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Paul Merson's Premier League predictions - Week 15

Soccer Saturday pundit sees positive results for Arsenal, Aston Villa and Swansea this weekend

Image: Arsenal: league leaders tipped for another big win by Merse

Swansea v Hull (7pm, Mon, Sky Sports 1)

Sunderland v Tottenham (5pm, Sat, Sky Sports 1)

This will be a hard trip for Tottenham on Saturday night. Sunderland scored three goals against Chelsea in midweek and still lost the game, but Gus Poyet will be telling his players that if they keep scoring goals at home every week they'll soon start winning more than they lose. I thought Tottenham were lucky to come away with a win against Fulham, but they deserve credit for the way they responded to losing 6-0 to Man City. They drew with Man United and won in midweek, so you can't ask for more than that. Andre Villas-Boas has to decide whether to stick with Jermain Defoe up front (I can't see him playing both him and Roberto Soldado) and I think he should. There's no point bringing Defoe in for one game and then dropping him; he needs six or seven games on the trot to get on a run. Villas-Boas will say they need to win this game because things are so tight at the top of the Premier League, but I've been impressed with Sunderland under Poyet and I think this will be a draw. PAUL PREDICTS: 1-1

Crystal Palace v Cardiff

This game is absolutely massive. Cardiff will be very happy after going to Stoke in midweek and drawing 0-0 and Crystal Palace had a great result against West Ham. Both teams will want to keep the momentum going and I don't think either of them can afford to lose. I think this will be one of those games where both sets of players will want to avoid making mistakes and it should be very cagey and tight. PAUL PREDICTS: 1-1

Liverpool v West Ham

When West Ham are expected to attack (like against Crystal Palace or in their home games) they can get picked off. But they are capable of going away to the big teams and defending and making it very hard when there's no expectations on them. They went to Liverpool last year and drew 0-0 and are capable of doing that again. Luis Suarez was phenomenal against Norwich and scored four world-class goals, but where would Liverpool be without him? People talk about Olivier Giroud at Arsenal, but Liverpool are so reliant on Suarez. If West Ham get through the first 20 minutes I see them frustrating Liverpool - but if Suarez is on top of his game he will get a chance at some point. PAUL PREDICTS: 1-0 (or 4-0 if they score in the first 20 minutes)

Southampton v Man City

Man City got well beaten at Southampton last year and I think they will have payback on their minds. The wheels seem to be falling off for Southampton a little bit - they have conceded eight goals in their last three games after a great start. They play a pressing game which is very tiring for the players. When you're winning you don't feel tired, but when you start losing games and leaking goals you feel tired much more quickly. They dominated the possession against Aston Villa, but let in three goals which is unlike them and I think Man City will move the ball around too quickly to let Southampton close down effectively. PAUL PREDICTS: 0-3

Stoke v Chelsea

In the past Stoke would get the ball forward quickly and cause problems for teams like Chelsea. People used to criticise Tony Pulis for long-ball football, but sometimes that's the only way to give your team a chance. Nowadays they try to play football, which is good, but when you play another footballing side with better players then you're not going to beat them. It's alright against the lesser teams, but if they try to out-pass Chelsea then there's only going to be one winner. I see Chelsea going there and winning on Saturday. PAUL PREDICTS: 1-3

West Brom v Norwich

I'm doing this game for Soccer Saturday. Norwich got well beaten by Liverpool in midweek and West Brom lost 3-2 to Man City - although the scoreline covered over the cracks because City were in control for most of the game. I think West Brom play decent football and are always hard to beat at home, so I would favour them here. Norwich are a better team than people give them credit for but I think they might be a bit shell-shocked after what Luis Suarez did to them on Wednesday night. PAUL PREDICTS: 3-0

Man Utd v Newcastle

Man United go into this game with no Michael Carrick, no Wayne Rooney and possibly no Robin van Persie. If Van Persie is fit then they have a chance, but if you take the best three players out of any team then you struggle to see how they can win. I'd say the same if you took the best three players out of the Arsenal team or the Liverpool team or whoever. If they are missing then I don't see why Newcastle can't go there and get a result. They didn't deserve to lose 3-0 to Swansea and they've got every chance. I think Man United are out of the title race now, but if they don't win this then their top-four aspirations are struggling. It's okay if you are chasing one team, like when they closed a 12-point gap on Newcastle to win the league, but there are eight teams ahead of Man United right now. They need to win this game badly, but I don't see them winning it. However, if they can get the three points without those three key players I think it would be massive for David Moyes. PAUL PREDICTS: 1-1 Think you know better than Merse? Prove it with our Super 6 game and win £250,000

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