Premier League best bets: High fliers and sinking ships

Welcome to Matchday 9 of the Premier League season, where things are getting tasty at the top of the table. Liverpool, a team many predicted would struggle in its first season without Klopp, is one point clear of its competitors. Manchester City, a team known for consistency and icy precision, has already dropped two points and struggled to get past Fulham and Wolves. Arsenal, who spent most of last season suffering from fatal spinelessness, has racked up three red cards in eight games in its attempt to toughen up. And who is waiting in the wings behind them? Aston Villa, the plucky underdog who keeps putting off its inevitable exhaustion-driven decline. It's level on points with Arsenal and may well leapfrog it this weekend.

No one in this Premier League lineup is feeling okay about its progress; everyone appears to either thrilled (Liverpool, Villa, Brighton, Fulham, etc) or disgusted (Arsenal, Man United, West Ham, Crystal Palace, etc.) Matchday 9 is a weekend where both camps are largely isolated with one another. The high fliers will face off to see who's capable of more altitude; the sinking ships will battle in a race to the bottom.

There's one glaring exception: Liverpool versus Arsenal, which we'll get to in depth tomorrow. For now, though, here are the bets we're eyeing across the rest of the field:

Aston Villa vs. Bournemouth, Saturday, Oct. 26, 10 a.m. ET — Both teams enter this match on a high; Villa beat Bologna in the Champions League in midweek while Bournemouth beat Arsenal 2-0 on Matchday 8. This game should be an all-out attack fest as Bournemouth field a line so high it's practically in space and Villa counter with devastating flank runs. Villa should win this, but Bournemouth to give it a good shake. We're backing a Villa win with at least one Bournemouth goal at +240.

Crystal Palace vs. Tottenham Hotspur, Sunday, Oct. 27, 10 a.m. ET — It's do or die for Palace coach Oliver Glasner as his charmed run at the end of last season dwindles into a relegation fight in this one. The Guardian reports that Glasner's next four games with Palace will decide his future; one can only imagine how frustrated Glasner is that the first of those four is against the ascendant Spurs.

You can take your pick from Spurs' attackers when it comes to likely goalscorers; Dominick Solanke, Heung-Min Son and Brennan Johnson are all in fine form. But we've got our eyes on Swedish attacker Dejan Kulusevski, who has quietly had such a brilliant season that he's benched James Maddison without anyone really talking about it. We're backing Kulu to score or assist in this one at +130.

West Ham vs. Manchester United, Sunday, Oct. 27, 10 a.m. ET — It's a battle of bad feelings as West Ham and Man United — two of the most haunted, desperate and unlovable teams in the league — take each other on at London Stadium. Who will shake off their struggle and pull through? It's tough to say: the odds have a West Ham win, a United win and a draw as similarly likely.

Both teams will need a spark of creativity to succeed, and we think West Ham has it in Lucas Paqueta. The impish Brazilian tends to turn up when West Ham needs him most, and boy does it need him here. With fellow attacking midfielder Mohammed Kudus unavailable due to a red card suspension, all of West Ham's attacks are likely to come through Paqueta. We're backing him to get at least two shots on target at +350.