Paul Merson has predicted Crystal Palace to defeat Newcastle United 1-0 when the two sides meet at Selhurst Park on Saturday.
The Sky Sports pundit shared that he thought the Magpies were slightly unfortunate to lose to the Gunners at the weekend before going on to share that it worried him how Rafa Benitez’s side reacted to going behind in that game.
Merson shared that he thought the Magpies completely and utterly went and then proceeded to predict a narrow win for Roy Hodgson’s side.
“Palace were very fortunate last week at Huddersfield,” wrote Merson in his Sky Sports predictions.
“Newcastle were a touch unlucky against Arsenal, they were the better team in the first half but as soon as they went behind, wow, they completely and utterly went.
“From a Newcastle perspective that worries me, I see Palace just edging this one.”
OPINION
Merson seemed to be the brink of making a positive prediction when it came to the Magpies as he revealed that he thought they were unlucky against his former side. However the pundit then swiftly changed gears to share that he was actually worried from the perspective of the Magpies due to the way they ended up losing 2-1 to the Gunners at St James Park on Saturday. It’s hard to disagree with Merson’s assessment as despite not having a shot on target in the first-half, the Magpies looked like the side mostly likely to win the game ahead of the half-time whistle blowing. Yet as soon as the second half got underway, it was hard to tell if the Magpies had even emerged from the dressing room as several players were just practically invisible as the Gunners turned up the charm and took their chances. While ahead of the game, Magpies supporters wouldn’t have expected to take points, following it, they will be wondering what exactly happened to the team that showed up in the first half.
