A cracking weekend awaits in prospect in the Premier League with a couple of vital “six pointers” in the relegation zone as well as the latest instalment of Manchester United vLiverpoolat Old Trafford.

Here are the picks of the football bets for this weekend’s Premiership games. The odds of each selection are such that these can be backed as singles but if backing the treble, the combined odds of all three winning pays around 29/1!

Manchester United vLiverpool– Draw @12/5

Having just met each other a couple of weeks back in the 4th round of the FA Cup, Man Utd take on their greatest rivals, Liverpool, at Old Trafford in what could prove to be a vital game at the top of the table, particularly for the hosts.

Sir Alex Ferguson will be well aware that defeat on Saturday will hand Premier League leaders, Manchester City, a huge advantage particularly should they beat Aston Villa on Sunday and as such, this is a must win game for United.

Liverpoolof course won the FA Cup encounter 2-1 after Dirk Kuyt scored the winner two minutes from time in what was a pulsating game. This week however, United will have Wayne Rooney and Nani back in the starting line up and it is hoped that Phil Jones will also be passed fit.

Liverpoolwill have Luis Suarez back in action and up against the man, Patrice Evra, who reported him for racial abuse which resulted in Suarez serving an eight match ban. No doubt therefore that these two will attract plenty of pre-match hype but Liverpool will know that they are a far better team with Uruguayan international in the team and he could be the reason whyLiverpoolshould come away with at least a draw.

United demonstrated last week in their 3-3 draw at Stamford Bridge last weekend that they will never lie down and even being three goals down was not enough to dampen the spirit of a team hell bent on retaining their title. However, they were weak at the back and an aspect that will not be lost byLiverpoolboss, Kenny Dalglish.

The two teams played out a 1-1 draw in the reverse league fixture back in October but interestingly that was the first time the two had drawn a league game since the 0-0 draw in 2005. By and large, the home team has the advantage when these two meet, but this week,Liverpoolcome to Old Trafford with renewed vigour and should prove stubborn enough walk away with a point.

Blackburn Rovers v QPR – Home Win @ 11/8

QPR boss, Mark Hughes, will return to his old club this weekend knowing that nothing less than a win will suffice. The good start his new team seemed to be making under his stewardship was halted last week with defeat at home to relegation rivals Wolves and Hughes and his team cannot afford a a repeat result this week against another relegation threatened rival.

Blackburn of course have a huge job on their hands to lift themselves from the 1-7 hammering at the hands of Arsenal last week but manager Steve Kean has managed to pull off a couple of shock results lately and he will see this match as a great opportunity to get three points.

This is a game that could go either way butBlackburnshould have enough determination to win in front of their own supporters and the odds make them an attractive proposition.

Sunderlandv Arsenal – Home Win @ 5/2

How can anyone oppose Martin O’Neill’s team right now? Especially at odds of 5/2!Sunderlandhas put in a number of excellent performances since O’Neil took over the club and is a team transformed, playing with no fear and in front of a crowd befitting of the term “home advantage”.

It is true that Arsenal should head to the Stadium of Light in confident mood after their destruction ofBlackburnlast weekend but this is traditionally a difficult fixture for the Gunners and they can hardly be described as a consistent side. They have lost six times on the road this season to teams worse thanSunderlandand the Black Cats are worth backing to continue their stay at the top of the Premier League form table which has seen them win five of their last six games.