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Big two: King and Taylor

One thing that is giving me a little bit of ammunition is people are writing me off and saying I can't play darts any more.That's a load of rubbish but it's just a matter of how long it takes me to start playing my best darts again.

James Wade
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Phil Taylor insists revenge will not be on his mind as he clashes with Mervyn King in the Premier League in Manchester on Thursday, where James Wade will hope to finally get a first win of the season.

The top two players in the table will clash for the first time this season with leader Taylor facing second-placed King with both men in good form.

'The Power' has a 100 percent record with four wins out of four, while King has three wins and just one defeat this season, and Taylor knows it will be a tough battle.

"It will be a good clash," said Taylor. "It's one of the games I can get my teeth into. I like his attitude and his professionalism.

"Last week he got up at 5am after Exeter and drove four hours to get on a plane and fly to Germany and compete again.

"That shows what type of player he is; you know he's always going to turn up and play well, and it will be a challenge for me."

Revenge

Taylor was bidding to claim a fifth successive Premier League title when King stunned him with a 10-6 victory in last year's semi-finals, but the world number one will not be chasing revenge on Thursday.

"We've played each other many times since and it doesn't come into it at all now," he insisted. "It was a very bad day at the office for me at Wembley, and a very good day at the office for him."

King is delighted with his start so far, and is desperate just to get into the play-offs and hopefully go one better than last year's runners-up spot on his tournament debut.

"There's no whipping boys and no easy games - it's the best eight players and you have to fight for your life for every point," he said.

"As long as I'm in the top four after 14 weeks then that's all that matters and you don't want to drop out of that. So the longer I can stay there the better, and it makes my job a little bit easier because you're not chasing."

Wade desperate

Reigning champion James Wade will open the show at the M.E.N. Arena when he takes on Lancashire-born Ronnie Baxter desperate to end his nightmare start to the campaign.

Wade lost his opening three games in a poor start to the season, but drew with Adrian Lewis last week and could move off the foot of the table with a win over Baxter, which he believes may silence his critics.

"One thing that is giving me a little bit of ammunition is people are writing me off and saying I can't play darts any more," said Wade. "That's a load of rubbish but it's just a matter of how long it takes me to start playing my best darts again.

"I know it's there because of how I've been playing in patches. I know if I turn up I will beat anyone, and I've proven I can beat anyone, and I can do it regularly."

Five-time World Champion Raymond van Barneveld is seeking his first victory since the opening week when he faces Terry Jenkins, having lost to Adrian Lewis, Simon Whitlock and Phil Taylor since.

The night's final game will see Adrian Lewis, who fought back to grab a draw with Wade last Thursday before winning a Players Championship in Germany on Sunday, take on Ladbrokes.com World Darts Championship runner-up Simon Whitlock.