Premier League Darts: Sky Bet preview week six in Nottingham

Nottingham is the setting as the Premier League Darts campaign runs into its sixth week, live on Sky Sports 1 HD on Thursday.

Sky Bet are once again on hand to serve out some betting advice, with Michael van Gerwen aga Phil Taylor being the headline clash.

Here’s a betting breakdown of each of Thursday’s five fixtures...

Live Premier League Darts

Stephen Bunting (15/8) v Dave Chisnall (1/1)

Bunting played his best darts of the tournament last week to beat Adrian Lewis 7-3. This may have given him the confidence boost he needs to get his season going before it’s too late. That being said, he takes on the undefeated table topper who is in red hot form. Chisnall comfortably dispatched world champion Gary Anderson last week in a 7-2 victory and looks hard to bet against at evens for the match. This is sure to be a high paced match and both are capable of piling up the 180s when they get their games going. It’s the opening match in Nottingham and could get the night off to a flyer. Bunting currently holds a 4-1 record over Chisnall, edging their last match 6-5 in October. The draw is best priced 4/1 at Sky Bet.

Raymond van Barneveld (2/1) v James Wade (5/6)

Match two provides a battle of two mid-table players, with the pair both believing they belong higher. Wade goes into the match one point above Barney, with the reigning champion winning just one of five games. Their head-to-head record proves it’s hard to split them, with Barney holding 19 wins to Wade’s 16 and three draws. I find this incredibly hard to call with both players knowing this is a cannot lose match and the draw looks likely here with Sky Bet again top price at 4/1.

Phil Taylor (13/8) v Michael van Gerwen (11/10) 

Undoubtedly the clash of the night, match three pits the two favourites together. Van Gerwen has asserted himself as the man to beat this year, having started 2015 in prolific form. He is still undefeated in the Premier League this year and added the UK Open to his rapidly-growing list of titles at the weekend. Taylor has been far less consistent than his opponent and has struggled to stay at the top of his game, hence his price being 13/8. Such a price looks big for Taylor regardless of his opponent. This is another match where they could battle to a draw, which is shorter than the aforementioned ties at 7/2. Both are phenomenal scorers and with the short format it could be a case of which player can break first.

Gary Anderson (11/10) v Adrian Lewis (7/4) 

Anderson goes off 11/10 favourite here and it is hard to argue with these prices after watching Lewis’ lacklustre display last week against Bunting. Anderson is certainly the more consistent of the two and will be hard to beat. On his day though, Lewis can beat anyone. If he starts well he can take the darts from Anderson, knowing a single break is all he needs to win in this format. He is always confident in his own abilities, as a former double world champion he has every right to be. This is another match where the 180s may fly in. Both players are well capable of hitting large amounts of maximums if they get their fluidity going and a high-scoring affair may help both players play well. I expect to see more 180s in this match than any other on the night, with fewer than seven 11/10.

Kim Huybrechts (13/8) v Peter Wright (6/5) 

The final match sees the bottom two face off with a chance to climb the table up for grabs. Wright has been very poor this season and remains winless. He surprised many last week by picking up a draw against Van Gerwen and followed that up with a solid UK Open, where he made it to the final. Huybrechts, despite being on the same points total as Wright, has played a lot better than the Scot. Last week he beat Van Barneveld, with an impressive 170 finish in the final clinching a 7-5 win. Wright is the 6/5 favourite, which can be attributed to his superior Premier League experience, as well as him hitting a purple patch over the past couple of weeks.