Leicester City will sit inside the relegation zone after the opening game of the Premier League season as they gear up for a campaign where they will “have their work cut out”.
That’s the verdict of former Arsenal midfielder Paul Merson, who is predicting City to lose their first match back in the top flight. He’s backing Tottenham to win 3-0 in the clash on Monday night (8pm kick-off).
City will hope to return to the Premier League with a bang and kick off the Steve Cooper reign in style. But Merson can’t see it, pointing to the departure of Enzo Maresca.
Plus, he likes the look of Ange Postecoglou’s Spurs and is a fan of the transfer business they’ve conducted. He believes they can challenge for the Champions League places.
“Tottenham are dark horses for the top four in the Premier League this season,” he told Sportskeeda. “They’ve bought really well in the transfer market and Dominic Solanke is a great signing. He’s got plenty of pace to burn and he’ll make his runs. That will help James Maddison as well.
“Leicester have lost their manager this summer and have their work cut out this season. I’m going to go with Tottenham to win this game.”
If all of Merson’s predictions come in, then City will sit 18th in the table after the first round of fixtures, only avoiding bottom spot on alphabetical order. Merson also believes Southampton and Wolves will lose their openers 3-0 when they travel to Newcastle and Arsenal respectively.