Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson says he expects Manchester City to secure their fourth league title in a row when they face West Ham on Sunday.
Writing in his column for Sportskeeda, Merson said that Pep Guardiola’s men did the hard work by beating Tottenham midweek and they should have more than enough to clinch victory against the Hammers, as long as they stay composed and get an early goal:
“Manchester City have done their job and look well to win their record-breaking fourth Premier League title in a row. This is a nice game for them to play on the last day of the season but they have to score early to ease the nerves.”
Merson is predicting a 2-0 win for City, which is a scoreline that would guarantee top spot ahead of title rivals Arsenal.
City will be without one key player for the West Ham fixture
It has been confirmed that Ederson fractured his eye socket during the win over Spurs. The Brazilian has been ruled out of this weekend’s game as well as the FA Cup final against Manchester United.
The reigning Premier League champions do have a perfect replacement in Stefan Ortega who Guardiola described “as one of the best keepers I’ve seen in my life”.
The Cityzens have been heavily backed to win the title
The bookmakers have made Guardiola’s team strong favourites to finish first, with Sky Bet pricing them at 1/12.
With the game being played at the Etihad, and the fact that West Ham have nothing to play for, with the Hammers in midtable, the odds are very much stacked in their favour.
Of course, anything can happen on the final day of the season. As Merson says, nerves can kick in but you’d think that City possess enough experience in their squad to make sure they come out on top.