Paul Merson has made the rather eye-catching claim that Chelsea won’t beat Tottenham this weekend if Mykhailo Mudryk and Noni Madueke start.

First of all, it’s very harsh to call out two January recruits when most of the team are struggling for form.

Mudryk, who’s 22, is yet to consistently impress since his arrival last month despite plenty of starts. There’s certainly big pressure on the left-winger because he could end up costing £89million.

As for Madueke, the 20-year-old right-winger is getting his chances in the Premier League. The £29million youngster is showing glimpses of why the club signed him from PSV Eindhoven.

Merson has taken a dig at two Chelsea wide players in his prediction for this Sunday’s trip to Spurs, urging Graham Potter to drop them both.

He believes Potter’s side can win 3-0 in the Premier League this weekend if they pick his preferred team [see below].

“This is the starting XI I hope Potter goes with: Kepa, Reece James, Ben Chilwell, Benoit Badiashile, Thiago Silva, Enzo Fernandez, Mason Mount, Mateo Kovacic, Raheem Sterling, Kai Havertz and Joao Felix,” Merson told Sportskeeda.

“If this team plays, they will beat Tottenham 3-0. If he plays Mykhailo Mudryk and Noni Madueke, they won’t beat Spurs.”

On paper, it’s a nice starting line-up selected by Merson.

Madueke may need to come out of the team after starting the defeat to Southampton last weekend, but it’s definitely not the time to bash the exciting talent.

Meanwhile, Mudryk did drop to the bench against Southampton and he come on as a substitute. Will Chelsea’s head coach be tempted to recall him on Sunday, though?

The Blues need to find some consistency at the top end of the pitch, with Mudryk and Madueke still individuals that could play a key role moving forward.