Paul Merson makes another baffling Newcastle claim and predicts tonight’s trip to Everton

Last week, Paul Merson declared that our owners will start to question Eddie Howe if he lost against Spurs; a nonsensical statement given the season we’ve had and faith shown in the 45-year-old.

This week, the Sky Sports pundit is back again with his weekly Premier League predictions, which features another baffling claim.

He thinks we could ‘take our eyes off’ a top-four finish after winning Sunday’s Champions League six-pointer against Spurs last weekend, suggesting we may be on the beach soon enough. Because of that, Merson reckons we’ll leave Goodison with a 1-1 draw.

Firstly, it shows how little he knows about this squad, our current manager and the standards set if he thinks we’ll take our foot off the gas just because we battered Spurs. Secondly, there’s no chance we’ll think a top-four finish is safe when we’re still only 5-6 points clear of Villa, Liverpool and Spurs.

Don’t get me wrong, a frustrating draw is possible – Everton will be fighting for their lives and beat us in this fixture 12 months ago – but to suggest we’ll suddenly takes our eyes off the prize is frankly ridiculous.

Here’s what he told Sportskeeda when asked for his prediction:

‘Everton are in real trouble at the moment. They got a result against Palace the other day, but I look at their remaining fixtures and worry for them. The only way they can save themselves is by drawing their way out – I don’t see them winning a match at the moment.

‘Newcastle are virtually in the Champions League now, and they might take their eyes off their campaign. They’ve got to make sure they don’t lose too many games, and that could work in Everton’s favour.

‘Everton are a hard team to beat and they play a certain way. They need to get out of the bottom three as soon as possible, by either points or goal difference. They need to nick a few draws here and there, and I think they can pull it off this week.

Prediction: Everton 1-1 Newcastle United’