‘The pressure will be on…’ – Paul Merson drops ominous prediction for Liverpool’s top 4 hopes

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Paul Merson believes Liverpool could suffer a major blow to their hopes of salvaging a Champions League place over the coming three days.

The Reds have won six successive Premier League games to revive their prospects of finishing in the top four, but they still trail Newcastle and Manchester United in third and fourth respectively, and both have a game in hand on Jurgen Klopp’s side.

By the time the Merseysiders travel to Leicester on Monday night, they could be four points adrift of the  Champions League positions with just nine to play for, so only victory will suffice at the King Power Stadium.

Despite Liverpool’s recent resurgence, Merson fears that they could stumble against the Foxes, owing to the psychological impact of earlier results involving teams at both ends of the table.

Previewing the weekend’s Premier League action for Sportskeeda, the 55-year-old wrote: “I think Everton and Nottingham Forest are going to lose this week and I don’t see Leeds beating Newcastle United either. As such, this is a great opportunity for Leicester City to move towards surviving relegation.

“Liverpool are playing for a Champions League berth but they are not really ripping it up despite getting several wins under their belt in recent weeks. They are not exactly destroying teams and I think, Leicester have a chance here.

“But the Foxes can’t defend like they have in recent weeks. There is no point in drawing this game. They have got to win this one.

“I’m going to go with Leicester [to win 2-1]. By the time this game kicks off on Monday night, Manchester United and Newcastle United could have already won their games.

“Leicester could be buzzing because the three teams around them could have lost. The pressure will be on Liverpool and Leicester have everything to play for.”

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If Newcastle and Manchester United were both to win on Saturday, that would indeed put the onus on Klopp’s team to follow suit by the time the Leicester game comes around.

It’s a fixture which represents the proverbial banana skin, with the Reds losing on their last two visits to the King Power Stadium. Indeed, this was one of only two games they lost in the Premier League last season, a result which ultimately proved costly as they missed out on the title by a point.

However, another way of looking at it is that, if either of Liverpool’s top-four rivals stumble tomorrow, opportunity knocks for the Merseysiders to keep putting the pressure on the two Uniteds.

We are the third-highest scorers in the Premier League this term, while Leicester shipped five goals in an abject defensive performance at Fulham last Monday, so Dean Smith’s team could be ripe for the picking if the likes of Mo Salah, Diogo Jota, Luis Diaz and Cody Gakpo play to their best.

Irrespective of what happens with Newcastle and Man United on Saturday, we simply need to do our own job two days later and navigate the tricky obstacle of a visit to a venue where we’ve tripped up in the last couple of years.

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