We are still more than a week away from the next round of the Premier League due to the international break, but it’s still nice to take an early look into the matches and see who is facing who. Liverpool have maintained the 100% win rate thanks to the late winner against Leicester City last weekend, and that victory has extended the gap from Manchester City to eight points! This is surely going to be the best chance for Jurgen Klopp’s side to finally win the title. The Reds are going to be involved in some derby action in this matchday though! Let’s take a look at the most interesting clashes and odds.
Tottenham Hotspur v Watford FC
Mauro Pochettino is currently walking on thin ice. His future as the coach of Spurs is most likely going to be determined in the next couple of weeks. The team has lost four out of the last five matches across all competitions, and some of them were a disgrace in terms of performance. Home 2-7 loss to Bayern Munich in the Champions League, League Cup elimination on the road against Colchester and most recent Premier League 0-3 loss to Brighton & Hove is a short summary for Tottenham’s last few weeks. Many will agree that battle for the title is already lost for this London giant. They are currently sitting in the 9th position with 11 points from eight games. The upcoming duel against Watford FC is a nice opportunity to get back to winning tracks. Harry Kane is the only one being consistent when it comes to solid form and goals (bagged five times in the PL). The Hornets are currently hammered to the bottom of the table, having won only three points so far. They are holding the worst -16 goal difference in the league too, so anything but a convincing win would be a huge surprise here. Price on Spurs to win at the moment of writing this preview is 2/5 with online betting leading sites. Tottenham have won ten out of the last 12 head to head encounters against Watford FC.
Crystal Palace v Manchester City
Pep Guardiola had a lot of reasons to be upset after last weekend’s events. His squad dominated the pitch and created opportunities against Wolves, but still lost the match 0-2 FT in front of the home crowd. The reigning champions are now eight points behind Liverpool FC already, so there is no room for another slip-up. The Citizens are going to have a rough away day next week though, travelling to London to face Crystal Palace. Hosts are sitting in high 6th position on the table with 14 points and very good stats when it comes to defending. They have conceded only eight goals so far, which is making them the fourth-best defence in the league. Forwards though have underperformed, bagging only eight goals. Crystal Palace are still undefeated in front of the home crowd, winning two and drawing two matches so far. Is their backline going to hold against Man City? Bookies don’t think so, as the away win odds are at very low 1/5 rate at the moment.
Man City are topping the charts when it comes to goals scored (27 so far). Sergio Aguero is league’s top goalscorer with eight goals, followed by Raheem Sterling who added six. The team has kept only three clean sheets so far. These two sides have produced great games in the previous PL campaign. The first meeting was won by Palace 3-2 in Manchester, while the champions had their revenge in London, winning the second match 3-1.
Manchester United v Liverpool FC
Duels between Man Utd and LFC are something best PL has to offer. This derby match always brings up the sparks, despite teams’ form, standings or quality. Manchester United are going through a huge crisis at the moment, being only a couple of points away from the relegation zone. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men got defeated at St James’ Park last weekend 1-0, and there are already a lot of fans demanding Norwegian manager to step down. The team obviously lacks energy, with many players being injured. It is still unknown if Paul Pogba is going to recover for this clash. United are 12th with 9 points at the moment.
It might sound crazy, but Klopp might actually rest some of the players here. The upcoming schedule for the Reds is as heavy as it can be. Right after the UCL clash against Genk, they will face Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal consecutively. Surely we are going to see one hell of a match at Old Trafford.
