PAUL MERSON GIVES FRANK LEEDS ASSESSMENT AHEAD OF BURNLEY TEST
Paul Merson predicts a tough season for Leeds United, stating they will be "in the bottom five or six all season" despite their strong start. He forecasts a 1-1 draw with Burnley.
Despite Leeds United's strong start to their Premier League comeback this season, Paul Merson still thinks the team may have a challenging season ahead of them.
This season, Daniel Farke's side has only lost three games and amassed eight points from the first seven games.
This season, the West Yorkshire powerhouses have demonstrated that they are not merely there to fill the stats; instead, they will compete for every point in every match.
Their 2-1 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur before the international break made that evident, but what does Merson think they can accomplish against Burnley?
Paul Merson thinks Leeds United will be in the running for relegation all season. Although Burnley and Leeds United were both recently promoted, Merson told SportsKeeda that he expects a 1-1 draw.
"I do not believe Burnley has started yet. Even though they are only four points ahead of Leeds, if you only consider performances, there is a lot of difference between the two teams.
Thus far this season, Leeds has easily outperformed the other team. Leeds will win this game if they play as well as they did against Wolves.
"Based on their first seven games this season, Leeds has demonstrated that, in contrast to Burnley, they have what it takes to survive in the Premier League. To be completely honest, though, I am unable to identify a clear winner in this case.
"And both Burnley and Leeds will be in the bottom five or six all season if it turns out to be a draw like I believe!"
Merson is not the only commentator who thinks these two clubs will split the points; Chris Sutton also thinks there will be no goals.
A win might move Leeds into the top half of the standings, demonstrating how close things are right now, even though splitting the points would put the Whites in the bottom five.
At this point, Leeds United's current situation is worse than their last Premier League run.
Leeds United will be working hard to keep their Premier League membership because they are one of the largest clubs in England in terms of history and fan support.
They are currently in a worse position than they were when they were in the division last, though.
Given that they were still relegated that season, it is worrying that the Whites presently have three fewer points after seven games than they had during the 2022–23 campaign.
Furthermore, Leeds United was in the top half of the table at the time, but they are currently in 15th place, indicating that much work remains.
AWONIYI DOUBLE LEAVES NOTTINGHAM FOREST ON THE VERGE OF PREMIER LEAGUE SAFETY
Nottingham Forest moved closer to safety with a 3-1 win over Chelsea, while West Ham fell into the relegation zone after Spurs won.
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Nottingham Forest came out of the weekend looking pretty safe after pulling off an impressive 3-1 win at Chelsea. They’re almost clear of the relegation mess. Tottenham’s big away win at Aston Villa shook things up too, and now West Ham are back in the bottom three, running out of time faster than ever.
Forest have stepped up just when they needed to, leaving West Ham and Tottenham behind with a string of solid performances. Honestly, no one saw this coming, especially since Vitor Pereira shuffled his lineup with eight changes, fresh off a Europa League win against Aston Villa.
Even so, Forest were ahead within 90 seconds, thanks to Taiwo Awoniyi’s quick strike. By the 15th minute, Igor Jesus calmly buried a penalty after Malo Gusto’s reckless foul in the box. Chelsea had a chance to get back in it, but Cole Palmer wasted a penalty right before the break after a scary head collision involving Jesse Derry.
Awoniyi doubled down and scored again early in the second half, pushing Forest six points ahead of West Ham with just three games left.
West Ham’s weekend started badly; they looked flat and lost to Brentford. Things got worse Sunday night when Tottenham pulled off their first back-to-back Premier League wins since August 2025, beating a heavily rotated Aston Villa side 2-1.
Forest is now out of West Ham’s reach, or almost. Tottenham’s still close enough for Nuno Espirito Santo’s team to worry, but with three tough games coming up, Spurs could stay up even without another win, unless West Ham digs deep and pulls off something unexpected before their home finale against Leeds.
Right now, Forest can practically taste safety. Spurs finally see a way out after weeks of struggle. As for West Ham, they’re left hoping for a miracle, a last-minute twist to dodge the drop.
CESC FABREGAS CONFIRMS INTEREST IN PREMIER LEAGUE RETURN AMID CHELSEA'S MANAGER SEARCH
As Chelsea searches for a new manager, Cesc Fabregas breaks his silence on his future at Como and his Premier League ambitions.
Cesc Fabregas recalls exactly how a conversation with Jose Mourinho prompted him to join Chelsea, despite having the opportunity to return to Arsenal.
After winning six trophies in just three seasons, the Spanish World Cup winner left Barcelona for the second time in 2014. That summer, Fabregas made a move back to the Premier League, signing with Chelsea for about €33 million.
He already knew English football well. Fabregas had arrived at Arsenal as a 16-year-old from Barcelona in 2003 and made 212 Premier League appearances for them. When he decided to leave Barcelona, Manchester City also wanted him, but Chelsea convinced him, mostly thanks to Mourinho.
Talking with talkSPORT’s Rory Jennings on YouTube, Fabregas laid out how it all happened. “Honestly, when I made up my mind to leave Barcelona, my first thought was just to go back to Arsenal. They had this buyback clause; they had two weeks to use it after I told them I was leaving. They knew about it but didn’t take it. That surprised me a little, but in the end, I had to think about my career. I was 27, at the peak of my career, and I wanted to continue performing and winning trophies. City and Chelsea were both options.
“But when Mourinho spoke to me, that was it. He showed me his plans for the team and told me about Diego Costa, Courtois, and Filipe Luis and how, with those guys, we’d win the league. He was right, by the way. We won both the Premier League and the Carling Cup.”
Fabregas wasted no time winning over Chelsea fans. On his debut at Burnley, he set up two goals, including a stunning assist for Andre Schurrle. He finished his first season at Chelsea with five goals and 24 assists, along with Premier League and League Cup medals.
Things dipped the next season. Fabregas got just 15 goal contributions, and Chelsea slipped all the way to tenth. But when Antonio Conte took charge in 2016-17, they bounced back, and Fabregas picked up another league title.
He added an FA Cup win in 2018, his second, after his earlier one with Arsenal, and left for Monaco a few months later. His last Chelsea match came in the FA Cup against Nottingham Forest. When he got subbed off, he couldn’t hold back tears.
Chelsea supporters still sing about him; that “Oh, Fabregas is magic...” chant sticks around. And with his name in the conversation for a possible return, maybe they haven’t seen the last of him yet.
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