The Premier League Darts competition heads to Nottingham on Thursday evening for the seventh weekly night of the tournament and one which might well separate the table much more than it currently is.
Luke Humphries heads to Nottingham having won in Brighton last week and he’ll be looking to double the amount of nightly wins on his record and look to cement his spot in the top four. Seven other players will want the nightly win themselves though.
Peter Wright vs Gerwyn Price
The opening quarter final in Nottingham sees the man still looking for a first point in Peter Wright taking on Gerwyn Price, who hasn’t exactly pulled up any trees since he made the final in the first week of the campaign.
Wright hasn’t won a point in this competition yet but he has been improving the longer it has gone on and missed match darts to win two of his last three matches in it. Price started the season off like a house on fire but since he pulled out of that Players Championship event in a strop he has gone a bit too quiet for my liking. I never really like him in this tournament anyway because the crowds don’t give him much of a chance, although they haven’t been as bad so far this season. Even so, I can’t be having Price with the crowds in play and I actually think the 2/1 on Wright to finally get a win here is worth backing. Price has lost his last three in the Premier League and only won three legs in the last two weeks. He looks vulnerable against a Wright who will click into gear and win eventually.
Luke Humphries vs Michael Smith
The second quarter final is a repeat of the final from last week as the world champion Luke Humphries faces the man he took that title from back in January in the form of Michael Smith. Both men have a weekly win under their belt but one will leave Nottingham empty handed.
It is hard to go against Humphries right now. He is looking exceptionally good at the minute and if he continues that form he is going to be a danger for all of them. Smith always fancies the job though and although he got blew away in Brighton last week he will certainly be coming back for more here. I can’t go against Humphries but I’m never an odds on shot backer in this tournament so the bet I do like in this one comes in the form of the 180s. There were 10 in nine legs in that final last week and generally the trend we see is one player weakening over the course of the night when we get to the final so that was a decent effort. The line for this one is 6.5 and that just looks too low to me. Smith might not be at full tilt at the minute but he hit five 180s in all three matches last week. If he hits that again here Humphries should complete the job for the over.
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Michael van Gerwen vs Luke Littler
The third of the quarter finals could well be the pick of the matches as Michael van Gerwen goes up against a Luke Littler, who has won a European Tour event at the first time of asking since he was last in action in the Premier League.
That is decent form but there was plenty of fallout from his run in that tournament, not least a clash with the bad loser Ricardo Pietreczko in the semi-final when Littler showboated a little. It will be interesting to see if that has had any impact on his psyche going into the Nottingham night. Van Gerwen will hope it has and will look to take advantage should it have done so but he doesn’t look remotely fit at the minute so this is one to leave alone unless we get an update on the MVG fitness leading into the match during the TV coverage.
Rob Cross vs Nathan Aspinall
The last of the quarter finals sees two men who are probably evenly matched battling it out for the final spot in the last four on the evening when Rob Cross goes up against a Nathan Aspinall who was the finalist a couple of weeks ago.
That offers up some hope for Aspinall here but there is no doubt that Cross is having the better campaign of the two. He has only lost in one of his six quarter finals and sits in the top four heading into the night so he’ll be keen to win here and take whatever comes after that. Aspinall has either made the final this season or he has bombed out in the opening round. He’ll be desperately hoping that it is the former for him here but I have to say Cross looks more convincing to me right now. I think he’ll win but the prices look about right to me.
Tips
Back P.Wright to beat G.Price for a 3/10 stake at 3.00 with Boylesports
Back him here:
Back L.Humphries vs M.Smith – Over 6.5 180s for a 3/10 stake at 2.00 with Spreadex
