Sutton and Merson make Palace, West Ham and Brentford predictions

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The Premier League continues this weekend with a fast-paced week in full motion following a mid-week round of fixtures. Brentford take on Newcastle United as they look to continue their strong season, while Crystal Palace look to add to their second win against a wobbly Manchester City.

Elsewhere, West Ham take on Wolves on Monday night in a game that could decide the fate of both managers. Here we round up the predictions from BBC Sport’s Chris Sutton and SportsKeeda’s Paul Merson ahead of those games.

“Brentford’s home record is incredible, and still the best in the Premier League this season. Newcastle were impressive against Liverpool in midweek but their challenge is to follow up that performance here, because they have been very up and down so far.

“This is a difficult one to call, but I always expect goals from the Bees when they are at home. In contrast, Newcastle have not been scoring consistently this season but they got three against the leaders and I think they will get a couple more here. Prediction: 2-2.”

“Brentford are a completely different team at home. Their home record is bordering on unbelievable, but the away record is bordering on atrocious! We saw that against Aston Villa, didn’t we? Brentford were blown away in that 3-1 defeat.

“I thought Newcastle were brilliant in their draw with Liverpool. They caused some serious problems to Liverpool and will take a lot of confidence from that result. I have a strong feeling that this game will be a goal-fest. Brentford will score at home and I also expect Newcastle to have a go at this game. This could well be one of the most entertaining matches of the weekend with more than one goal at both ends. I doubt either of these teams can go one better and get three points though. Prediction: Brentford 2-2 Newcastle United.”

“Crystal Palace’s win at Ipswich on Tuesday was huge for them, and it was comfortable enough in the end. Manchester City finally returned to winning ways against Nottingham Forest – and it was a result they fully deserved – but are they really back? What happens at Selhurst Park should give us an idea, and this is not an easy game for them. Forest had chances at the Etihad Stadium when the score was 1-0 and I am still not convinced by City’s defending.

“They were much better going forward with Kevin de Bruyne and Jeremy Doku in the team against Forest, though. Doku gave them the energy and ideas out wide that they have been missing and while he is not the finished article he is always a handful with his dynamism and the way he drives at teams. On his day, he can be devastating and it might be a moment of magic from him that makes the difference here, and breaks down a stubborn Palace side. Prediction: 1-2.”

“Pep Guardiola went back to his tried and tested line-up and Manchester City returned to winning ways. That win over Nottingham Forest will be a huge sigh of relief. If my memory serves me right, I remember City once going to Crystal Palace with the Premier League title on the line and they ended up winning comfortably.

“If they win this game, that’s two in a row and suddenly they’re on the right track. I expect that to happen even though Palace got a brilliant result against Ipswich Town on Tuesday. Jack Grealish and Kevin De Bruyne returned to the City line-up for the clash against Forest and it automatically made Bernardo Silva a better player! In all honesty, Silva was struggling in recent games and it looked like a knock-on effect of them players returning to the team.

“People look at Grealish and be like, ‘what does he do?’ What he does brilliantly is that he keeps the ball and draws opponents in to him and that opens up space for his teammates. You don’t want the likes of De Bruyne and Silva operating in free space and Grealish allows them to do it. It’s understandable that Guardiola did not think of this change ahead of the Liverpool game. He had never been in that position and such lapses in judgement can always happen. You and me don’t know football as much as Guardiola knows, yet we would’ve never started Matheus Nunes in that role at Anfield. That was a mistake, but common sense prevailed in the win over Forest and Guardiola made the right decision.

“City face Manchester United in the derby after the trip to Palace and anything short of a win at Selhurst Park will be a huge blow. Prediction: Crystal Palace 0-2 Manchester City.”

“This might end badly for O’Neil and Wolves and, while we are not seeing the West Ham we expected from Lopetegui, he may live to fight another day. The last time Wolves went to London, at the end of November, they beat Fulham 4-1 and enjoyed themselves.

“I can’t see the same happening here though, because of the number of goals they are conceding. The way they play under O’Neil, they are so open. West Ham are going to get some chances and although they missed a few against Leicester, I am backing them to take them this time. Prediction: 3-1.”

“This is a massive game for both managers. Julen Lopetegui and Gary O’Neill are under immense pressure. How can Wolves win 4-1 at Fulham, and then concede four goals in back-to-back defeats to Bournemouth and Everton? That’s just unbelievable.

“Speaking of unbelievable, I was baffled by how West Ham did not include Lucas Paqueta in their line-up to face Leicester. How can you do that? I don’t understand that decision. We all know Leicester won’t take the game to West Ham, they have a certain way of playing. It involves sitting back and hitting teams on the counter.

“We knew West Ham would enjoy a lot of the ball, so why not include Paqueta? He keeps the ball well and makes things happen. That worked quite well against Newcastle and Lopetegui made a big mistake by leaving him out. This is what happens when you bring in managers who don’t understand how the Premier League works. They may have done great things elsewhere in Europe, but it’s not the same here.

“Whoever loses this game, will be under severe pressure from the fans. The sack is inevitable if you don’t have fans on your side. After Wolves’ recent results, I just can’t back them here. They let Everton score four goals in a game, I thought Everton would never score four in total from now until Christmas! Prediction: West Ham United 2-0 Wolves.”