There are three nights of regular league action left in the Premier League Darts season, the first of which takes place inside the Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes on Tuesday evening when the race for the top four really intensifies.
After the action on Monday concluded it now looks like it is five men battling it out for the four semi-final spots and with the crowds visibly elevating the standard we should be set for yet another outstanding night of darts.
James Wade vs Nathan Aspinall
The opening match of the night sees two classy operators going at it when James Wade takes on the beaten finalist of last season in Nathan Aspinall in a clash which is much bigger for the latter than the former given their positions in the table.
Wade’s defeat to Peter Wright on Monday evening pretty much ended his top four hopes but that isn’t the case for Aspinall, who powered to the top of the table on Monday and will be looking to build on that here. Aspinall thrashed Michael van Gerwen with a near 97 average and a very impressive performance, although it should be said he was let in a few times. Wade wasn’t exactly terrible on Monday but you have to wonder what motivation he has left in him from here on in. Aspinall is a worthy favourite on that alone but the fact that their statistics were similar on Monday is enough to sway me out of a bet.
Jonny Clayton vs Jose de Sousa
The big match of the night is the second one of the evening as fourth place plays third when Jonny Clayton takes on Jose de Sousa in a contest where the winner will have their semi-final hopes in their own destiny but the loser may need results to go their way to make it in.
Clayton was exceptional on Monday evening in an emphatic 8-1 win over Gary Anderson but often when a player produces a performance of that standard he struggles to follow it up in the next match, especially the next day like this. De Sousa was nowhere near as good against Dimitri Van den Bergh and missed doubles almost cost him dear but he did get the win. Those missed doubles always concern me with de Sousa and the way Clayton is scoring there is no guarantee he’ll get away with them here but as I’ve eluded to there is no certainty that Clayton is bang on it himself. Given that Clayton is my outright bet for this tournament I can just hope he wins without having to take chances.
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Gary Anderson vs Michael van Gerwen
In terms of historical brilliance whenever they meet the match of the evening is the third game on stage when the crowd favourites Gary Anderson and Michael van Gerwen go at it in a match which probably means more to the Dutchman than the Scot at this stage.
After his heavy loss on Monday night, Anderson can only get to 18 points which probably isn’t going to be enough to make it through to the semi-final whereas van Gerwen came off top spot when he lost to Nathan Aspinall and could be clinging onto his top four place were he to lose this match. I expect a better performance from Van Gerwen here. It was almost as though he was trying too hard to impress the crowd on Monday night whereas here he has an opponent he knows he has to play well against and I’m sure he will. There just isn’t enough consistency in his form to merit a bet at odds on though.
Peter Wright vs Dimitri Van den Bergh
The final match of the night sees the bottom of the table Peter Wright going up against the man who started the week in the top four in Dimitri Van den Bergh but who has already fallen out of it and now has to win this match to get back into them.
I took Wright on in his match against James Wade on Monday night but I didn’t really give credit to the impact that the crowd would make on the Scot. It wasn’t that I forgot he was a crowd favourite, more that I wasn’t sure 1,000 would make a difference or that it wouldn’t be the hardcore darting fans rather than the party goers. I was wrong though but I’m happy to get behind Wright here even though he is effectively out of the competition. Importantly there was no sign of his shoulder injury on Monday night and that is encouraging. One thing that I did get right on Monday is that Van den Bergh doesn’t look nearly as composed in front of a crowd as he does without one. That will come but it might take a few nights before it does. He also looked shackled with the pressure on him on Monday. That pressure will only grow now he is out of the top four so I have to go against him. I’ll take Wright without the draw in play.
Tips
WON – Back P.Wright to beat D.Van den Bergh (DNB) for a 3/10 stake at 2.00 with Sky Bet
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