The Premier League Darts season returns from a week off on Monday night as we play down towards Judgement Night inside the Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes on what looks like being another fantastic evening of darts.
Four nights remain in the first half of the season and heading into Monday evening just three points separate the players in first and ninth so every match for the next four evenings is going to have a significant impact on the standings, which as fans is just how we like it!
Rob Cross vs Gary Anderson
The opening match of the night sees a couple of the former world champions in the field looking for two points which will ease any relegation fears and launch a bid for a push for the semi-finals when Rob Cross meets Gary Anderson.
Cross went into this tournament as one of the favourites to be relegated but wins over James Wade and Jonny Clayton have him above the line at the minute, however it won’t take a lot for him to drop below it so he needs to keep pushing on. Anderson actually sits below him on leg difference so he too needs to keep picking up points. He has been a little less consistent than Cross so far this season but when you look at the statistics there isn’t a whole lot between them. I’m not sure there will be much between them here so I’m happy to leave this one out.
Jose de Sousa vs James Wade
The second match of the night is a repeat of the Grand Slam of Darts final of last season as Jose de Sousa meets James Wade in another huge match in the bid to avoid being relegated at the end of the week.
De Sousa goes into the second week of competition occupying the final relegation spot so his need for victories to add to the one he picked up in his last match against Dimitri Van den Bergh is pretty big. Wade sits one place ahead of the Portuguese player and probably didn’t want the break to come when it did given that he has won his last two matches. He will need to get himself up again for another big push if he is to be here for the second half of the season.
Wade won those two matches but he did so with averages of 95.79 and 90.82. You don’t win many Premier League matches these days with those sorts of averages and it suggests the two men he beat – Michael van Gerwen and Glen Durrant – were nowhere near their best, and that is how it was. De Sousa has a tournament average of 100.49 and has averaged more than 100 in his last three matches. The fear is that missed doubles will cost de Sousa but the scoring statistics suggest he’ll get plenty of those chances to hit doubles and at strong odds against I’ll put my faith in him hitting enough to win here, like he did when these two met in that Grand Slam final.
Special Offer
OPEN AN ACCOUNT WITH 888SPORT AND BET £10 TO GET £30 IN FREE BETS PLUS A £10 CASINO BONUS! PERFECT OFFER TO USE ON THIS TOURNAMENT! CLICK THE IMAGE BELOW TO JOIN. USE CODE 30F. NEW ACCOUNTS ONLY. 18+ T&Cs apply (See image for significant terms). Gamble Aware.
Jonny Clayton vs Dimitri Van den Bergh
The only match of the night which sees two men in the top four heading into the second week opposing each other comes in the third game as the league leader Jonny Clayton goes up against the World Matchplay champion Dimitri Ven den Bergh.
You wouldn’t have thought both these men were making their debut in the tournament based on the way they played in that first week of the event but the simple fact is that they are in great form and are two of the better players in big events these days. I’m already on Clayton to win the tournament and he’ll go a bit of a way to making the top four should he win this. Nothing stands out in terms of a bet in this match so that can act as my only interest.
Glen Durrant vs Michael van Gerwen
After a truly terrible first week of his title defence, Glen Durrant probably only has four nights left with the title in his hands and the first of them sees him taking on the former champion Michael van Gerwen in what is one of the more one-sided matches in the history of the competition according to the odds.
Durrant was very ordinary in that first week and clearly if he hasn’t found anything extra in his game in the 10 days or so since his last match he is going to be heavily beaten here. That is highlighted by the fact he is 10/1 to win this match. It would be a massive surprise based on what we’ve seen so far if Michael van Gerwen doesn’t come out on top in this match but quotes of 1/6 and odds on to cover a 3.5 line doesn’t really interest me because Durrant is a world class darts player, admittedly one whose form has left him at present, but it will come back again at some point and if it is here he’s entitled to be competitive. I’m not interested in chasing short prices with a slight risk attached to it.
Nathan Aspinall vs Peter Wright
The beaten finalist of last season, Nathan Aspinall, continues his quest to go one better than last year when he goes up against the man he beat in the semi-final last term in the form of the former world champion Peter Wright.
Aspinall goes into the week in second place in the table with just the one defeat which came to Van den Bergh on night two when he looked in control before an insane four leg burst from the Belgian. Aspinall has negated 11 180s from de Sousa to pick up a point and took the best of van Gerwen for large periods for another point. Wright currently sits outside the top four albeit on leg difference, but he has either been very good in this competition, or pretty ordinary, which is a concern for his fans.
With Aspinall having the throw here I will take him to either win or draw this match. He has drawn with van Gerwen already this season and picked up a point in that amazing match with de Sousa and Wright will do well to better their efforts. Aspinall could easily be unbeaten so far this season and while Wright has only lost once, he just hasn’t looked as convincing. I’ll go with Aspinall to avoid defeat here.
Tips
WON – Back J.de Sousa to beat J.Wade for a 3/10 stake at 2.30 with Betfair
Back him here:
WON – Back N.Aspinall-Draw Double Chance for a 3/10 stake at 2.10 with William Hill
Back him here:
Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2021
