December 3, 2008 - There was a bit of a shakeup at the top of the standings on Tuesday morning, as Chelsea is no longer in first place. That spot is now reserved for Liverpool, despite a disappointing effort on Monday night. Arsenal moved up and Manchester United gained revenge from a season ago. Bookmakers and sports betting companies alike saw a nice turn in the betting action.

Chelsea was a -140 favorite at Stamford Bridge against Arsenal, but two Robin van Persie goals in a three-minute span secured a 2-1 victory for Arsenal on Sunday. The win kept Chelsea atop the standings with Liverpool playing on Monday night as Chelsea owned a 27-13 advantage in goal differential.

And while Liverpool was a monster -400 favorite against West Ham, it was football bettors who wagered on the draw that made the big score, as the game ended 0-0. Liverpool had out-shot West Ham by a 25-7 margin, and had a 2:1 time of possession advantage, but couldn’t find the net. Still, Liverpool is now in sole possession of first place with 34 points, one more than Chelsea.

Arsenal sits in fourth place now; eight points back of the leader, seven points behind Chelsea, and trails third-place Manchester United by just  two points (United has played one less game).

Chelsea needs to rethink their home play, as the Blues have only three wins in eight home matches. Chelsea is unstoppable away from home, racking up seven wins in as many games.

Wayne Rooney backed up his pre-game talk with the only goal in United’s 1-0 victory over rival Manchester City. Rooney had made waves prior to kickoff with some verbal jabs, ”It will be nice to show them who are the kings of Manchester… It doesn't irritate us that City are getting all this publicity. If they were winning trophies it would irritate me but while they are still lingering in mid-table I am not really too bothered about it.”

Asian sportsbooks had installed United as a -120 favorite. The Red Devils will be the largest favorite this upcoming weekend as they are a -700 choice against Sunderland.

Early EPL football lines show Arsenal at -400 against Wigan, Liverpool -150 at home against Blackburn and Chelsea -200 vs. Bolton.

You can make your online football bet on every English Premier match right here at www.xsbet.com

_{Aiden Colburn is a sports betting enthusiast with over 11 years of sports betting experience and has been writing about bookmaking for the past 5 years.  You can contact him at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it}