Paul Merson predicts result of Manchester City vs Aston Villa, Brentford vs Leeds United & Liverpool game

Aston Villa will have a big say in the title race when they take on Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday (22 May).

Anything other than a City win on the final day of the campaign would give Liverpool the opportunity to pounce and take the title away from Pep Guardiola and put Jurgen Klopp’s men on course for an unprecedented quadruple - as long as they beat Wolves at Anfield on the same day.

Former Liverpool skipper Gerrard would of course love to take points of City and hand his old club the chance to win their second Premier League title, but Guardiola’s side will be huge favourites to take all three points and retain their title.

Elsewhere on the final day, either Leeds United or Burnley will be relegated to the Championship.

Burnley’s 1-1 draw at Villa Park last night (19 May) means Mike Jackson’s side are ahead of Leeds in 17th place on goal difference.

A win for Burnley at Turf Moor against Newcastle will ensure they stay in the division for another season, but if they fail to beat Eddie Howe’s men then Leeds will have the chance to overtake the Clarets if they better Burnley’s result when they take on Brentford at the Brentford Community Stadium.

So will City retain their crown? will Tottenham secure fourth place? and who will avoid the drop?

Former Villa midfielder Paul Merson has given his predictions for the final round of Premier League fixtures in his latest Sportskeeda column.

Here’s what he said.

Manchester City vs Aston Villa

I’ve been involved with the beautiful game for far too long to think of this as a foregone conclusion, but I genuinely don’t think Villa will have enough to beat Manchester City. Guardiola and his players shouldn’t have taken it until the last day, but they are still in control of their own destiny and should get the job done.

That said, Manchester City have been guilty of leaving themselves open at the back in recent weeks. Villa have the likes of Ollie Watkins, Danny Ings and Philippe Coutinho, who are all dangerous players in their own right. City will have to bide their time and stay patient, like they did against Leicester City in 2019 when Vincent Kompany scored a worldie of a goal to effectively win the title for his team.

This has been an incredible season and in football, you never quite know what’s going to happen. Do we have more twists and turns in store as yet another Premier League season draws to a dramatic climax? Only time will tell.

Preciction: Manchester City 2-0 Aston Villa

Liverpool vs Wolves

You don’t come this far in a Premier League title race only to falter at the final hurdle, so I think Liverpool will win this one comfortably. I was shocked with the number of changes they made against Southampton, but the players Jurgen Klopp put out gave it everything they had to get all three points.

Manchester City should have beaten West Ham last week but ended up dropping two valuable points, enhancing Liverpool’s hopes of winning the title on the final day of the season. The narrative that is building up sounds like a bit of a fairytale, as Pep Guardiola and co prepare to take on Steven Gerrard’s Aston Villa on Sunday.

The former Liverpool captain never won the Premier League with his boyhood club, but could he do them a massive favor and take points off Manchester City? Regardless of what happens in that game, Liverpool have to do what’s in their control, which is to beat Wolves and I think they will do that. Bruno Lage’s side have fizzled out in recent weeks, so I don’t see this one being too much of an issue for the Reds.

Liverpool should be able to win this one even without the services of Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk, who were both withdrawn prematurely in the FA Cup final against Chelsea. Joel Matip and Ibrahima Konate were outstanding against Southampton and in attack, they are spoilt for choice with Sadio Mane, Diogo Jota, Luis Diaz, Divock Origi and Takumi Minamino all available for selection.

Prediction: Liverpool 3-0 Wolves

Brentford vs Leeds United

Once again, this game will depend on what happens between Aston Villa and Burnley later today. Pascal Struijk’s 92nd-minute equalizer against Brighton could turn out to be an invaluable goal for Leeds United and could well be the moment that keeps them in the Premier League.

They were average in the first half against Brighton, but if they play this game like they did in the second half, they’ll definitely get at least a point. They are playing for survival, so I expect them to show enough fight and get a positive result.

Kalvin Phillips’ future has been a major talking point as he has been linked with moves to a handful of Premier League clubs. If Leeds stay up, he’ll stay, but if they get relegated, I think he’s a goner. One thing is for sure, though - he’s not signing for Manchester United! 100%, no chance I can see that happening considering the history between the two teams.

Prediction: Brentford 1-1 Leeds United

Burnley vs Newcastle United

Newcastle got a fantastic result against an Arsenal side that came into the game to virtually seal their place in the top four, they’ll be too much for Burnley, who I think will get relegated. They were at home against the Gunners, but they’ll want to finish the season on a high, so they won’t lie down and get beat.

Eddie Howe has done an unbelievable job since taking over the reins at St. James’ Park and has brought the right players in, with the likes of Kieran Trippier, Dan Burn and Bruno Guimaraes showing their class since signing for the club in January. It looked bleak for them at the turn of the year, but they’ve turned it around in some style, fair play to them for that.

Prediction: Burnley 0-2 Newcastle United

Norwich City vs Spurs

Predicition: Norwich 1-2 Tottenham

Arsenal vs Everton

Prediciton: Arsenal 3-0 Everton

You can see Merson’s predictions in full in his Sportskeeda column, here.

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