Paul Merson has predicted that Brentford will beat Tottenham this evening, thus handing Spurs a major blow in their quest for Champions League qualification.
There have been plenty of twists and turns in the race for the fourth spot over the last couple of months and the latest ones have come in the past week, with Spurs being beaten at home by Brighton and Arsenal pulling off a surprise win at Stamford Bridge.
Those results mean that Antonio Conte’s men are only above their North London rivals on goal difference.
The Lilywhites will hope to get back to winning ways as they visit the Brentford Community Stadium this week to take on an in-form Bees side.
While Merson admitted that Spurs have the firepower to overcome Brentford, he backed Thomas Frank’s side to pull off a surprise result.
The former Arsenal man told Sportskeeda: “Brentford are on a run in the Premier League, and they’re playing very well. Tottenham cannot afford to underestimate them. Brentford won at Watford, and they were brilliant against Chelsea.
“This could be a tough game for Tottenham. Don’t get me wrong – Spurs have the ammunition to win this game as well. Brentford have nothing to lose, however, and that makes them very dangerous.
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“If Arsenal do win their game, Tottenham will need to make sure they don’t lose. Christian Eriksen has been unbelievable for Brentford. Tottenham are his former employers, and he could haunt them and keep them from a Champions League spot this weekend.”
Prediction: Brentford 2-1 Tottenham Hotspur.
In the other game that will be of importance to the race for fourth this weekend, Merson backed Man Utd to come away with a point from the Emirates.
He said about Arsenal’s clash with United: “This is a harder game than most people think. Most fans think Arsenal are going to turn up and win, but this is a difficult game. Arsenal are a young team and are very inconsistent. They’ve lost three games on the trot but defeated Chelsea easily.
“Manchester United are going to turn up here – I’ve just got a feeling. No one expects them to do anything this season, so they’ll just go out and play. That might make it a little difficult for Arsenal. It’ll be hard for Cristiano Ronaldo to play this game but if he does, I’d expect the others to turn up for him.
“Erik ten Hag has been appointed as Manchester United’s manager this week – very good luck to him. I don’t think his appointment will have much of an impact on this game, but Arsenal will not find it easy this weekend.”
Prediction: Arsenal 2-2 Manchester United.
Spurs Web Opinion
Brentford are in good form and the game will certainly not be easy for Antonio Conte’s men. We could make the task a lot simpler if we score early as that would force the Bees to commit bodies in attack, thus leaving space for our forwards to exploit. However, should it remain goalless at half-time, the match could swing either way in the second half.
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