Chris Sutton and Paul Merson make Crystal Palace, Fulham and West Ham predictions as 'phenomenal' claim made

Another big weekend of Premier League action is about to get away, with Chelsea and Brighton kicking off the action, but away from London’s big three, there are interesting clashes aplenty. West Ham take on London rivals Brentford, while Fulham face a big test against Nottingham Forest.

Elsewhere, Crystal Palace take on Everton in a battle between two teams who have been on a resurgence of late. Here we round up the predictions for those clashes from SportKeeda’s Paul Merson and BBC Sport’s Chris Sutton.

Fulham vs Nottingham Forest

Chris Sutton

“For the first couple of months of the season I was talking about how good Fulham are at home - I obviously put the mockers on them because they have not won any of their past five league matches at Craven Cottage. Nottingham Forest, who needed penalties to get past Exeter in the FA Cup on Tuesday, have got an excellent away record and Liverpool are the only top-flight team to have picked up more points than them on the road this season.

“This is hard to call, though, because we know Fulham can turn it on, and they are a hard team to predict. They won at the City Ground earlier in the season but this time I am going with my club, Forest, to get a point and continue their push for the top four. Prediction: 1-1.”

Paul Merson

“If Fulham win this game, it makes a massive difference to their season. Three more points and they will just be eight behind third-placed Nottingham Forest, who will play Newcastle, Arsenal and Manchester City in the weeks to follow! In the same timeframe, Fulham face Crystal Palace, Wolves and Everton - all winnable games if you ask me.

“If things go their way, Fulham can make a surprise push for a European berth this season. They certainly have the quality to do it as well. I actually think they will beat Forest this weekend.

“Picking the final top four places in the Premier League this season is really hard at the moment. I'd have to go Liverpool, Arsenal, Newcastle and Chelsea. Wait, how can I count Bournemouth out? I'm not doing that because they have some really nice fixtures coming up. You know what? I'm backing Bournemouth to get top four as long as they stay away from injuries! Prediction: Fulham 2-1 Nottingham Forest.”

West Ham vs Brentford

Chris Sutton

“Brentford are not great away from home, while West Ham need to get something after taking only one point from their past three matches. This has got a draw written all over it, really, but I am not going to take the easy option and go for 1-1 here like my guest has done. That would be boring! Although Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa are always so dangerous for the Bees, I am going to go with West Ham to win it.

“New Hammers boss Graham Potter has taken over a difficult situation and he is finding it hard to get results - he has only won one of his five games in charge so far. Their struggles are not on him though, and it would definitely boost their chances if he has Jarrod Bowen back from injury soon - he has been training this week. Bowen scored a hat-trick when West Ham beat Brentford 4-2 in February last year. There won't be as many goals this time, but I am going for the same outcome. Prediction: 2-1.”

Paul Merson

“Brentford are experiencing a bit of a lull now. They had that run where they were dominating everyone on home turf and now the results have dried up a bit. Considering how Tottenham have been all season, they would be gutted to have lost to Spurs at home in their last game.

“Even though they need to start winning games away from home, I don't expect Brentford to do that this weekend at the London stadium. I was impressed by West Ham against Chelsea and I thought they were unlucky to lose that game. The Hammers are under no threat when it comes to the relegation battle either. I expect two teams out of Wolves, Leicester and Ipswich to join Southampton in going down this term.

“Everything points to a win for West Ham here. I see no other outcome. Prediction: West Ham United 2-1 Brentford.”

Crystal Palace vs Everton

Chris Sutton

“What a job David Moyes has done since returning to Everton last month. His side gave us such great drama at the end of the Merseyside derby, although I must admit I was not watching it properly because I was covering Celtic in the Champions League for Match of the Day.

“Moyes has really got Everton going again but I think he is in for a tough evening here. You have to wonder how much Wednesday night will have taken out of the Toffees, and I suspect it was quite a lot. Crystal Palace are going well at the moment, and Jean-Philippe Mateta will be hard to stop. The Eagles been steadily climbing the table for a few weeks now and I am expecting that to continue, although it will be close. Prediction: 1-0.”

Paul Merson

“It was amazing what Everton did in the derby against Liverpool. But I don't think they can back it up with another good result this weekend. Crystal Palace will turn up confident for this game at home and that will suit them well.

“I thought Everton really messed up when they were knocked out of the FA Cup by Bournemouth. So the draw with Liverpool was much-needed. If I'm being honest, I did not believe David Moyes would have such a big impact on his return to Everton. It just shows what a great manager he is, it's phenomenal what he does! What he did at West Ham and what he did at Everton, just amazing.

“I doubt Moyes can get a result at Selhurst Park on Saturday though. I'm backing Palace to win this. Prediction: Crystal Palace 2-0 Everton.”