“Brentford vs Manchester City, what a game that was! Like I said, that performance from Brentford makes this clash all the more difficult for Liverpool. Honestly, I thought Liverpool were atrocious in the first half against Nottingham Forest. But the gulf was massive in the second half though, they did show their quality.

“We all know how Brentford play and that makes this game a banana skin for Liverpool. I wouldn't be surprised if Brentford cause Liverpool a few problems early on, however, I'm backing the Reds to come away with the win in the end. If Liverpool win, that is a huge result and it puts massive pressure on Arsenal. The Gunners play late on Saturday and that is a really hard game against Aston Villa, which they must win at all costs.

“I would play Diogo Jota as the centre-forward for Liverpool in the game against Brentford. He is a more natural goalscorer than Luis Diaz and for me, the Portuguese has to be in the starting line-up. But as I always say with Liverpool, whoever plays in that front-three, we can always expect them to get goals. That quality is the thing that makes them strong title contenders!

“Liverpool have had some issues at left-back with Andy Robertson struggling to find form. I don't think they will bring in a new player to replace him in January though. They will most likely switch between Robertson and Kostas Tsimikas till the end of the season and then look for a replacement. Prediction: Brentford 1-2 Liverpool.”

Leicester City vs Fulham

“Nothing but a Fulham win here because Leicester cannot win a football match at the moment! I thought Fulham were really unlucky against West Ham, they had plenty of chances but still ended up losing that game. I don't see how they won't score against Leicester, they have too much quality to not do that.

“Leicester have now lost six league games in a row and in that run, they haven't shown enough for us to think it won't be seven this weekend! I'm backing Fulham to win comfortably here. Prediction: Leicester City 1-3 Fulham.”