Wayne Mardle previews Premier League Darts in Birmingham on Thursday
Thursday 3 May 2018 21:21, UK
Premier League Darts returns on Thursday night, live on Sky Sports Action & Sky Sports Main Event, featuring the clash between World Champion Rob Cross and world No 1 Michael van Gerwen. Wayne Mardle looks into his crystal ball...
Peter Wright takes on Simon Whitlock, Gary Anderson plays Raymond van Barneveld and Michael Smith plays Daryl Gurney in the other ties in Birmingham.
Live Premier League Darts
Wayne runs the rule over five titanic tungsten contests, live on Sky Sports Action & Sky Sports Main Event from 7pm.
Peter Wright v Simon Whitlock
I'm stumped, not because I'm clueless, let's put that out there 'I'm not clueless'. Wright is the odds-on shot in this match and he was beaten 7-1 last week by a rampant Michael Smith while Whitlock did a job on Gary Anderson. Now, who would have thought those two results would have happened? It's just so hard to fathom out and work out with these players half the time. Wright is the better player, but he's just got to go and prove it.
Peter Wright used to be Mr Consistent, now he's not, and he's hard to read. I think Peter's got more chance of playing to a higher level than Simon more often than not so I'm going to go with the bookmakers and go with Wright to win 7-4 but that's with no confidence whatsoever.
Daryl Gurney v Michael Smith
Daryl can make it to the Play-Offs but he needs a little bit of help. I think Gurney is actually playing better than Smith on a day-to-day basis. I'm not saying that he's getting better results because Smith's timing during some of his matches has been fantastic. Smith inflicted a whitewash on Barney and he's had a 7-1 double over Peter Wright, which is just amazing when you think about it.
This is a real tight game to call but I watched Gurney practice in an exhibition and he missed two nine-darters on the double. That showed that he has the rhythm and he's got the game. He is more consistent than Michael Smith and will come through this 7-5 for a big win.
Rob Cross v Michael van Gerwen
This could be anything. I would love to see them produce somewhere near the quality of that World Championship semi-final and what I mean is maybe one of them missing three darts at a double to let the other one in for a point or even for a win. It's a big game and is a game which could decide the top of the table come the end of the league phase.
I don't ever predict Michael van Gerwen to lose, but of course I'm wrong sometimes. He didn't play brilliantly last week, but he did a job. Cross is that little bit more inconsistent lately but he will be up for this and will try and put Van Gerwen in his place again. Michael beat Rob the first time around and I see him beating him again, just. I see him winning this 7-4.
Gary Anderson v Raymond van Barneveld
Last week Anderson didn't look the same player that played in Rotterdam when he lost to Simon Whitlock. He's a feel and touch player. He's not one of those with the arm, he throws with the hands and fingers. When Anderson's hand tightens, he struggles. Last week he didn't release the dart right, he wasn't counting properly like he does. He just seemed unfocused. Why? I have no idea, but I'm assuming he'll play better against Raymond and I think he'll have to.
Raymond played decent last week without being brilliant. This is a tough one because I've predicted a draw for Barney the last three weeks and I've got one right. I can't separate these two, so maybe odds-wise, the 6-6 draw I like because I don't trust either of them.
Wayne Mardle was speaking to Sky Sports' Raz Mirza. The 2018 Premier League is back for more action on Thursday as we head to Birmingham for Week 14. Coverage gets underway from 7pm on Sky Sports Action & Sky Sports Main Event. The tungsten action will then continue in Aberdeen through to the season's conclusion with the Play-Offs on May 17 at The O2 in London.
Keep up to date with the latest darts news, previews, reports, reaction and expert analysis. Get all the latest at www.skysports.com/darts and join in the conversation @SkySportsDarts- don't forget to use #LoveTheDarts
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