Merson makes ‘massive’ Premier League title claim after Everton v Liverpool postponed

Paul Merson believes the postponed Merseyside derby is a “massive” moment in the Premier League title race as it “opens the door” for the chasing pack.

Liverpool would have gone ten points clear of Arsenal and Chelsea, and 11 clear of Manchester City had they beaten Everton in the early kick-off on Saturday, as they did in an AI-generated game that we’ve done 16 Conclusions on.

But Storm Darragh put paid to their chances with the game postponed early in the day as high winds and heavy rain battered the east coast.

Instead the gap could be closed to four points if either or both of Chelsea and Arsenal win on Sunday, as the Gunners travel to Fulham while the Blues head to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

And Merson insists the postponed fixture could have a “huge” effect on the title race.

“Massive, it’s massive,” former England international Merson told Sky Sports of the Merseyside derby postponement. “It’s a little let-in for the other clubs. It opens that door for the other clubs, it’s huge.

“If they win that game, they go and beat Everton, which you’d probably expect them to, even though it’s a difficult game, they’d have gone 12 points ahead of Man City.

“[Now] Man City can this game [against Crystal Palace] and go six points behind. Arsenal and Chelsea can go four. And I know they have got a game in hand but Chelsea and Arsenal could have been kicking off on Sunday 10 points behind, it’s a different game then. Now all of a sudden [if] they win, they are four behind.

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“The game in hand is Everton, it doesn’t matter when it is played, whether it’s April or May or in four weeks’ time, it’s a difficult game. You know, you don’t look at this game and say ‘OK, it’s Fulham away’ – no disrespect to Fulham – but someone who might be around midtable at the end of the season where they go ‘you know what? it’s a nothing game, middle of the table, they’re not going for anything, they will probably roll over.’

“Everton aren’t going to roll over whatever day this game is played. The last Goodison game. Liverpool are flying at the moment, everything is going well, everyone’s fit, they’ve got their team out.

“When this game comes around, who knows? This could be stuck in the middle of a Champions League quarter-final, last-16 game, it’s just massive. It opens it up to everyone how big this cancellation is.”