EPL Table: Saturday's Week 9 Results, Scores and 2016 Premier League Standings

For at least one day, Leicester City looked every bit like the reigning English Premier League champions, as they cruised past Crystal Palace as part of a busy Saturday slate. The Foxes remain deep in the rearview mirror of the leaders at this stage of the campaign, though.

It was also a day when some of the EPL's high-profile clubs struggled on the attack. Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur were both held to scoreless draws by Middlesbrough and Bournemouth, respectively. But Liverpool bucked the trend with a win over West Bromwich Albion.

Let's check out the match results from Saturday's Week 9 play. That's followed by an updated look at the standings and a recap of some key storylines from the day's action.

Matchday 9 Results

Date	Home	Away	Result
Oct. 22	Bournemouth	Tottenham Hotspur	0-0
Oct. 22	Arsenal	Middlesbrough	0-0
Oct. 22	Burnley	Everton	2-1
Oct. 22	Hull City	Stoke City	0-2
Oct. 22	Leicester City	Crystal Palace	3-1
Oct. 22	Swansea City	Watford	0-0
Oct. 22	West Ham United	Sunderland	1-0
Oct. 22	Liverpool	West Bromwich Albion	2-1
Oct. 23	Manchester City	Southampton	Sunday
Oct. 23	Chelsea	Manchester United	Sunday

Updated League Table

Rank	Club	MP	W	D	L	GD	PTS
1	Arsenal	9	6	2	1	10	20
2	Liverpool	9	6	2	1	9	20
3	Manchester City	8	6	1	1	11	19
4	Tottenham Hotspur	9	5	4	0	9	19
5	Chelsea	8	5	1	2	6	16
6	Everton	9	4	3	2	5	15
7	Manchester United	8	4	2	2	5	14
8	Southampton	8	3	3	2	3	12
9	Watford	9	3	3	3	0	12
10	Bournemouth	9	3	3	3	0	12
11	Crystal Palace	9	3	2	4	0	11
12	Leicester City	9	3	2	4	-4	11
13	West Bromwich Albion	9	2	4	3	0	10
14	Burnley	9	3	1	5	-5	10
15	West Ham United	9	3	1	5	-7	10
16	Stoke City	9	2	3	4	-7	9
17	Middlesbrough	9	1	4	4	-4	7
18	Hull City	9	2	1	6	-14	7
19	Swansea City	9	1	2	6	-7	5
20	Sunderland	9	0	2	7	-10	2

Saturday Recap

Leicester entered Saturday's clash with Crystal Palace having gone winless in their last three Premier League fixtures. The attack, which hasn't been nearly as efficient during the first quarter of this term as it was en route to the title, finally came to life to end the drought.

Ahmed Musa, Shinji Okazaki and Christian Fuchs scored the goals for the Foxes, who found the net three times despite just four shots on target. As a whole, it looked far more like a performance from last season, when they thrived on quick counterattacks and keeping opponents out of dangerous areas.

Leicester manager Claudio Ranieri stated afterward the side's effort was more aligned with what the coaching staff is seeking, as the club's official Twitter feed noted:

Ultimately, the Foxes have placed an emphasis on the Champions League, resulting in nine points from their first three matches in the marquee competition. But the Premier League is still important, and they need more matches like Saturday's in order to start digging out of an early hole.

While Leicester enjoyed a return to form in league play, Arsenal failed to take advantage of an opportunity to continue their winning streak and potentially create some separation atop the table.

The Gunners controlled the majority of the match, holding 74.6 percent possession and completing 707 passes compared to 239 for Middlesbrough, according to the Premier League's official website. But they failed to translate that advantage into many good scoring opportunities in front of goal.

Although the Middlesbrough back line deserves credit for playing a physical style that kept Arsenal off balance, Arsene Wenger's group should have done much better in the attacking third. They lacked the necessary creativity to overcome a determined defensive effort.

Squawka Football pointed out that the Middlesbrough clean sheet ended a run of strong goal-scoring form for the Gunners at Emirates Stadium:

It's a result that feels like a minor stumble for now, but the match will be looked back on if Arsenal end up a few points short in the title race.

The story is much the same for Tottenham. Spurs easily won the possession battle and doubled the number of shots created by Bournemouth, yet the finishing touch was lacking on a day when they should have headed home with all three points.

Their lack of attacking prowess is becoming a troublesome trend, even though they remain unbeaten through the first nine matches. Only three times during that stretch have they scored more than one goal, however. That must change in order to make a serious title charge.

Still, OptaJoe noted that making it through their first nine Premier League matches without a loss is a rare feat for Tottenham:

Up next for Spurs is a meeting with Leicester, who have struggled at times defensively in league play. It's a chance for Tottenham to make a statement by getting the attack back on track and picking up three important points in the process.

Liverpool took advantage of the draws by Arsenal and Tottenham to gain a few points in the standings by knocking off West Brom. The match had the look of a blowout after the Reds scored twice in the first 35 minutes, but the Baggies fought back to make the home side earn a hard-fought win.

The best sign for Liverpool is that they continue to earn points while giving off the vibe they're going to find another level under Jurgen Klopp. If that's the case, they are going to become a force during what's setting up to become a hotly contested second half of the season.

For now, they'll settle for one of their best EPL starts in the past 25 years, per LFC historian Carl Clemente:

Looking ahead, Sunday's matches should provide plenty of drama. Manchester City have an opportunity to move back atop the table if they take care of business at home against Southampton. The Saints are in fine form with three wins and a draw over their past four contests, though.

That's followed by a mammoth encounter between Chelsea and Manchester United. Both clubs are right in the mix amid a crowded top of the standings, making it one of those games that could end up having a lasting impact on the title or Champions League races.

All match statistics courtesy of the Premier League's official site.