In his latest column, Paul Merson gives his opinion on the title race, as well as the problems at Manchester United.
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I still think they have a chance. It will be a different game for Spurs and Arsenal, as they have to face different teams. The fact that they beatSouthampton last weekend has solidified their top-four place.
I would say that the players are at their limit. They are playing as well as they can and there is not much more in the locker. They dropped off the level against the Seagulls and were beaten.
If you take a couple of players out who are very influential in the team, things are not going to be great. The squad is small and Mikel Arteta almost always picks the same players all the time, so they bumped into a team who had nothing to play for and who had a free swing.
I thought it would be a bad game. You knew that it would be a nice football match. It became a bit of a struggle when the full team was not available. Thomas Partey has become more influential as he has become a massive player.
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I still think that Spurs are in it, because they have a Spurs in them. I don't mean that in a bad way, but they still have a Spurs in them. Everyone was angry about them but they could have been destroyed in the first half against Villa.
They only have to have one of those days in the next seven weeks. The win over Villa was covered over. Hugo Lloris had to make save after save in the first half, but they did some great stuff. I am not convinced by Spurs.
The top four is still very important for the club.
We are all clever after the event so there is no need to look back. Pierre-Emerick has scored 10 goals in 14 appearances for Barcelona, but the league is not a great one. Football is open in Spain and he was a bad influence on the team at the time.
Piers Morgan has not been involved in a football club.
Arteta had to make a decision if he kept him there and he was having a negative impact on the other players. All of a sudden, we are hearing that the player should not have been sold.
You have to look at the future of the club and the younger players. They all respected him, but he was a bad influence. The manager made the right decision.
The club wouldn't be able to bring in another player because of the amount of money that Pierre was making. Everyone would want those wages. Three weeks ago, I didn't hear from Piers Morgan.
A couple of players out and having bad days are the reasons why the team has lost its way recently. They lost at Crystal Palace, but I watched Man City struggle there recently. It was very lucky for them to win there.
You have to think about the future of the club when you say things in hindsight. There is a lot of young kids there and you would be surprised how much they follow in the footsteps of an older player.
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The result was called on Saturday. I told everyone that Manchester United would lose. There was no way that they were losing. There is talk of a new manager coming in but the United players are not running around for him.
The club has been a mess since the day the man walked in. I am not saying it is his fault, but United needed to get their permanent manager in immediately after Solskjaer was fired. This is Manchester United. It is a stop-start.
If it is ten Hag who gets the job, he is someone who has managed in a two-team league for many years. He has never worked with big football players before. He motivates players towards getting big moves.
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The United players are already at the top. Dusan Tadic is the best player in the Eredivisie. He is not a good player, but where would he be in the top 50 in the league?
I didn't see anyone else falling over to get hold of him when he was at Saints. Ten Hag is a good coach, but he has worked with players who have been told if they work hard they will get their big move to the premier league.
The Manchester United players are at the biggest club in the world and you would think they were pulling teeth. You have fans who go to every away game and players who want to get the season out of the way.
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They still have a chance of finishing in the top four, but they have been terrible. This is what United deserves after they brought in an interim manager. He has worked with players lower down.
The mentality in the Bundesliga was to challenge players to get a bigger move. It is the same with Ten Hag. He is going to come in and work with the players who are already there. How do you get them going?
They are a million miles away from Man City. I would not take that job in a million years. Why would you do that? What are you doing? Not a single United player would get into the City team and most would struggle to make the bench.
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The man is 37 years old. He will be going up the wall because of what is happening at United. He is one of the greatest players of all time, but he can no longer do what he used to. The league is too hard. I told you so, but I could see it happening.
He got Solskjaer the sack. They beat the record for the longest run of away games without a defeat. When he was the best player at United, he was brought off atEverton because he didn't want a repeat of what happened earlier in the season.
It was embarrassing to be at that game. He should not have to justify his decision as the manager. You can't play every game at his age. United need more from Rashford than they need fromRonaldo.
The other week, they had Edinson Cavani up front. This club is going to be the biggest in the world if it doesn't stop soon. They will not be around much longer at this rate.
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I would be shocked if Man City didn't win the title. I think they are too good, so it would be a big shock. I don't see anything other than City reeling off the wins they need. I don't think they will drop a point.
There is no doubt that there are more difficult games forLiverpool. It would be a different game if City had the other team. Manchester United at Anfield isn't the hardest game in the world, but surely they will turn up for it?
They still have to play Spurs at home, who are in the race for the playoffs, whereas Manchester City have two games at home. I think City will win the league.
It was in the hands of the Reds on Sunday but now they have no control over it. It is a different game when it is out of their hands. It is strange that the FA Cup is on the line this weekend, but they have done very little wrong.
They have been outstanding but have just bumped into an unbelievable team. If the City team were not around, the Reds would win everything. Timing is what sport is about.
You don't have to beat people up in order to be a great rival. Kevin De Bruyne reacted to being hacked down by a teammate.
Sometimes when you see players staring at each other, what are they doing? It is a front up. If you want to have a rivalry, you don't have to stand there and stare at people.
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