As we come out of the hiatus that was caused by the COVID-19 panic, there appears to be little in the way of drama in the race to see who is going to win the English Premier League.

Liverpool, as of this moment, tops the list with 82 points in the standings, while Manchester City, which beat Arsenal in their "re-opener," is well behind with 60. So no futures action for BetAnySports patrons; it is just a matter of time as to when the Reds clinch.

At this stage, it has to be about more than just winning a championship. And coach Jurgen Klopp is trying to push the right buttons for the squad as far as staying "greedy," as he put it. Generally, what he is referring to is the pursuit of the all-time record in the EPL for points registered in a season. Man City currently holds that mark with 100, which was achieved in the 2017-18 season. This is well within reach, with nine matches left.

It also doesn't hurt, from the standpoint of intensity, that there is a genuine backyard brawl on the agenda for Sunday. That is when Liverpool takes on Everton in the "Merseyside Derby" pitting teams from the same city against each other.

These aren't crosstown rivals either; you could walk from one club's stadium to the other without a whole lot of trouble. The site on Sunday (2 PM ET) is Everton's home grounds - Goodison Park. In this rivalry there used to be no need to separate the fans. But the intensity became enough that such a thing was thrown out the window. Now that is moot, as this game is played behind closed doors.

In 29 games, Liverpool has lost once, tied once, and won the rest. That is more than a dominant performance; it could turn out to be historic. Meanwhile, Everton is 12th in the league. On the bright side, they seem to be a much-improved squad since Carlo Ancelotti assumed the coaching reins.

Here are the Premier League betting numbers we're looking at as they are posted at BetAnySports:

Money Line
Liverpool -170
Everton  +507
Draw     +324

Spread (Goals)
Liverpool  -1 (-103)
Everton   +1 (-112

Total Goals
Under 3 Goals -133
Over 3 Goals +118

There has to be a lot of frustration on the part of Everton, because Liverpool has had their number for a long time. Let's put it this way - they have now gone 18 straight matches without a win against this side, with no victories since 2010. And there had to be some outright embarrassment coming out of a 1-0 FA Cup loss on January 5, in which Liverpool sat out almost all its key people, filling out the lineup with a number of teens and members of the reserve squad. In U.S. terms, that might be the rough equivalent of an NFL team that clinched its division and sat out all its starters going up against a team that was at full strength in terms of personnel.

And speaking of all that, a big problem facing Everton here is that they could be going into this contest severely short-handed. They did not necessarily get healthier as a result of the break; Jean-Philippe Gbamin was suffered an Achilles injury during training and will probably not be available for the duration. Theo Walcott is out. So is Morgan Schneiderlin. There may be others. So it may be time for Ancelotti to experiment a little, with people like 19-year-old Anthony Gordon, who is the team's best "prospect," if you will.

Liverpool is healthier, and Kropp is looking toward certain people to start making more significant contributions after the latest training period, namely winger Takumi Minamino, who's had a period of adjustment after playing in Austria (FC Salzberg), and midfielder Naby Keita, who had previous stints with Salzberg and RB Leipzig (Bundesliga). They already have Mohammed Salah (16 goals) and Sadio Mane (14) on the attack, and they're both in the running for the league scoring title. Alisson, the World XI goalkeeper, remains solid as a rock and a principal reason Liverpool has allowed just 21 goals (0.72 per game).

In other words, it's going to be hard for Everton to score. And even though it may not be much of a barometer, the Reds looked a little "greedy" in dispatching the second-tier Blackburn Rovers 6-0 in a friendly this past week. We know there have been a lot of draws in this rivalry. Still, we're comfortable laying this price with the presumptive EPL champs.

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