Off Topic » So weve got to perform to

Sky Sports Paul Merson is back to look ahead to another crucial round of Premier League fixtures. Eight points off a maiden top-flight crown, Leicester, without the suspended Jamie Vardy, host Swansea on Super Sunday as they look to stretch the gap between themselves and Tottenham.Second-placed Spurs will be waiting, ready to pounce if the Foxes slip up when they entertain West Brom on Monday Night Football. Before all of that, the race for survival takes centre stage as Sunderland look to move out of the relegation zone when they face Arsenal at the Stadium of Light in Sundays early kick-off.There is also the little matter of the FA Cup semi-finals, where Crystal Palace, Everton, Manchester United and Watford jostle for a place in the Wembley showpiece.Read on to see who the Magic Man is backing... Last weeks predictions Result Merses prediction Norwich 0-3 Sunderland 1-1 Everton 1-1 Soton 2-2 Man Utd 1-0 Aston Villa 3-0 Newcastle 3-0 Swansea 2-1 West Brom 0-1 Watford 2-0 Chelsea 0-3 Man City 2-1 Bmouth 1-2 Liverpool 1-2 Leicester 2-2 West Ham 2-1 Arsenal 1-1 Palace 3-0 Stoke 0-4 Spurs 0-4 Leicester v Swansea - Super Sunday, 4.15pm This game was a gimme for Leicester last week, now Jamie Vardy is suspended its not. I dont think Vardy is a great player but without him how are Leicester going to open up the game? He stretches defences and creates space for midfielders on the ball and I cant see who will be able to replace that pace.I just dont see Leicester winning without Vardy, he is a massive, massive miss. Swansea will just play around halfway, suffocate the Foxes and come away with a point which will blow the title race wide open. PAUL PREDICTS: 1-1 (Sky Bet odds 5/1)Tottenham v West Brom - Monday Night Football, 8pm Fair play to West Brom, they got their 40 points on the board early doors ahead of an atrocious final run of fixtures. It starts with Spurs, who were outstanding at Stoke. It doesnt even pain me to see Spurs where they are at the moment, they are a very good team. Hopefully their success kicks Arsenal into gear. If this Tottenham team stays together and they get a couple more players theyll be favourites for the title next season. PAUL PREDICTS: 3-0 (Sky Bet odds 11/2)Sunderland v Arsenal - Super Sunday, 2.05pm I watched Arsenal on Sunday and it was one of the flattest performances Ive seen, they just went through the motions. It was so quiet at the Emirates that I heard Petr Cech shout keeper when clearing a ball. How is that possible in front of 60,000 people? Arsenal beat West Brom on Thursday, but they should have beaten Palace too. Sunderland, meanwhile, have picked up under Big Sam, winning at Norwich last week. I fancy them to edge closer to safety with a point, but they do need to score first. PAUL PREDICTS: 1-1 (Sky Bet odds 11/2)Man City v Stoke - Saturday, 12.45pm The problem with Man City is that you dont know which team is going to turn up. Will it be the one that won 3-0 at Chelsea or will it be the team that came off the pitch lucky to have earned a 1-1 draw with Newcastle? Stoke are on holiday and you cannot play football with flip-flops on! Theyve done their hard work, though, theyre safe and you can understand that, particularly when a few players will be at the Euros. I suspect Sergio Aguero will be rested as City will have one eye on the Champions League semi-final with Real Madrid, but I still expect them to win.PAUL PREDICTS: 2-0 (Sky Bet odds 5/1)Aston Villa v Southampton - Saturday, 3pm What score do you want? I cant see anything other than a Southampton win. I felt sorry for Joleon Lescott in the week because his comments about relegation being a relief were not meant like that. He meant the club could concentrate on bouncing back next season, so a lot of the criticism he received was unwarranted. Villa should give the kids a chance and see what theyre like ahead of next season - see who can be kept and who cant.PAUL PREDICTS: 0-2 (Sky Bet odds 5/1)Bournemouth v Chelsea - Saturday, 3pm This is a hard game. Chelsea could have conceded six against Man City on Saturday, their season is over, theyve got players going to the Euros and they cant win a game. Im not sure which way the game will go but I expect a game full of goals, with Bournemouth needing to bounce back from their defeat to Liverpool.PAUL PREDICTS: 2-2 (Sky Bet odds 12/1)Liverpool v Newcastle - Saturday, 3pm I was impressed with Newcastle against Man City, they were good. Liverpool keep on getting better and better under Jurgen Klopp and they put Everton to the sword in the derby. I fancy Liverpool here but, with a Europa League semi-final with Villarreal coming up, they may rest players - that said they still turn in decent performances when they do change their team. This is where luck in the relegation fight comes in because if Liverpool were challenging for the top four they would play a full-strength side, and that may help Newcastles cause. I expect Liverpool to just earn the win but I wouldnt be surprised if its a draw.PAUL PREDICTS: 2-1 (Sky Bet odds 7/1) Midweek predictions Result Merses prediction Newcastle 1-1 Man City 0-2 Liverpool 4-0 Everton 3-0 Arsenal ?-? West Brom 3-0 FA Cup semi-finalsEverton v Man Utd - Saturday, 5.15pm I dont see how Roberto Martinez can last if he loses at Wembley. He has got things horribly wrong this week. He should have played his strongest team and won against Southampton and then told fans he had to rest everyone against Liverpool in preparation for the semi-final. Instead he rested everyone against Southampton and got booed off and then played his best team against Liverpool and got battered. For the first time he looked lost on the sidelines, the fans have turned and I dont see how he can hold on if they lose. I felt sorry for him but its a situation of his own making, this is a good team that is nowhere. United will win at Wembley, I cant see Everton stopping them. Marcus Rashford is some player and his goal against Villa was as good as it gets - hell be a top-drawer player. Three months ago you would have backed Everton to win this game all day long, not now.PAUL PREDICTS: 1-2 (Sky Bet odds 15/2)Crystal Palace v Watford - Sunday, 4pm I fancy Palace here, theyve just got the edge over Watford. Deeney, who missed a penalty at West Ham, and Ighalo have gone quiet recently and confidence at the club cant be great. When the game starts to open up Palace have got more match winners for and I expect them to just edge a tight contest.PAUL PREDICTS: 1-0 (Sky Bet odds 6/1)PLAY SUPER 6!Theres another £250,000 jackpot up for grabs in the latest round of the Soccer Saturday Super 6 game. All you have to do is predict the scores of the six selected matches. Its free to play so get your entries in before 3pm GMT on Saturday for the chance to win.PLAY NOW... Also See: Premier League predictor Your teams strength and weakness Race for the top four Play Super 6 Patrick Corbin Nationals Jersey . - A late-game interception by defensive back Malcolm Butler saved the Super Bowl for the New England Patriots. Kurt Suzuki Jersey .FIFA said its appeals panel ruled the case not admissible.The former U.S. Attorney had objected to ethics judge Joachim Eckerts summary of the World Cup bid investigation, claiming numerous materially incomplete and erroneous representations of his work. https://www.cheapnationals.com/1537r-jon...-nationals.html. In this space, I will be writing new and unique pieces about the team that you wont be able to find anywhere else. So naturally, in an attempt to come up with a fresh topic about the Ottawa Senators, I am going to start with a piece about their goaltending. Anibal Sanchez Nationals Jersey . TSN Hockey Insider Bob McKenzie tweeted Monday morning that Callahan - who is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, is now open to a six-year contract at less than $7 million per season. Daniel Hudson Nationals Jersey . The unrestricted free agent agreed to terms with the club on Thursday on a one-year, two-way deal worth $700,000.FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. - In a rare admission for a coach, Atlantas Mike Smith conceded Monday that his decisions in the final minute cost the Falcons a chance to beat the Cleveland Browns.Smith faced intense criticism after calling a timeout with 55 seconds left to set up low-percentage pass along the sideline to fourth receiver Devin Hester on third-and-2.After the throw was batted down, stopping the clock again, Matt Bryant kicked a 53-yard field goal that put the Falcons ahead. But Cleveland had all three timeouts and enough time to get in position for Billy Cundiffs 37-yard field goal on the final play, giving the Browns a 26-24 victory.Before taking any questions at his regular news conference, Smith said he wanted to address what happened.After reflecting on and analyzing how that played out, I would have done some things differently, he said. Given an opportunity to think about it through the night and doing some analyzing, I didnt do the things that needed to be done to put our guys in the best position to win the game. There are a lot of plays in a football game that can affect the outcome, and I didnt do my best to help us win.Smith already came under fire for his clock-management in a 22-21 loss to the Detroit Lions on Oct. 26.The Falcons (4-7) squandered a 21-0 halftime lead in that game, but still had a chance to run out the clock after when they picked up a first down inside Detroit territory just before the 2-minute warning. The Lions only had one timeout remaining, but the Falcons stopped the clock two other times with a holding penalty and an incomplete pass.That left Detroit with 1:38 after the Falcons punted, enough time to drive down the field for a game-winning field goal with no time on the clock.Now, its happened again to Atlanta.Put this one, Smith said, squarely on him.As a coach, your intention is always to put your players in the best position to win, he said. Usually, that comes down to a handful of plays, and I didnt put the guys in the best position.Some of Smiths players came to his defence, saying they didnt do a good job of closing the game out after Clevelands Brian Hoyer threw three crucial interceptions.The Falcons were largely outplayed, which was evident from the Browns commanding 475-315 edge in total yards.dddddddddddd But Hoyers mistakes gave Atlanta a chance to steal a game.We have Smittys back, linebacker Paul Worrilow said. We need to do a better job out on the field.Indeed, on Clevelands final possession, Atlantas defence gave up four straight completions for 61 yards to set up Cundiffs field goal.Everybody makes mistakes. Players make mistakes. Coaches make mistakes. Thats why its a team. Its the ultimate team sport, safety Dwight Lowery said. These are just situations we have to learn from and, thankfully, were still in a position where we can have an impact this next week and in the weeks to come.The Falcons were only a half-game out of first place in the woeful NFC South as they awaited the Monday night game in New Orleans, where the Saints (4-6) were hosting the Baltimore Ravens.But Atlanta knows it squandered an opportunity to gain an upper hand in the division race and take some of the heat off Smith, whose future in Atlanta is being questioned even though hes the most successful coach in franchise history.There should be no finger-pointing, Lowery said. Your job is on the line every day. Theres somebody else thats qualified to have your job. We approach it in the manner that this is our job, and we can lose this job quickly. So weve got to perform to the best of our ability at all times. As far as criticism and things of that nature, thats going to happen whether you win or lose.Youve got to take that with a grain of salt and just focus on the things you can control.Smith wouldnt comment specifically on the questionable pass to Hester, a play that was apparently sent in by offensive co-ordinator Dirk Koetter after the Falcons had plenty of time to consider their options.It doesnt really matter now.We wanted to get what we felt like was the best play for us, Smith said. I didnt do my job as the head football coach and put our guys in the best position they could possibly be in that situation. My responsibility as the head coach is to make sure that happens.___Online: AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL___Follow Paul Newberry on Twitter at www.twitter.com/pnewberry1963 ' ' '