Each week former Arsenal player and Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson predicts the results for every Premier League game, and he isn’t shy of playing devil’s advocate.
On Monday night, Manchester United host Tottenham Hotspur who have a perfect record going into their third fixture of the 2018-19 campaign. The Reds, on the other hand, suffered a blow last weekend when Brighton and Hove Albion stunned Jose Mourinho’s side by winning 3-2 at the Amex Stadium.
However, Merson believes we will bounce back from last week’s defeat with a 2-1 win.
READ MORE: What Mourinho and Pochettino said ahead of Man Utd v Tottenham
He said: “Over the last three or four years, you see Manchester United turn it on in these type of games when the pressure is on.
“They’ve done it to Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool, Tottenham, everyone. I don’t know how they do it. I’ve seen this so many times.
“Jose Mourinho will tell them to go out and prove they’re good enough to play for the biggest club in the world. Because that’s what they are, in my opinion.”
United fans, including myself, have been known to take the piss out of Merson and his predictions in the past. He’s not going to please everyone but I am surprised to hear he fancies us against this strong Tottenham side, despite our form of late.
It is just the start of the season and teams will take their time to settle and ready themselves. Spurs included.
Both sides will get better as the season goes on, though some feel this will end up seeing Mourinho go through another third season meltdown at a club and end up jobless. Hopefully, that isn’t the case and the players stay on side.
The least we deserve as fans is to see our players fight for the United shirt because that didn’t do that against Brighton, leaving a sour taste in our mouths on this week’s podcast.
Interestingly, Merson predicts only one draw from the 10 games. He reckons Bournemouth and Everton will finish 2-2.
What are your thoughts on this week’s clash with Spurs? Let us know below in the comments section.