The Premier League Darts competition heads back to England on Thursday night when the eight men head to Birmingham for what is Night 10 of the season and one which could see the top four start to pull away from the rest of the league.
We are at that stage in the season where we are getting a lot of repeat fixtures but each game is starting to take on extra significance in the overall table let alone to the eight men who still have another £10,000 to play for if they win the evening.
Michael van Gerwen vs Chris Dobey
The opening quarter final of the night sees the table topper Michael van Gerwen looking to extend his lead at the summit when he takes on a Chris Dobey who is battling hard to cling onto the coattails of the top four.
These two have met three times in the Premier League this season and surprisingly it is Dobey who has come out on top in two of those encounters. The last time they met Dobey didn’t just win, he whitewashed MVG, the first time that has happened to the Dutch star. You would imagine that will be all the motivation that van Gerwen needs to be at his best in this match. He has been doing a fair bit of travelling though and it might be that the fact he didn’t qualify for the European Tour event at the weekend and will be fresher as a result is a positive. That remains to be seen and while I’m tempted by the upset here, I fear Dobey poked the bear in their last meeting and I fear the MVG backlash.
Nathan Aspinall vs Jonny Clayton
The second quarter final might well be the most important one of the night as the two men either side of the top four line meet in what should be a real good one when Nathan Aspinall takes on the winner from Berlin last week in Jonny Clayton.
Clayton kept his overall semi-final hopes alive with that win last week and if he can follow it up with just a quarter final win here then he will be in a good position to launch an assault on the top four over the remainder of the competition. This will be their second Premier League meeting this season with Clayton winning the first one. Both men had acceptable European Tour runs last weekend without it being anything exceptional so we are all set up for a good game here. Aspinall has won his last two quarter finals in the Premier League while Clayton ran the big three gauntlet of MVG, Smith and Price last week and came out successfully. I expect a close match here but it is one where I would just give the edge to Clayton who looked to find something last week and has won their last three meetings.
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Dimitri Van den Bergh vs Gerwyn Price
The penultimate quarter final sees two men at different ends of the table battling it out when second from bottom Dimitri Van den Bergh goes up against very much the man of the moment Gerwyn Price, who has made his way up to second in the overall standings.
Price is on fire at the minute, throwing in 100+ averages for fun and winning nights in the Premier League and dominating the European Tour and if he maintains that here then the Belgian is going to have his work cut out to contain him. Van den Bergh has lost five of his last six matches and his last three in the Premier League so all known form and logic says this will be a win for Price and potentially one which sees him lead early and pull clear. This is their third meeting in the Premier League this term and Price has won the first two 6-4. I think Price wins this and might well do it a shade easier than that but that is fully reflected in the prices.
Peter Wright vs Michael Smith
The last quarter final of the evening sees the last two winners of the World Championship on the stage when the 2022 champion of the world Peter Wright takes on the current holder of that title in Michael Smith.
We are heading towards the stage where the last chance saloon is calling for Peter Wright, if it hasn’t already shut its doors to him. He has to start winning and he has to do it pretty soon. Wright showed some signs of life on the European Tour last weekend but still didn’t go particularly deep in the event but at some stage the competitive pressure will come off of him in this tournament and he’ll flow. Smith will hope it isn’t against him as he is very much still in this event and looking good for a spot in the top four. Smith won their previous meeting this season but he only won it in a deciding leg which would put me off backing a handicap so the safest thing to do is leave this one well alone.
Tips
Back J.Clayton to beat N.Aspinall for a 3/10 stake at 1.80 with BetVictor
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