The best and worst of the Matchday 9 weekend EPL schedule

The English Premier League has reached Week 9 already, and with Leicester City the newest club occupying the ever-rotating first-place spot, they’ll look to extend their lead as they sit clear of second-place Tottenham by one point. There’s plenty of action to get to this week as the season continues on.

Best of Week 9

Liverpool v. Leicester City

Sunday, November 22, 2:15PM ET
Anfield, Liverpool
Watch on NBCSN, Universo

It’s no surprise that this match makes the cut as the best of this weekend’s slate, as first-place Leicester City will travel to take on third-place Liverpool for a battle at the top of the table. Leicester sits just one point clear of both Liverpool and Tottenham, who are tied on points while Spurs lead on goal differential. City will look to extend their winning streak to four straight, as they’ve knocked off Arsenal, Leeds, and Wolverhampton in their last three outings. The Reds are also unbeaten in their last four, which includes two wins and two draws, the most recent resulting in a 1-1 draw against Manchester City. New signing Diogo Jota has scored in all three of his home appearances for Liverpool and will look to extend that to four this weekend, setting a record as the first player in club history to score in their four first home matches. They’ll have to take care of business without Virgil van Dijk, who underwent surgery and is projected to be out for most of the season, if not the remainder.

Worst of Week 9

Sheffield United v. West Ham United

Sunday, November 22, 9:00AM ET
Bramall Lane, Sheffield
Watch on Peacock

Sheffield, sitting in dead last, are still searching for their first win of the season as they’ve only earned one point in a 1-1 draw against Fulham just over a month ago. Since then, they’ve lost all three matches, all of them coming against formidable opponents which they were never expected to win against anyway. A 2-1 loss against Liverpool, 1-0 loss to Man City, followed up by a 4-1 defeat to Chelsea make up their last three outings. This week shouldn’t be quite as difficult as they take on 12th-place West Ham. History is on the side of the Blades, as they’ve won all three of their EPL home matches against West Ham, and if things go their way they could climb the table just a bit, potentially even catching 17th-place Fulham depending on other results around the league. Regardless, don’t expect a lot out of this match — Sheffield have only managed to score four goals on the season, and if they were to squeak out a win this weekend it most likely won’t be by multiple goals.

Week 9 Sleeper

Wolverhampton v. Southampton

Monday, November 23, 3:00PM ET
Molineux Stadium, Wolverhampton
Watch on NBCSN, Universo

While on paper this might not look like an exciting match, digging into their current form and table placement adds a little more weight for both sides. 4th-place Southampton will travel to Wolverhampton to take on the 9th-place Wolves. The Saints will be looking to win their fourth straight game, and a full three points could potentially catapult them as high as first place depending on other match results. Fresh off three straight wins against Everton, Aston Villa, and Newcastle, Southampton will take advantage of the potential return of James Ward-Prowse and Ryan Bertrand as they both returned to training this past week and could see time on the pitch this weekend. Wolverhampton will be no walk in the park, though. They only sit three points behind the Saints, and have only allowed nine goals so far this season, tying the lowest goals against amount with four other teams. Additionally, Wolves have only lost once in their last eight outings in league play against Southampton, with that loss coming in April 2019 with a 3-1 scoreline. This match could go either way, and with big implications on the line, could prove to be an exciting fixture.

This Weekend’s Full Schedule

All times listed are Eastern.

Saturday, November 21

7:30 a.m.: Newcastle United v. Chelsea — Peacock
10:00 a.m.: Aston Villa v. Brighton — NBCSN, Universo
12:30 p.m.: Tottenham Hotspur v. Manchester City — NBCSN, Universo
3:00 p.m.: Manchester United v. West Bromwich Albion — Peacock

Sunday, November 22

7:00 a.m.: Fulham v. Everton — Peaock
9:00 a.m.: Sheffield United v. West Ham United — Peacock
11:30 a.m.: Leeds United v. Arsenal — NBCSN, Telemundo
2:15 p.m.: Liverpool v. Leicester City — NBCSN, Universo

Monday, November 23

12:30 p.m.: Burnley v. Crystal Palace — NBCSN, Universo
3 p.m.: Wolverhampton Wanderers v. Southampton — NBCSN, Universo