Premier League

Merson predicts West Ham v Cardiff

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Paul Merson predicted West Ham to defeat Cardiff City 3-0 when the two clash at the London Stadium on Tuesday.

The Sky Sports pundit despite predicting a win for the Hammers did highlight two points of concern for the London club by pointing out that the Bluebirds go into the clash with an extra days rest and that Manuel Pellegrini normally save their best for the league’s bigger teams.

Merson stated that the Hammers usually didn’t play well against the perceived lesser Premier League teams before stating that he was still backing a win for Pellegrini’s team due to their attacking players they could call upon.

“It was a great result for West Ham at the weekend at Newcastle. I’d expect them to follow that up with a win against Cardiff at the London Stadium despite not usually playing great against the lesser teams,” wrote the pundit in his predictions for Sky Sports.

“Manuel Pellegrini’s side normally save their best for the bigger teams.

“Cardiff are not going to have a lot of possession at West Ham. I thought they worked their socks off the other night to get a superb result against Wolves.

“I know they get an extra day’s rest but I’ve got to go for a home win. I don’t think Cardiff will be able to live with the attacking players West Ham have.”

OPINION

It would be classic West Ham if after a fantastic result against Newcastle United that they slump to a shock defeat courtesy of Cardiff City. Neil Warnock’s side currently sit 16th in the league after losing nine of their 14 games, so the Hammers should be aiming to take all three points from Tuesday’s showdown. Hopefully that ends up being the case as it would be very disappointing if the Hammers don’t rack up a win on Tuesday. Also it would be nice to finally put an end to doubts that the Hammers struggle against teams that they are perceivedĀ as able to beat as it’s not exactly the most flattering opinion. In regards to Merson referring to the fact that Cardiff have an extra day’s rest due to playing on Friday instead of Saturday, it shouldn’t cause any problems. The Hammers have enough fit players available, especially with Jack Wilshere and Andy Carroll back in the fold, to cope with playing another game on Tuesday.

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