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

Another big week of Premier League action is about to get going, with Crystal Palace, Fulham and West Ham all in action. Palace face Manchester City away from home with the chance to have their say on the top four race, while West Ham face leaders Liverpool at Anfield, hoping to deal another blow to the Reds after Fulham beat them last weekend.

The Cottagers are still in the hunt for European football after their big win last weekend, and they face Bournemouth away from home as they look to move into the top seven. Here we round up the latest predictions from SportsKeeda’s Paul Merson ahead of all of those games.

Man City vs Crystal Palace

“There are a lot of players in this Manchester City team who are now low on confidence. When you're in that situation, playing in Pep Guardiola's system can be difficult. We saw that during the derby against Manchester United. Manchester City must finish inside the top-four. They cannot go from being champions to finishing sixth, that would be a huge concern. This is a hard game to call because I believe Crystal Palace can cause City some problems.

“Kevin De Bruyne is an absolute legend. City owe him a good farewell. He's one of the only players who I've watched that can thread a pass through a needle while running at full steam. Truly one of the all time greats of the Premier League, phenomenal footballer! I'm backing City to win by a slender margin, but even then I wouldn't be surprised if this ended 1-1. Palace definitely have the ammunition to hurt City and I expect them to score at the Etihad. Prediction: Manchester City 2-1 Crystal Palace.”

Liverpool vs West Ham

“Liverpool will win this. West Ham have been so disappointing. Graham Potter has not had that kick-on effect like I expected. But he will only be judged next season, when he get his own players and builds his own system.

“Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk renewing their contracts is unbelievable news for Liverpool! It's certainly bad news for Arsenal, Man City and the others though. If you had to lose one of them three players, it would have to be Trent Alexander-Arnold. I don't mean that badly, he's the best passer in the country but Salah and Van Dijk are just more important.

“Fair play to both of them as well. They could've easily taken the easy way out by accepting a big pay cheque to go to another league in the latter stages of their career. But they have decided to stay at Liverpool and compete, which is commendable. Prediction: Liverpool 3-1 West Ham United.”

Bournemouth vs Fulham

“What an incredible result it was for Fulham last week. They are now back in the race to get a European berth in my opinion. Before the win over Liverpool, it seemed like they had hit a bit of a lull. Now that they are back on track, this is a huge football match they must win.

“Bournemouth have been struggling recently. They have hit a brick wall despite this still being an incredible season for them. A few weeks ago, we would have given Fulham no chance against Liverpool or Bournemouth, but that's not the same anymore. Things change quickly in the Premier League and with Fulham just three points behind Villa in seventh, they will push for a European place in these final few weeks. Prediction: Bournemouth 1-2 Fulham.”

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