Paul Merson makes 'comfortable' prediction for Spurs vs Liverpool

Pundit Paul Merson has predicted the outcome of Liverpool's trip to Spurs at the weekend. The Reds will like his thinking, but not his verdict on Mohamed Salah.

Paul Merson has made his prediction for Spurs vs Liverpool.(Image: JMEnternational/Getty Images)

Paul Merson is backing Liverpool to beat Tottenham at the weekend. Perhaps the former Arsenal man is letting anti-Spurs biases show, but he is predicting a "comfortable" win for the Reds.

That would certainly be welcomed by Arne Slot. A third win on the bounce would turn this positive run into a genuine fightback, whereas defeat to Thomas Frank's struggling side would send Liverpool almost back to square one.

Slot will have to mastermind victory without Mohamed Salah, who has left for the African Cup of Nations. But the Egyptian has been in and out of the side anyway, creating an unhelpful sideshow that the manager will be pleased to shelve for a while.

When it comes to finding solutions on the pitch, Merson predicts that Slot will elect to use Dominik Szoboszlai on the right in place of Salah. The Hungarian had been an injury doubt, but it seems he will be able to play a part.

"Who comes in for Salah on the right?" Merson mused in his SportsKeeda column. "There is the option of using Federico Chiesa and he deserves more minutes.

"But I just feel like Dominik Szoboszlai might play there in this game. His best position is in midfield, but Slot may use him there and deploy Curtis Jones in midfield.

"Liverpool have not set the world alight with their performances but they are unbeaten in their last five games with three wins. I can see them beating Tottenham comfortably."

Dominik Szoboszlai has been tipped to play on the right in the absence of Mohamed Salah. (Image: Paul ELLIS / AFP via Getty Images)

Szoboszlai is always a miss in the center of the park, but he has proved adept on the right wing. And Jones is enjoying a good run as well, and is a more than capable alternative in midfield.

On the other hand, Chiesa is a very viable option as well. Merson is right to point out that he deserves more minutes from Slot, and Salah's absence provides an opportunity to put that right on paper.

But in truth, it sounds as if Merson does not think it matters what Liverpool does. He described Spurs as struggling "so bad" in recent weeks, dubbing the loss to Nottingham Forest "atrocious" and settling on a 3-1 scoreline.

Liverpool won't be banking on the match being quite so routine. But if the team does continue to perform well in Salah's absence, Slot's dilemma will rear its head again before long.

Mohamed Salah's Liverpool future beyond this month remains in some doubt. (Image: Carl Recine/Getty Images)

The pair patched things up enough to allow Salah to feature against Brighton. But there persists a possibility that this was the 33-year-old's final game for Liverpool.

Merson believes that Liverpool would be ready to sell in January. He picked out a couple of relevant factors:

"If Liverpool get the money they want, I think they will sell Salah in January," Merson claimed. "It also depends on whether they can then go and get Antoine Semenyo, or whoever they consider as an ideal replacement, in the same window."

Liverpool would certainly consider Semenyo a good bit of business. But even amid the trials of the past few weeks, it will surely not be ready to lose Salah just yet.

So here's hoping that Merson has only got half of his Liverpool predictions correct. If he's right about the weekend, then Slot should be in for a relatviely stress-free 90 minutes.