Van Gerwen value to edge 180 count over Michael Smith

Premier League Night 12
Sky Sports Action, 7pm Thursday

Peter Wright v Michael Smith
Head-to-head: Wright leads 12-7
Peter Wright's Premier League race, barring the most biblical of miracles, is all but run and certainly will be if he fails to beat Michael Smith in game one at the Manchester Arena.

Smith has played Snakebite twice this year and won both skirmishes – including a 7-1 mauling in this competition – and Bully Boy can complete the hat-trick.

The St Helens chucker will have the crowd in his corner and fresh from his 7-1 battering of Simon Whitlock, he’s got to be feeling good about his game.

Wright has had the most frustrating of Premier Leagues – he’s won just three times, two of which have come against Michael van Gerwen. Beaten in his first match at the Austrian Open on Saturday – Smith went on to make the quarters – Snakebite is simply too inconsistent at the moment.

Recommendation
M Smith draw no bet
1pt 6-5 general

Daryl Gurney v Michael van Gerwen
H2H: Van Gerwen leads 13-2
Michael van Gerwen has won his last seven games against Superchin, including a 7-2 drubbing in Week Four, and even allowing for his Rotterdam misfire he is very hard to oppose.

The pressure of trying to delight his army of Dutch followers might have contributed to his double defeat last week – though losing averages of 106.87 and 103.73 suggest there wasn’t too much wrong with his game.

Van Gerwen, who celebrated his 29^th birthday on Wednesday, has the measure of Gurney, though the Northern Ireland ace is playing with far more consistency now than when they first met in February.

Gurney’s power scoring should ensure he holds his throw a few times so a Van Gerwen win rather than a massacre is suggested.

Recommendation
M van Gerwen to win 7-4 or 7-5
1pt 9-4 Betfred

Simon Whitlock v Gary Anderson
H2H: Anderson leads 22-16
Simon Whitlock has lost four in a row – three of those by 7-1 scorelines – and looks a beaten man.

Gary Anderson won three out of three in Rotterdam – two of those with averages over 109 while he also wired a nine-darter – and looks all over the winner.

Anderson has also hit 50 maximums in the tournament – 16 more than the Aussie – so the 11-10 about Anderson to win and score more 180s seems value.

Recommendation
G Anderson to win and score most 180s
1pt 11-10 Sky Bet

Raymond van Barneveld v Rob Cross
H2H: Cross leads 4-0
Rob Cross has won all four of his professional tussles with Barney and it’s no surprise he’s a warm order to make that five tonight.

Voltage seems to have plateaued at a level – high 90s, low ton average; three or four 180s (he’s hit either three or four in ten of his last 11 matches) – whereas the Dutch five-time world champion can be anything.

Few, for example, saw last Thursday’s success over Michael van Gerwen coming and that makes him ever so dangerous to write off – and ever so tempting at decent odds.

Recommendation
R van Barneveld
1pt 11-4 Betfair, BoyleSports

Michael Smith v Michael van Gerwen
H2H: Van Gerwen leads 20-5
Two previous showdowns in the Premier League have yielded 7-1 and 7-2 romps for Van Gerwen, who’s hard to dislike given he’s won nine of their previous ten contests.

It’s a second game of the night for both and Bully Boy could, quite conceivably, have booked his semi-final berth even before taking to the stage.

Mighty Mike can still be fancied and it's a tempting even-money shot that he hits more. He’s already popped in 15 more than the Englishman over the course of the campaign.

Recommendation
M van Gerwen most 180s
1pt Evens BoyleSports, Sky Bet

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