'Nightmare': Paul Merson predicts who will win on Sunday - Newcastle United or Nottingham Forest
Nottingham Forest are next up for Newcastle United, coming into this Premier League fixture on the back of differing midweek fortunes.
Newcastle registered a 4-0 win away from home in the Champions League on Wednesday against Union Saint-Gilloise, while Nottingham Forest fell to a 3-2 home defeat to FC Midtjylland.
Something drastic has happened to Forest since letting go of Nuno Espirito Santo, and new boss Ange Postecoglou's tactics have failed to endear him to the Forest fanbase.
As far as opportunities to get another win on the board go, this is about as golden a chance as Newcastle are going to get.
What game was Paul Merson watching last week?
Paul Merson thinks so too, as he has predicted a big win for the home side for Sportskeeda, which is impressive considering he clearly watched a different game last week when Newcastle took on Arsenal.
"What is happening to Nottingham Forest? They are in trouble and their upcoming fixtures look very bad. Ange Postecoglou will do well if he can outlast this run! Some section of the fans have already voiced their concerns about Postecoglou and it's quite understandable. Forest went from being a solid team under Nuno Espirito Santo to conceding way too many goals after Postecoglou took over.
"Newcastle got blown away by Arsenal last weekend. I was honestly surprised by the gulf in class between the two teams in that game. Even then, Newcastle were in the lead for about 84 minutes and that tells you this is actually a nightmare game for Nottingham Forest.
"Prediction: Newcastle United 3-1 Nottingham Forest"
Another 3-1 prediction. Let's hope the lads deliver
Merson's prediction matches that of Chris Sutton this week, and we can't really see an issue with either. A 3-1 win may not be the huge spanking we could perhaps do with to announce that our season has truly begun, but it's still a good win.
We just hope that we turn up against Forest, as apparently we were so much worse than Arsenal at the weekend, according to Merson. You know, despite holding the lead for most of the game. Albeit nowhere near 84 minutes, given that Woltemade's goal came after 34 minutes and Arsenal's equaliser was in the 84th, but what do details matter?
Still, cheers for the positive prediction, Merse.
