‘If Liverpool win at Man City it could be all over’ – Paul Merson makes stunning claim

Merson reckons that if Manchester City fail to beat Leicester on Boxing Day and Liverpool beat Newcastle, the Reds could essentially seal the title by beating the reigning Premier League Champions on January 3.

Merson made the claim on his weekly predictions column on Sky Sports, where he also predicted wins for Chelsea, Manchester United and his former club – Arsenal.

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The ex-England international said: “Leicester vs Manchester City is a big game and a must-win game for City, who are in trouble now as they are four points behind Liverpool.”

Liverpool’s victory over Wolves on Friday and Crystal Palace’s shock win over Pep Guardiola’s side at the Etihad meant that Liverpool would be top of the Premier League at Christmas for the first time since the 2013/14 season.

Merson continued: “I mean it has now got down to the situation whereby if Liverpool win at City in a week’s time – it is all over.

If Leicester can added to their impressive win over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge with three points at the King Power Stadium on Wednesday, they could be seven points behind their title rivals heading into the New Year.

“So this is a big game for City and a hard one as Leicester can cause you problems.” Merson added.

“But because they have to win, I think they will, but Saturday’s result will have knocked the stuffing out of them and Man City have now lost two of their last three league games.

“And before that it looked like they would never ever lose a game, but I see them just winning this one to stay on the coat tails of Liverpool.

There is another round of fixtures between the Boxing Day and January games, with City taking on Ralph Hasenhuttl resurgent Southampton and Liverpool facing Unai Emery’s Arsenal.

Former Everton and Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney has had his say on the entertaining title race, and has predicted his arch-rivals Liverpool to go all the way.

“In my opinion it’s between City and Liverpool and I think Van Dijk is the big difference this time to what Liverpool have had in previous years,” the England legend told BT Sport.

“He just brings a calmness to the team-mates around him, and also you can see he’s a leader.

“So I think he’s a big difference.

“But Jurgen Klopp I think he looks like a dream to work for and, as we talk about Manchester United, that’s a manager which Man Utd need to get in, in that style and with that philosophy.”

Both Leicester v City and Liverpool v Newcastle kick off at 3pm on Wednesday, in what could be a pivotal day in this year’s title race.