The latest round of action from the Premier League darts event comes from Bournemouth on Thursday night as the eight men who remain in the competition continue to battle it out for spaces at the o2.
As ever at this time of the season there are five matches on the card with two players playing twice and come the end of the evening we should get more of a feel for who will be heading to the playoffs.
Michael van Gerwen vs Peter Wright
The evening opens with probably the pick of the night as these two rivals get it on once more. I say rivals because they wind each other up but in terms of a rivalry it isn’t one as such because van Gerwen is so dominant in this head to head it is untrue.
It would be a major surprise if van Gerwen doesn’t win this especially given he needs wins badly if he is to chase Phil Taylor down at the top of the table. With the £25k bonus for topping the table acting as an incentive we can expect MVG to be bang on it here on a night he plays twice.
Peter Wright also needs the points because he is chasing a playoff spot but that chase is beginning to fade so he is under a bit more pressure here than he would like which isn’t good and it might be the reason why he’s started changing darts again.
I’m expecting van Gerwen to win this but you have to respect Wright’s scoring power which negates any value in a handicap so this is a match to watch rather than punt on unless using MVG as acca material.
Raymond Barneveld vs Adrian Lewis
This is also a big night for Adrian Lewis too as he plays twice on the night and with his second match being against van Gerwen he has to be honest about his fortunes and appreciate this is a must for two points as he is up against it later in the night.
Barneveld has been average in this tournament so far, surprisingly so it has to be said, and as such he needs snookers here already which isn’t good. With that lack of motivation you do wonder what state Barneveld’s head will be in.
Lewis is going along nicely at the minute. He is unbeaten in four matches and his win over Wade last week catapulted him up to third in the table. Contrast that with Barneveld who had failed to win any of his previous four before beating Thornton in his second match last week and the form of these two is chalk and cheese.
Motivation and current form both sit on the side of Jackpot and it is he who is going to carry my money throughout the course of this match.
Gary Anderson vs James Wade
The two men in fourth and fifth meet in a big match here. It is probably a bigger match for Wade than Anderson as Wade has played a match more than the Scot and is behind him on points but if Anderson has hopes of topping the table this is simply must win.
Neither man is in the best of form at the minute. Anderson is without a win in three matches although it must be said his latter two games were against Taylor and MVG for whom he took a draw from, while Wade has only one win in his last four which came against a fading Barneveld.
Their league positions suggest this one should be tight and when they met first time around it was just that was Wade secured a 6-6 draw and I wouldn’t be too surprised were he to get something here. You’ve got to fancy Anderson but there is enough in Wade to make me swerve the game.
Phil Taylor vs Robert Thornton
Taylor heads into the evening with a four point lead at the top of the table and a couple more wins and he will remain there heading into the o2 but he has played more matches than the chasing pack so he’ll know he can’t afford to lose ground to the field when he takes on Thornton in Bournemouth.
Thornton has been relaxed and playing with a bit of freedom for a while and we’ve seen an upturn in his form and fortunes since that has been the case although he would have been disappointed to lose to Barneveld in his second match last week.
Taylor is currently in the middle of a run of four wins on the bounce and you have to think that he’ll prove too good for Thornton in this one but once again I’m going to fear the freedom that Thornton is playing with and respect his scoring power enough not to take a bet here.
Adrian Lewis vs Michael van Gerwen
In many ways it is a shame this is the final match of the night as it is always a good game when these two meet but given both will have played and mindsets and things fluctuate throughout the night we might not get the classic we might have done otherwise.
I’ve said for the last couple of weeks how betting on these games where players play twice in the night is difficult and I believe that remains the case. If there is anything in it both men who played their opening match on the night second have won so far.
That might just be coincidence though so I won’t bet here although if he’s performed well earlier in the night the odd sheckle or two on a Lewis who should be full of confidence after his nine darter last week might just pay off. On a tricky night of betting though I’ll stick with just the one bet from earlier.
Tips
Back A.Lewis to beat R.Barneveld for a 4/10 stake at 1.91 with Coral
Back him here:
