Paul Merson has predicted Chelsea to finish above Tottenham in the Premier League this season. Spurs currently sit third in the table and five points ahead of the Blues, who have a game in hand.
Speaking on Sky Sports Soccer Saturday, the former Arsenal midfielder was insistent that Antonio Conte's side 'go to the well too often' and that their luck will soon run out. When asked whether the north Londoners have the ability to finish third in the Premier League this season, Merson replied: "No way.
"I just don't think you can get away with keep on going to the well like they do. I just don't see how they finish third. I think Chelsea will finish above Tottenham."
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Tottenham welcome Liverpool to N17 on Sunday afternoon in what is set to be a blockbuster clash that will have a huge impact in the race for top-four. If Conte can snatch a win from Jurgen Klopp then Spurs will go 13 points ahead of the Merseyside club.
And, despite the north Londoners' advantage, Merson believes that Liverpool will catch up with Tottenham, beginning with a win. He said: "I think Liverpool win this weekend.
"I think Liverpool will close the gap on Tottenham. And Liverpool won't go away, people keep going, 'Liverpool, that's it'. I just don't think you can keep going to the well."
For Chelsea not to be drawn into a battle for fourth-place, Merson told Graham Potter that he must know his best starting XI. The 54-year-old said: "He needs to get him team right - I think they finish above Tottenham.
"He got it terribly wrong playing [Raheem] Sterling and Pulisic at wing-back. He needs to get his team right. He doesn't know what his best team is.
"I don’t know if he is just trying to keep people fresh. He is one of the new managers, they experiment. If it had worked the other day, we've seen Pep Guardiola do certain things and if it works we think 'whoa, what a genius'. But then it doesn’t work sometimes, like the Champions League final. It’s the same."
Merson concluded by stressing the importance of Chelsea's clash with Arsenal. He said: "This is a big game for Chelsea this weekend.
"I think it's a massive, massive football match. If we all sat down and picked our Chelsea team for this weekend, I don't think one of us would get it right. I think we'd all get the Arsenal team. This is the problem, you can’t keep on changing it.
"When you play, you always want to play with people all the time so you get that understanding. It was one of them games the other day where he got it wrong. He got it wrong against Man United and he changed it very quickly. I have no problem with that but sooner or later he will have to get his best team on the pitch. The fans, they won’t be happy if they start getting beat by four by Arsenal."
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