Can Man U Get A Huge Win Against Liverpool? Will Man City Keep Pace? It's Week 9 in the Premier League!

The Premier League returns this weekend after a Euro 2020 Qualifiers break. The slate is a bit of a mixed bag, as there are several middling matchups over the weekend, but it’s all topped off by the huge (at least on paper) clash between rivals Manchester United and Liverpool. In this preview, we’ll take a look at that one, as well as Leicester City and Manchester City, as they both try to cement their places in the Top 4 by taking on upstarts Burnley and Crystal Palace, respectively.

Let's break down three of the top games.

Leicester City (-180) vs Burnley (+540) o/u 2.5 Goals (-112)
Both teams come into this fixture on decent form. Leicester City was flying high going into their huge match versus Liverpool two weeks ago, but lost a heartbreaker 2-1 to the league giants. With that, only Manchester United and Liverpool have defeated this season, and only Liverpool have scored more than one goal against them. Burnley come into the match 2-0-2 in their last four league matches, and they sit 7th in the table with 12 points. With a win here and a few results falling their way, they could leapfrog into the top 4 by the end of the weekend. It will be a tough row to hoe, however. Burnley hasn’t scored a goal in any of their three visits to King Power Stadium, but on the other side of the coin, they have scored a goal in all but one of their league matches this year. We think Burnley ends their scoreless drought at Leicester, so the value play here is ​Both Teams To Score Yes (-106). ​If you want to do a prop bet here, go with over 10.5 Total Corners (-122) ​(Leicester on their own averages 6.59 corners per league match--third most in the EPL).

Crystal Palace (+1100) vs Manchester City (-420), Draw (+550)
The reigning league champs are a hard squad to figure out this season. They are 3-2-0 in their last five league matches, and the two losses were to Norwich, who will be staring regulation in the face all season, and 10th place Wolves at home, in their most recent league match. They could come out firing on all cylinders in this match and win going away, or they could lay another egg. Crystal Palace has been a more than solid bunch this season. They currently sit at 6th in the table, and with a win here and a little help, they could see themselves alone in second(!) place. No doubt the manager has cemented that into Palace players’ heads this week. On paper, this looks like a rollover win for City, but again it’s City and you have no idea what you’re going to get. But head to head, Palace has played City tough, especially of late. In the last three matches between the two, Palace is 1-1-1, so there will be some confidence there when they meet on Saturday. ​Both teams To Score Yes (-120) ​is a play that should be jumped on. Also, the limb we like to go out on in this column is looking awfully sturdy, so with that, we like the upstarts combined with the middling play of Man City when runaway favorites--put something on ​Crystal Palace moneyline (+1100).

Manchester United (+420) vs Liverpool (-152), Draw (+310)
For the final fixture of this preview and the final fixture of the weekend, we have this clash of Premier League giants. Only one of them is playing like one, though. Calling United’s current form “pitiful” is an understatement. The have one win in their last seven EPL games, along with three losses and three draws. They’re barely averaging a little over goal a match (this even after scoring four against Chelsea in the season opener) so far this season, and with only nine points from eight league matches, they currently sit 12th in the table, closer to regulation than to first place. It’s a sad state of affairs. On the other end of the spectrum, you have Liverpool, who’s running away with the league. They’ve won 17 straight league matches dating back to last season and don’t look like they’re about to slow down. The only thing United have going for them are the ghosts of Old Trafford, where in their last five visits there, Liverpool have only scored three goals. This fixture is also usually very close, so look for a tight contest. Both teams have scored scored across all competitions in the last five visits here, and that’s where the value lies. The play here is ​Away team to Win and Both Teams to Score Yes (+240). ​Liverpool wins this one 3-1.

There’s this weekend’s Premier League preview. Enjoy the matches, and good luck!

*Credit to the main photo of this article belongs to Peter Dejong/Associated Press