The Premier League Darts season has reached its fifth week with the action this week coming from Exeter as all 10 players look to pull away from the relegation zone and get challenging at the top end of the table.
Once again we have a competitive looking fixture list with a couple of tasty battles and a couple which could have a big effect on the latter stages of the tournament.
Phil Taylor vs Adrian Lewis
We kick off with a potential cracker as Phil Taylor and Adrian Lewis meet for the 68th time in official competition. Taylor racked up his 50th win over his protégé in their last meeting a couple of weeks ago but to be fair to Lewis not many have beaten Taylor 15 times. In fact only Michael van Gerwen (18) and Raymond Barneveld (16) have beaten Taylor more than Lewis so he’s in good company.
Taylor has either been brilliant or ordinary in this Premier League so far. He has averaged over 111 twice and then been around or below the ton twice but he looks more confident which is important. Adrian Lewis has three wins from four so he’ll be confident here and this looks an even match to me especially as Lewis had won their previous four meetings prior to the last one.
I’m going to let the match run its natural course without betting on the outcome but I will bet on the total 180s where 6.5 could be a little low for a line. We all remember their Grand Slam semi-final a few years ago where the 180s flowed and I think they will here too.
Taylor always looks to score against Lewis. He won’t be switching. He hit 7 on his own last week and I expect a few here from him. Lewis always scores well and he’s good for a few 180s of his own so I expect at least seven maximums in this match and probably a couple more at least.
Dave Chisnall vs James Wade
This is one of those matches where the winner can give themselves some breathing space while the loser will be looking right over their shoulder at the relegation zone. In a way from that point of view this could be a bigger match for James Wade than Dave Chisnall as he’s played the extra match but both will be eager to win.
These two met at The Masters at the beginning of the year where Chisnall had too much scoring power for Wade in their semi-final and I fear that could be the case for Wade here too. Worryingly for Wade missed doubles are starting to come more regularly and I’m sure he’ll be reeling from how he lost last week.
Chisnall also lost last week but he did nothing wrong. He averaged nearly 110 and ran into a Phil Taylor train. If Chisnall is anywhere near that good this week he’ll win this going away so at the prices I’ll take a chance on him in this one.
Robert Thornton vs Gary Anderson
This all-Scottish battle is a big one for the World Grand Prix champion. He got off the mark with a draw last week and a win soon will ease his relegation fears. Anderson also picked up his first win of the season last week but he has no relegation worries. He’s far too good for that.
Although he got a point last week Thornton didn’t play sensationally against Peter Wright but he has something to build on. He will need to build on it though because I sense Anderson is ready to explode in this tournament now.
I think Anderson will win the game but he’s covering a 3.5 leg handicap which isn’t easy throwing second. I think he’ll be more about the win than the margin and Thornton has enough scoring power to protect his throw so I’ll leave this game alone.
Peter Wright vs Michael van Gerwen
The needle match of the night here. Peter Wright loves egging the pot whenever he faces Michael van Gerwen and he’s already come out and said he expects to leave Exeter on top just as he is heading there. Quite why he has decided to rile his Dutch opponent a week after MVG smashed the TV record average last week I’ve no idea but I suspect it could end in tears.
Putting it simply Wright hasn’t scored heavily enough in this tournament and you’re not going to live with MVG in this form without scoring. Wright can take comfort from the fact he has had MVG on the ropes in their last two TV meetings but then he will know he won neither.
I would expect MVG to win the match but their three Premier League meetings have all gone the distance. That’s enough to stop me getting involved in this one.
Michael Smith vs Raymond Barneveld
Amazingly here we are in week five of the tournament and we finally have the first time Michael Smith has thrown first in a match. That will be a comfort to him because he has the chance to come out firing and give this a real go.
Smith will know he’s going no further in this tournament barring a crazy last four results so he can enjoy himself and attack the board and show everyone how good he is. There have been signs he’s warming to the task in delivering better performances in the last two weeks.
All the pressure is on Raymond Barneveld here and that isn’t always a comfortable position for the big Dutchman. Barneveld did beat Smith at the World Championship but Smith has already avenged that defeat at The Masters. A Barney at his best can get something from this match but this late in the night how strong will he be?
I’m not betting on the match outcome but again I do feel a 6.5 180 line is one too low. Smith has four 180s and three in the last two weeks. His three last week came when he felt the full MVG force and so it is credit to him that he had enough about him to hit back with some big scores when he had no chance of winning.
Barneveld has been good for some 180s throughout this tournament and I see no reason why that will change here. We’re looking for three each in this match and then one of the two to nail and extra one. That feels well within reach to me.
Back P.Taylor vs A.Lewis – Over 6.5 180s for a 4/10 stake at 1.91 with Ladbrokes
Back them here:
Back D.Chisnall to beat J.Wade for a 4/10 stake at 2.25 with Paddy Power
Back him here:
Back M.Smith vs R.Barneveld – Over 6.5 180s for a 4/10 stake at 2.10 with Coral
Back them here:
