ught he did well," said Therrien. "Especially be

Sky Sports Paul Merson is back to look ahead to another crucial round of Premier League fixtures. Derrick Favors Jersey . The top four are all in action live on Sky Sports this weekend as the race for the title and the top four hots up.Leicester will be looking to move a step closer to their first Premier League title when they take on West Ham at the King Power Stadium but defeat could hand Tottenham, who face Stoke at the Britannia on Monday Night Football, the opportunity to close the gap. Meanwhile, Arsenal will be looking to stay in touch when they take on Crystal Palace on Super Sunday, while Manchester City face Chelsea in a mouthwatering Saturday Night Football clash.Merse correctly predicted six Premier League outcomes last time out, and also called one perfect score as Southampton beat Newcastle 3-1. Mersons last predictions Result Merses prediction West Ham 3-3 Arsenal 1-2 Aston Villa 1-2 Bournemouth 0-2 Crystal Palace 1-0 Norwich 2-1 Southampton 3-1 Newcastle 3-1 Swansea 1-0 Chelsea 1-3 Watford 1-1 Eveton 1-2 Man City 2-1 West Brom 2-0 Sunderland 0-2 Leicester 1-1 Liverpool 4-1 Stoke 2-1 Tottenham 3-0 Manchester United 3-1 Read on to see who he is backing this week...Chelsea v Man City - Saturday Night Football, 5.30pm, Sky Sports 1 HDThe gap between Manchester City in fourth and Manchester United in fifth is just five points and I fully expect Louis van Gaals side to close the gap by the time kick-off comes around at Stamford Bridge. Its a massive game for City. Merson thinks Chelsea can beat Man City 2-1 at Stamford Bridge They had a brilliant result in midweek and you have to hand it to them after they reached the Champions League semi-finals, but they cannot take their eye off the ball against Chelsea. Its still a huge ask to win the Champions League so the league is crucial. However, I think Chelsea will win this and blow the top four wide open.PAUL PREDICTS: 2-1 (Sky Bet odds 17/2)Leicester v West Ham - Super Sunday, 1.30pm, Sky Sports 1 HDI was really disappointed in West Ham the other night. I had only really seen highlights of Slaven Bilics side this season and thought they looked excellent, but having watched the whole game against Man United, they were really poor. Merson thinks Leicester will have too much for West Ham on Sunday United put in a very good display at Upton Park but for me, West Ham didnt do enough. They didnt get enough crosses into the box and there is no point playing Andy Carroll if you are not going to get the ball into the penalty area. If youd have asked me for a prediction on Monday Id have said Im not sure, but now I cant see anything but a Leicester win.However, I still see a twist to come in the title race.PAUL PREDICTS: 2-1 (Sky Bet odds 15/2)Arsenal v Crystal Palace - Super Sunday, 4pm, Sky Sports 1 HDArsenal are the best team in the world when the pressure is off. They will win this game because Crystal Palace are now in a position where they can afford to rest players ahead of the FA Cup semi-final. Arsenal beat Crystal Palace 2-1 at Selhurst Park earlier in the campaign They can lose this game heavily, it wont matter. The manager, the players and the fans will move on to Wembley. Arsenal will win this game.PAUL PREDICTS: 3-0 (Sky Bet odds 7/1)Stoke v Tottenham - Monday Night Football, 8pm, Sky Sports 1 HDI never go against Stoke at home. They are a very good team in front of their own fans but for me, Tottenham win. I really fancy an away win. I have been impressed with Spurs; they are a good, good team. Merson is backing Tottenham to win at Stoke on Monday Looking ahead to next season, Arsenal, Chelsea, Man City, Man Utd and Liverpool all need players. Tottenham only need a few fringe players, they dont need players to go straight into the team. I really think they are well up there again next season, one of the favourites.Im backing them to win on Monday night.PAUL PREDICTS: 1-3 (Sky Bet odds 14/1)Norwich v Sunderland - Saturday, 12.45pmNorwich have to make sure they dont lose this game. As long as they dont get beat Alex Neil will be happy, but if they win I think Newcastle are pretty much down. Its as simple as that! Norwich host Sunderland in a crucial clash at the bottom of the table For Sunderland its a cup final and they have to win it. What score do I go with here? My mate Jeff is a big Sunderland fan so I cant go against him. Im going for a draw here because Sunderland have been playing well recently. Theyve not had much luck in my opinion and thats why the results havent quite gone their way.Theyll get a point here but Jeff wont be happy.PAUL PREDICTS: 1-1 (Sky Bet odds 5/1)Everton v Southampton - Saturday, 3pmIts a tough game to call. Its a weird situation for Everton because theyve got an FA Cup semi-final coming up but Roberto Martinez is under some serious pressure. Theyve got the date at Wembley next week but cant go into that on the back of a defeat - the fans are on his back as it is. Martinez would love to rest some players but I just dont think he can afford to. Everton beat Southampton 3-0 earlier in the season A heavy defeat to Southampton and he will be under severe pressure. It will all come down to how much bottle he has. If he has the courage to rest all the players he needs for next week, then they lose this game 3-1, but if he plays a full-strength side then I see a 2-1 home win. It all comes down to Martinez and I hope he has the bottle to rest all his big guns ahead of the FA Cup semi-final.I dont envy his situation. Anyway, well go for a draw here. All the best!PAUL PREDICTS: 2-2 (Sky Bet odds 12/1)Manchester United v Aston Villa - Saturday, 3pmManchester United were outstanding in midweek. They thoroughly deserved their victory at Upton Park. In the first 20 minutes against Tottenham last Sunday I thought they played very well and looked very comfortable. But in the end they lost 3-0 and if youd just watched the opening you would have been left scratching your head and wondering how that happened! Merse thinks Manchester United can build on their midweek victory by beating Aston Villa They now have a FA Cup semi-final on the horizon but there will be no resting players from United, who still have a chance of reaching the top four. With Aston Villa the visitors they have a real opportunity to close the gap to Manchester City in fourth and I think they will do it in style.PAUL PREDICTS: 3-0 (Sky Bet odds 5/1)Newcastle v Swansea - Saturday, 3pmNo matter what the result is in the early kick-off between Norwich and Sunderland, Newcastle have to win. A Norwich win and a Newcastle defeat will near enough see Rafael Benitezs side down. Newcastle Uniteds clash against Swansea is a must-win, says Merson If you have watched Newcastle recently defensively they have been atrocious. However, Im backing Newcastle to win. They have to put everything on the line on Saturday and for me, that will be enough.PAUL PREDICTS: 2-1 (Sky Bet odds 8/1)West Brom v Watford - Saturday, 3pmThere have been plenty giving West Brom a bit of stick in recent weeks but I thought they did well against Manchester City. When you look at the sides in the bottom three and you look at West Brom, I think theyve done great. Watfords Spanish manager Quique Sanchez Flores could rest some of his starts ahead of next weeks FA Cup semi-final On the other hand this is a perfect game for Watford ahead of the FA Cup semi-final. Its a totally different situation to that of Everton. Quique Sanchez Flores can rest every single one of his starting 11 this week and get beat 5-0 and the fans wouldnt care less. They would still clap them off.Watford have secured their top-flight status and reached the FA Cup semi-final, thats some achievement. For Everton, they have 11 international footballers and a very good team but they are not in the top half. Thats the difference.West Brom win here against a depleted Watford side.PAUL PREDICTS: 2-0 (Sky Bet odds 17/2)Bournemouth v Liverpool - Sunday, 1.30pmAfter Liverpools incredible win over Borussia Dortmund on Thursday night they have to concentrate on the Europa League. Liverpools top-four ambitions are pretty slim when you look at the table. They can still do it but victory over Dortmund put them two games away from a final and potentially three away from a place in next seasons Champions League. Liverpools 1-0 win over Bournemouth earlier in the season was Jurgen Klopps first in charge at Anfield They could win their next seven league games and still not make the top four. Bournemouth just did enough against Villa and were nothing special, so I still have to back Liverpool for a win.PAUL PREDICTS: 1-2 (Sky Bet odds 15/2)PLAY SUPER 6!Theres another £250,000 jackpot up for grabs in the latest round of the Soccer Saturday Super 6 game. All you have to do is predict the scores of the six selected matches. Its free to play so get your entries in before 3pm GMT on Saturday for the chance to win.PLAY NOW... Also See: Premier League questions Papers: LVG on the way out Live on Sky Get Sky Sports Carlos Boozer Jersey . According to TSNs Farhan Lalji, Richardson is heading to Toronto for a physical and is expected to sign with the Argonauts. Pete Maravich Jersey . HEROES Alex Ovechkin – Scored a pair of goals in Washington’s 4-0 win over Pittsburgh. With 13 goals in the past 13 games, Ovechkin now has 29 goals on the season to lead the league. https://www.cheapjazzonline.com/ .J. - Several people have collapsed in an overcrowded New Jersey train station while waiting in long lines to get to the Super Bowl.MONTREAL -- Its Brad Richards turn to be the old hand, tutoring his young New York Rangers teammates on what its like to win a Stanley Cup. It wasnt like that in 2004, when Richards and teammate Martin St. Louis won the Cup with the Tampa Bay Lightning. "This whole playoffs its been fun to do that," the 34-year-old Richards said Tuesday. "When I was in Tampa, Marty also, we didnt really have a clue what we were doing. "We were first time through it, leaning on other people, older people, asking them all the questions. Its fun to try to gather the group and talk about things. This group has come together so much and they ask a lot of questions. They make fun of us a lot for doing that, too, but its fun to try to help out that way." The Rangers are two wins away from a trip to the Stanley Cup final after taking the opening two games of the NHL Eastern Conference final from the Canadiens in Montreal. They swamped the flat-footed Canadiens 7-2 in the series opener on Monday afternoon, but then needed a 40-save effort from goalie Henrik Lundqvist to pull out a 3-1 win in a major Montreal push-back on Monday night. Game 3 is set for Thursday night at Madison Square Garden. In 2004, the Canadiens came back to beat Boston in the opening round but then were swept by the Lightning. This year, Montreal is again coming off a Game 7 win over the Bruins and is in danger of losing in four straight to the Rangers. That has Richards, a P.E.I. native who played junior hockey in Quebec with the 2000 Memorial Cup champion Rimouski Oceanic, and Montreal native St. Louis at 6-0 in career playoff games against the Canadiens. Their message to teammates who havent won a Cup is to not let the opportunity slip away. "Weve been to the conference final twice in three years, thats very rare," said Richards. "Look at teams around the league that you think are going to have chances to win Cups every year and it just doesnt happen. "Its very tough. I havent been back to a final since 04. I just try to hammer that stuff home." And despite taking the first two games on enemy ice, the conference final is far from over even if Montreals star goalie Carey Price is out with a suspected right knee injury for the rest of the series. The Canadiens had the puck most of the first period on Monday but came out of it down 2-1 due to an unlucky bounce on a shot from the red-hot Ryan McDonagh and blast on the rush from Rick Nash that was perhaps third-string goalie Dustin Tokarskis only big mistake. Montreal will no doubt come out hard again in Game 3. "Im sure they have more," said Richards. "And you dont always roll the dice that your goalies going to stop all those shots. "They could come with less and score two goals. You just never know. But youve got to give yourself an opportunity and thats by holding onto pucks and getting it down the other end. We did that in Game 1, but in Game 2... youre playing with fire is what Im trying to say." Montreal coach Michel Theerrien said his team is confident it can still win the series if it gives up fewer odd-man rushes and keeps up the fast-paced game it brought on Monday night. Alec Burks Jersey. "I believe that we will turn it around," said Therrien. "Yes, the first game was tough for us emotionally and physically. "We didnt get much time between Game 7 (against Boston) and Game 1 (against the Rangers), and it was an afternoon game. It shows in the result. But I thought we regrouped really well. We were a team that played with a lot of energy, that was pushing the pace, and we played a solid game." Therrien spoke to the media on a conference call while his players took what he said was a much-needed day off. They will practice on Tuesday before flying to New York. "The only thing that were going to focus on is to make sure weve got another solid game in New York," he said. "You get one win and after that, the momentum can change really quickly in the playoffs." There is also the chance of fatigue setting in on the Rangers, whose first two rounds went seven games each. Therrien touched off a debate by giving Tokarski his first NHL playoff start over regular backup Peter Budaj, who let in three goals on eight shots after subbing for Price in the third period of the series opener. It seemed like a hunch. The 24-year-old Tokarski, who has played only 10 NHL regular season games over five years with Tampa Bay and Montreal, has a history of winning championships at the junior and AHL levels, while Budaj has a career 0-2-0 NHL playoff record. It appeared Therrien will stick with Tokarski, at least for Game 3. He said Tokarski played well and wasnt the reason they lost. He also liked what he saw of Alex Galchenyuk, who missed the final two games of the regular season and the first 12 playoff games with a knee problem. The gifted forward taken third overall in the 2012 draft skated on left wing on the second line with Tomas Plekanec and Thomas Vanek. "For a guy that hadnt played for six weeks, I thought he did well," said Therrien. "Especially because this is not regular season pace, this is a playoff pace. "I thought Alex was capable, made some plays. The more the series goes on, the more were going to see Alex get better and better." It should be a happy homecoming for Rangers sniper Nash, who was without a goal in the playoffs and endured some booing in New York before the team got to Montreal. Then he scored in each of the first two games. "Ive tried to stay positive through this whole thing," said Nash. "The teams winning, and thats all I care about. "But I want to do what I can to help the team win, and its frustrating when you cant help offensively and youre supposed to." After Game 2, coach Alain Vigneault said he had an inkling that Montreal would start Tokarski, who he referred to as "that gentleman." Asked if he had another inkling for Game 3, Vigneault said: "I do, but Im not willing to share it with you." ' ' '

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