Paul Merson makes Tottenham vs Man Utd and Liverpool vs Bournemouth predictions

Paul Merson has made his predictions for the upcoming set of Premier League fixtures with Tottenham hosting Manchester United in the biggest clash of the weekend.

Spurs held Brentford to a respectable opening-weekend draw at the Gtech Community Stadium in Ange Postecoglou’s first game in charge of the north Londoners.

Man Utd, meanwhile, were lucky to beat Wolves 1-0 at Old Trafford with the away side creating the better chances against Erik ten Hag’s side.

And former Arsenal midfielder Merson is predicting a close encounter when Man Utd travel to Tottenham on Saturday tea time and reckons Mason Mount will come good in time.

“If Manchester United play like they did last week, they won’t win,” Merson told Sportskeeda.

“But that’s the thing about United; they are often not at their best and still manage to win. They’ll be a lot more solid this weekend against Spurs than they were against Wolves.

READ MORE: Big Weekend: Spurs v Man Utd, Newcastle, Caicedo, Emery, Leeds, Kane’s Bundesliga bow

“I know Mason Mount drew a lot of criticism after the game against Wolves. But then again, which Manchester United player did well in that game?

“I think it’s too early to pass judgment on him. He’s a really good player when the game opens up and Ten Hag should have waited a bit before taking him off against Wolves.

“I think Spurs are going to be an interesting team to watch this season. I like the manager and they’ll finally be playing the ‘Tottenham’ way.

“They have a good set of players but replacing Harry Kane’s goals is going to be a massive task for them. We’re talking about replacing 30-odd goals in a season.

“If they can draw out goals from their other attackers, it might just work out for them. But it’s a huge ask for the likes of Son and Richarlison.

“That being said, they are likely to do well against United as the Red Devils look like they’re a fair bit away from settling down or hitting their stride. I’m going for a 2-2 draw.”

Luis Diaz’s opener was cancelled out by Axel Disasi’s first Chelsea goal as Liverpool drew 1-1 against the Blues at Stamford Bridge last weekend.

But Merson reckons Liverpool will be in for a comfortable afternoon when they host Bournemouth at Anfield at 3pm on Saturday.

Merson added: “I expect Liverpool to win this one. Liverpool are one of the teams you want to watch this season. They are very open and will be playing attacking football this term. However, their draw against Chelsea didn’t come about in an encouraging fashion.

“Mohamed Salah getting hooked in the 77th minute was a decision that puzzled me. He does go missing in games every once in a while but he is their main goalscorer. So taking him off rather early was a bit of a surprising decision.

“Cody Gakpo played in midfield last weekend. I don’t think it’s a long-term solution and I don’t think Klopp is looking at it like that either. They looked much better when Harvey Elliott came on.

“That’s going to be a cause of concern for them. They need a midfielder who can hold and provide the platform for Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai to play their game. But I think they are good enough to blow Bournemouth away. Liverpool 3-0 Bournemouth.”