Paul Merson claims Man City will ‘play into Chelsea’s hands’ as pundit makes bold prediction

Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson has previewed this weekend’s Premier League game between Chelsea and Manchester City at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea are earned a statement victory on Monday night as they came back from behind to beat Tottenham Hotspur 4-1.

Nicolas Jackson (who is still one of the worst finishers in the Premier League) scored a match-winning hat-trick in the latter stages of the London derby against Spurs, who finished the game with ten men.

This result will give the Blues a confidence boost but they come up against Man City this weekend. Pep Guardiola’s side are currently sitting pretty at the top of the Premier League, with 12 points separating them and tenth-placed Chelsea.

Chelsea have lost their last six games against Man City, who are unbeaten against their Premier League rivals since they were defeated 1-0 in the 2020/21 Champions League final.

Merson has explained why he thinks Man City may “play into Chelsea’s hands” this weekend and Mauricio Pochettino’s team will “cause them problems.

“If Chelsea get a draw that’s a good result,” Merson told Sky Sports. “But it’s not a free hit. Playing in front of 38,000 at Stamford Bridge against the best team in the world, Chelsea fans turn up to win, not to make sure their team doesn’t get beaten by two or three.

“When you play for big football clubs you’re expected to go out and win or give it a go. Chelsea win trophies.

“Tottenham were going to have a go at Chelsea and that’s why I was bullish about them being able to get something. That plays into Chelsea’s hands. Man City will be the same. Chelsea will cause them problems, no doubt about it, but Man City will cause major problems at the same time.

“It’s a game Man City know they have to play well to win.”

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Gary Neville meanwhile thinks Chelsea still have a “fair way to go” as they “looked clueless at times” against Tottenham.

“It’s an extremely tough game. Manchester City are the best team in the world and Chelsea are punching up,” Neville said.

“They’re nowhere near that level. They’ve got to continue to measure themselves. Chelsea have got a fair way to go and everyone will know that.”

On the win over Spurs, Neville added: “When Tottenham went to nine players, Chelsea looked clueless at times.

“I wouldn’t say it’s the catalyst for Chelsea’s season. I don’t think I’ve seen enough for that and they’ve got a significant amount of difficult fixtures coming up.”

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