Unstoppable MVG To Make Mince Meat Of Ando

Premier League Darts arrives at the Echo Arena in Liverpool this Thursday in what promises to be another night of cracking tungsten throwing…

James Wade v Dave Chisnall
James Wade looked in very good nick last Thursday as he produced some fine darts to beat Kim Huybrechts 7-2. For The Machine to average 104.09 suggests that he has played particularly well, especially when considering he only hit a single 180.

Dave Chisnall also impressed last week, but in a different way. Typically Chisnall needs to be firing on all cylinders, which he is more than capable of, to get the job done against the top players. But the fact that he beat Barney with a relatively low 91.53 average, coming back from 5-4 down, showed great character.

Wade is a deserved favourite here at odds of 6/5, but this is the sort of match that could swing either way and it’s worth taking a chance on the draw at odds of 7/2.

Peter Wright v Raymond van Barneveld
Both winless and pointless from their opening two games, the Premier League has to start here for each of these players. Unfortunately, it can only happen for one.

Barney will be concerned that he didn’t come out of last week’s game with at least a point after leading Chizzy 5-4 with a break of throw, while Peter Wright needs to reason with the fact that he has only managed to win two legs of darts in two matches. I’ll side with the more experienced Barney here at generous odds of 13/10.

Phil Taylor v Stephen Bunting
I got Phil Taylor’s match against Adrian Lewis last week completely wrong. Although Jackpot was some way off his best, The Power was impenetrable as he averaged 108.33 – with just a single 180 – and won 7-2.

Stephen Bunting also played well in his match against MVG, but a slow start cost him dearly against the game’s in-form player. It’s a sign of the times that a player can average 103.43 but lose quite comprehensively, as The Bullet did.

He’ll need to start much quicker this week and if he does then he could push Taylor. I’ll take a small stakes punt on the draw at odds of 4/1.

Michael van Gerwen v Gary Anderson
I’m running out of superlatives for Michael van Gerwen at the moment, while his opponents have long since run out of answers to the Dutchman’s relentless brilliance at the oche.

Another title at the German Darts Championship on Sunday means it is now 30 wins from 31 matches since the World Championship for Mighty Mike.

In that German final he beat Gary Anderson 6-2 with an astonishing 117.94 three-dart average, with the world champion hitting 66% of his doubles and five 180s but barely getting a look in.

It’s rare that odds of 11/10 to oppose a recently crowned world champion would represent such huge value, but backing MVG here is an absolute must.

Adrian Lewis v Kim Huybrechts
I mentioned in week one that I feared for Kim Huybrechts and what effect the inclusion in this year’s Premier League might have on his career. Two conclusive defeats later and I’ve seen little to change my opinion.

And of course, with the relentless nature of the Premier League, there is no respite around the corner. Adrian Lewis was disappointing last week against Taylor, but bounced back, to a degree, with a run to the semi-finals of the German Darts Championship at the weekend.

Jackpot has spoken this year of needing to focus more during the early stages of the Premier League and I don’t expect that he’ll have two slip ups in as many weeks. You won’t get rich doing so, but backing Lewis here at odds of 4/7 is an obvious play.