Paul Merson’s Premier League predictions: Spurs to impress, Pedro Neto to shine at Chelsea and Strictly Come Dancing hopes | Football News

The Premier League is back and with it Paul Merson, who awaits an exciting new season on Vscek.

We put “The Magic Man” to the test ahead of the opening week of the season as he picks his stars, predicts a top-four upset and names his summer signings

There’s even a bit of dance chatter when we ask the newly announced Strictly Come Dancing star what his dancing credentials are!

Read on for Merson’s full predictions for the season…

Who will win the Premier League title?

I can’t see past Manchester City.

If Arsenal were to sign a centre forward, I can see them pushing City all the way, potentially even winning. They definitely need a 20 goal merchant.

However, it is difficult to argue that City cannot do it again.

Will there be any surprises in the top four?

I do [think there will be a surprise]Tottenham will finish in the top four.

Dominic Solanke is a really good buy. They needed a complete and fast striker and he is that. He is a presence up there leading the line and will fit in with the way Spurs play under Ange Postecoglou.

Spurs were unlucky last season. They started brilliantly and then lost to Chelsea. They had two players sent off that day, but they lost a lot of players to injury that week too. We just talked about Arsenal winning the league, if you took away the key players Spurs lost from Arsenal, or anyone else except Manchester City, it would be a struggle.

So, if Spurs can keep their players fit, I think they could throw up some surprises this season.

Which summer purchase do you think will have the biggest impact?

I already answered Solanke. At Spurs, Richarlison is a good player on his best days, but you need more than on your best days.

Solanke could make the difference as teams were starting to close in on Spurs and suffocate them, but Solanke’s pace and threat in behind could help extend the game for Postecoglou’s side.

That could in turn help James Maddison, who hasn’t had much space since returning from injury. But Solanke will help him find space, and given time and space, Maddison can pick anyone.

Are there any other transfers that impressed you?

The amount Manchester City paid for Julian Alvarez. Wow, that was impressive.

Which player should you keep an eye on this season?

Another one who in my opinion can do really well is Pedro Neto at Chelsea.

At the start of the summer, I thought he would be a great signing for Arsenal. He fits in with them to a T and is a player who could lighten the load on Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli.

So, that deal shocked me. If Chelsea can keep him fit, I think it’s an incredible signing.

With transfers like Matthijs de Ligt to Man Utd, I think it’s a wait and see deal. Will he be a “Rolls Royce” defender or another signing that leaves us wondering why United took him? Only time will tell. The jury is definitely out.

Who will be the Premier League top scorer?

No one will look further down the list than Erling Haaland.

What did he miss last season? Two months? He still won it.

He is the only striker in the league who manages to regularly score three, four, five goals per game.

Which team will be the worst performer this season?

What should Man Utd’s successes be? I’m not sure anymore.

I think it’s definitely “watch this space” when it comes to Chelsea and Man Utd. At the moment, I can’t see anything other than cup teams this season. They both have players who can light up on any day, but I’m not sure they can do it consistently.

For both teams, we are now talking about a top-four success, but not long ago a top-four finish would have been a disaster.

It will be interesting to see where both clubs end up in May. You never know what could happen with a quick start.

Will the newly promoted teams maintain their promotion this season?

All three promoted teams played a certain way last season. Leicester, Ipswich and Southampton’s style of football was very beautiful to watch.

However, coming into the Premier League, they now have to be flexible. They have to be able to change things when necessary.

The way they played last season worked wonders, but they found themselves up against opponents of a different caliber.

Last season, look at Burnley, we all know what they have to do and we know they have to move the ball away from the goal and not keep playing it out of the back. However, they continued to do that and ended up getting relegated.

Vincent Kompany got the job at Bayern Munich by playing the right way, but he didn’t help Burnley. New Premier League managers need to consider this and be flexible. You can’t open the game every week. Sometimes you have to sit back and be disciplined.

The difficulty might be that I expect a team like Everton to be more competitive this season. They were struggling to avoid relegation last season, but I don’t expect that to be the case this year. That rules out a potential relegation team, so it’s going to be difficult because it’s a tough league.

But start well, gain some confidence and you never know.

And finally, can you get to Blackpool with Strictly?

Who knows! It won’t be for lack of trying or effort.

I try not to look that far ahead. That’s not how I see my life. I try to take things as they come and see where they take me.

But it will be interesting, that’s for sure. Let’s try and see where we get to!