Paul Merson tips Tottenham Hotspur to maintain their impressive Premier League run with a comfortable victory against West Ham on Friday night.
West Ham manager Slaven Bilic
Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson has described the fixture as a ‘huge game’ for both the teams.
The Friday night fixture is a big opportunity for Tottenham Hotspur to put pressure on Chelsea who play Middlesbrough on Monday night.
Merson believes that if Spurs can close the gap with Chelsea to one point, the title race could become very interesting.
As for West Ham, this game is like a cup final, but Merson does not expect them to put up a strong challenge against their London rivals.
Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino
There has been a lot of speculation going on surrounding Slaven Bilic’s future. According to The Guardian, the West Ham manager has two final home games left to turn things around.
Merson says that he is a big fan of the Croatian, and the speculation regarding Bilic’s future is unfair. He adds that in football anything can happen, but it would require a major shift in form for the Hammers to get anything from this game.
“This game is West Ham’s cup final but I don’t see anything other than a Tottenham win. There would have to be a major shift in form for the Hammers to get anything from it,” says Merson to Sky Sports.
“However, Tottenham can put severe pressure on Chelsea with victory. I know Chelsea have some nice fixtures coming up but if Spurs can move to within one point of the league leaders, it will be a lot different.”
Tottenham are one of the most in-form teams in the Premier League at the moment. The Lilywhites have won their last nine games in the league, and are riding high on confidence.
Merson predicts a comfortable 3-0 victory for the away side.
General view inside the London Stadium
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