It is the twelfth night of action in the Premier League Darts event on Thursday evening and with just five sessions of the first phase of the competition left, it is a big night of darts for a number of players looking to make it to the o2 Arena.
Going into the night only leg difference separates third and sixth in the standings so every match from here on in is going to have a significant impact on who makes the semi-finals and who misses out.
Get £10 in free bets when you bet £25 on sports bets in a week with Coral. Click the image above to bet but make sure you opt in. All customers! 18+ T&Cs apply
Mensur Suljovic vs Daryl Gurney
The opening match of the night in Cardiff is a repeat of the match which took place on Judgement Night as Mensur Suljovic takes on Daryl Gurney in a clash which sees the two men outside the top four on leg difference colliding in a huge game.
Gurney won the reverse meeting between the two 7-3 which was his fourth win in their last five meetings with the one which Suljovic won coming in Austria where I would imagine the crowd played a major role in the outcome. You would think Gurney will have a more level playing field here and given he has played the better of the two in terms of averages in the last couple of weeks I think there’s enough value in the 4/5 on him without the draw.
Rob Cross vs Michael van Gerwen
Top spot is up for grabs in the second match of the evening when the leader Rob Cross takes on a Michael van Gerwen, a point behind him heading into the night. This match could very well determine who ends the season top of the pile so should be extremely competitive.
It has been a while since we’ve seen MVG put two performances of the standard we would expect from him together but after averaging a shade under 110 against Michael Smith last week you’ve got to think his best is coming, in which case Cross could be in a spot of bother here. In the four Premier League meetings between these two since that epic world semi-final they played in 2017, MVG leads 31-12 in legs with each of their regular season battles ending 7-2 to the Dutchman. Usually I would be tempted by the 2.5 leg handicap for van Gerwen but that’s two breaks of throw here so I’m not quite as sure. I’ll leave this one alone.
[the_ad_group id=”3624″]
Michael Smith vs Gerwyn Price
The Cardiff crowd get to see their fellow Welshman in the third match of the evening when Gerwyn Pirce goes up against the World Championship finalist Michael Smith in a big match for both men. Price sits in the top four but there is a charge on behind him while you would think Smith has to win out to make it back to the o2.
Smith won a weird match when these two met in the previous meeting but there wasn’t a whole lot that was convincing about the play of either man. Price has won two and drawn with MVG since that night while Smith has lost two and got a draw from the other match. That suggests that Price should win this match but I thought that in their first meeting and he failed. I’ll sit this out too.
Peter Wright vs James Wade
The final match of the night is a similar one to the one which goes before it with James Wade sitting in the top four and Peter Wright desperately needing wins if he is to launch a charge to make it back to the o2 next month.
Wade couldn’t be in better spirits heading into the evening. He won both Players Championship titles at the weekend and sits in the top three in the table heading in here. Wright has played well enough in recent weeks but hasn’t got the results his play has deserved, but they will come if he keeps his level at the same standard it has been recently.
I like over 13.5 legs here. Four of Wade’s last five matches in this tournament have gone the distance and you’ve got to think that if he wins, as the odds suggest he will, 8-6 has every chance of being the scoreline. Wright rarely gets thrashed when he is beaten and the previous match between these two was a draw. I fancy we’ll see all 14 legs here.
Tips
Back D.Gurney to beat M.Suljovic (DNB) for a 4/10 stake at 1.80 with BetVictor
Back him here:
Back P.Wright vs J.Wade – Over 13.5 legs for a 4/10 stake at 2.25 with Betfair
Back it here:
Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2019
