Merson Says: Edinson Cavani a no-brainer for Chelsea

Paul Merson tells us why PSG striker Edinson Cavani is must for Chelsea, backs Liverpool to retain the Champions League, as well as win the league this season, before analysing Leicester’s recent blip and the battle to beat the drop.

Cavani a must for Chelsea

The main priority now is to get into the top four. At the start when Frank first took over with the young kids, it was just a transition year with young players. And it was sort of a free swing.

But now they are in the top four and a good position – they have struggled in the games they have lost – to Newcastle, West Ham, Southampton, Bournemouth and they have not really looked like scoring in those games.

So going forward a centre forward – they are talking about Cavani and when a player of that class and they do not come up that often, especially in January, for me I think it is an absolute must.

And if you can get a Cavani in to teach Tammy Abraham – someone big and strong who holds the ball up, put the ball in the box and he will put his head in there. And I just think it is a no-brainer.

Double trouble in store for Klopp’s Reds

They work harder than any other team. When one goes, they all go and no one is like Liverpool, it is phenomenal what they do. And they get stronger and stronger (as the season goes on) and whoever comes on the pitch, you would not know if there was a substitution.

Clinton [Morrison] said on Soccer Saturday that ‘I can see Liverpool dominating for a long time’ and at the time, I was not sure about that. Let’s not forget Man City, who are a world-class team.

But City need defenders and Pep Guardiola teams do not want to defend – Fernandino plays centre half. He is not a manger who looks to defend like that and in this league, you have to know how to defend.

But Liverpool can play two v two at the back and I do not see too many teams in the world who can do that. They can.

And what they have done so far this season has now given them a massive chance of going on to retain the Champions League. About four months ago, I thought they had no chance of winning it because I thought everything would be in the Premier League.

Now they have won the Premier League, I think they can win the Champions League. I think they will be in a position to rest players and make 10 changes for the Atletico game.

Foxes have earned top flight’s respect
I think Leicester have earned the respect of other teams – teams have looked at them and thought: ‘We need to start sitting back and play a certain way.’ And they have earned the right.

Three months ago, I thought they were the best team in the league. Liverpool were winning matches, but they were falling over the line and this team was playing elegance, pace, skill and they were the best team in the country three months ago.

Now they have hit a bit of a brick wall, but they have got that buffer.

Relegation battle too close to call

I do not see Norwich staying up, they are not good enough defensively. Nigel [Pearson] had a good team when he went into Watford, it was a good job with decent players who were majorly underperforming and he has got them going.

But they have a massive game in midweek against Aston Villa because if Villa win that, they go above them and then all of a sudden, after the great run they have been on, they find themselves back in the bottom three again.

And it is so hard to predict. You look at Newcastle – they never got a kick against Chelsea and they go and win the game. And then bang, they are nearly top of the second page (of the table) and they are now 12th in the league.

There are some big games coming up, but you always need a goal scorer. If you take [Danny] Ings’s goals away, Southampton are probably already relegated.

And I just do not see anyone scoring for Villa, that is my worry. And I think Eddie Howe just changed things in the middle of the season to go a bit more defensively and that dried up the goals. And that has backfired and I think they may have to open up and have a go as they are getting a bit nervous now.

For me, you have to swallow a bit of your football pride and get it forward, get it away from your goal and up to [Dominic] Solanke, who is quite a big lad, and let’s play in the other team’s half. You can’t give away goals like they did against Watford, that was the first goal, the biggest goal of the game and the goalkeeper is trying to play out.

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