Night seven of the Premier League Darts competition forms the schedule for Tuesday evening inside the Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes for a session where the first player to be eliminated could be finalised as five more matches take place.
The first night back from the week off saw some incredible darts thrown on Monday and with the stakes beginning to increase we should expect nothing less over the course of Tuesday and indeed the remainder of the week.
Glen Durrant vs Jose de Sousa
The opening match of the night has a very simple equation for the defending champion Glen Durrant. Win or be eliminated. He takes on a Jose de Sousa who looks to be rounding into the sort of form which could easily see him becoming a title contender.
There were flashes in his loss to Michael van Gerwen on Monday that suggested Durrant isn’t far away from getting his form back. If he can get some nice draws in the Super Series next week and build his confidence up he’ll soon he back on top form but that won’t come soon enough to save him this week. De Sousa is very much in the mix. This insane 180 hitter could be tough to beat from here on in. I fully expect him to win this match but whether I want to take short prices on the win or a sizeable handicap when his counting remains an issue I’m less sure of. I’ll sit this one out.
Rob Cross vs Dimitri Van den Bergh
The second match of the evening sees one of the joint leaders in action as Dimitri Van den Bergh takes on a Rob Cross whose defeat on Monday has left him looking over his shoulder in the big to avoid elimination on Thursday evening.
Cross has offered up better form than many expected him to so far this season but he is only above the drop by one leg on leg difference so he is probably going to need to win at least one if not two of his last three to stay involved next month. Van den Bergh has none of them issues. The World Matchplay champion can have his sights on the semi-finals but needs to keep winning to get there. He was excellent against Jonny Clayton on Monday night and a repeat of that is likely to be enough to seal victory here but Cross averaged more than 100 in defeat to Anderson on Monday so there might not be enough in this to justify an odds on wager.
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Nathan Aspinall vs Jonny Clayton
The match of the night in terms of form so far this season comes in the middle game of the evening as Nathan Aspinall, another of the joint leaders, takes on the player who has thrown the best darts in 2021 in Jonny Clayton.
I’m looking forward to an excellent contest in this match with Aspinall continuing to show his class but with Clayton highlighting just why he is in this competition and why he’ll be among the elite in the world for the next few years. I expect this to be a close battle as well which makes me think the match itself isn’t the way to bet on the match but rather the 180s where the line is only 7.5. Clayton has hit plenty of 180s recently including six in his defeat to Dimitri Van den Bergh on Monday. Aspinall isn’t lagging too far behind in the 180 hitting so I like the over on this line in what should be a great match.
Peter Wright vs James Wade
The penultimate match of the evening sees Peter Wright looking to make up for his defeat to Nathan Aspinall on Monday night when he takes on the second player in the relegation zone heading into the session in James Wade.
Wade was a late entrant into the competition this season but if he wants to go the full season and take advantage of his chance he will need to win two of his last three matches you would think. Wright is only a point above Wade so losing this match is not an option for the former world champion if he wants to avoid the pressure of trying to survive over the next two evenings. I think Wright’s form has been better than his results this season whereas Wade has missed more doubles than we’d expect and his overall play hasn’t been quite as crisp. His back is against the wall here though so I wouldn’t be in the least bit surprised if he delivers his best performance which is enough to upset Wright. I’ll watch this one rather than bet on it.
Michael van Gerwen vs Gary Anderson
The final match of the night is the latest staging of probably the biggest rivalry in the sport at the minute as Michael van Gerwen takes on Gary Anderson in a clash which invokes memories of some of the classic matches they have competed in.
Van Gerwen is up with the leaders this season but this table is so congested that he’ll only need to drop off for a couple of nights and he could drop right down the field. This is a big match for Anderson, who does tend to deliver his best darts against van Gerwen, as he sits just inside the top four, and will need to keep winning if he is going to retain that place moving forward. Both these men can attempt to deliver their best darts with no immediate threat of elimination. This is another contest I’m happy to sit and enjoy rather than load up a bet on.
Tips
Back N.Aspinall vs J.Clayton – Over 7.5 180s for a 3/10 stake at 2.38 with Betfred
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