EPL Betting – Liverpool at Manchester United

Liverpool (+350) at Manchester United (-117), Draw (+250).

The EPL’s recent hiatus for Euro 2016 qualifiers couldn’t have come at a better time for Liverpool (2-1-1, 7 pts) and Manchester United (2-1-1, 7 pts). Both teams struggled in their last outing and will look to get back on track when they meet at Old Trafford on Saturday (12:30 PM Eastern Time).

United dropped their first game of the season two weeks ago, losing away to Swansea (2-1); the loss dropped the Red Devils to fifth in the table, already five points behind current leaders Manchester City.

The good news for United and boss Louis Van Gaal is that goalkeeper David De Gea returns after missing the first four games; the team was negotiating with Real Madrid for his services, but opted to keep the Spaniard.

On offense, United have had problems finding the net, especially in their EPL games, scoring just three goals in four matches. But the Red Devils have reason for optimism after Wayne Rooney (who has yet to score in the EPL) netted a hat trick in the team’s Champions League playoff against Club Brugge and scored twice via penalties with the English national team last week.

On Saturday, United will be hosting a Liverpool side coming off a shocking home loss to West Ham, falling 3-0 to the Hammers at Anfield.  The setback was made all the more surprising by Liverpool’s solid start to the year; they beat Stoke City and Bournemouth in the first two games, and then earned a hard-fought 0-0 at Arsenal.

Just like United, Liverpool have struggled to score; they have an identical three goals through the first four games.

Manchester United have won the last three games in the series, but both clubs have a lot of work to do if they hope to challenge for the title. Don’t expect either one to improve drastically overnight, especially on offense. That’s why I’m taking the draw.

Pick: Draw (+250). 

(Photo credit: Paul (flickr) [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/legalcode]. Image has been cropped.)