Paul Merson Predicts West Ham Star Will Score Against Leicester City This Weekend
Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson has predicted that Marko Arnautovic will score when the Hammers face Leicester City at the King Power Stadium on Saturday.
The Hammers are now 14th in the Premier League after collecting seven points from their nine outings under Manuel Pellegrini so far this season. The Londoners began the season with four straight defeats but they have since put two wins and a draw on the board.
IAN KINGTON/GettyImages
Arnautovic's contributions include four goals and one assist from eight appearances for the Irons this season and he has emerged as their chief source of attack.
Merson has tipped the Austrian forward to find the back of the net against Claude Puel's Foxes on Saturday – but also predicted that the former Premier League champions will score in what he said will be a 1-1 draw.
"Two evenly matched teams here," the former Arsenal midfielder said in reference to the teams' chances in his prediction for Sky Sports.
Julian Finney/GettyImages
"West Ham will miss Andriy Yarmolenko - which means the focus will be on Marko Arnautovic to deliver - he's more than capable though. He's 'top six' quality. I think he will score here but Leicester will too."
Yarmolenko has been ruled out for six months after having surgery on an injured Achilles tendon this past Monday. The attacker sustained the injury during West Ham's loss to Tottenham.
“Hello everyone, I would like to say thanks for your support and wishes for my recovery," he told fans via Instagram on Thursday. "I really appreciate it."
Leicester, meanwhile, sit three spots above West Ham, having won four of their first nine matches. A win over the Hammers could see them climb above Manchester United – providing Jose Mourinho's men lose to Everton on Sunday.
