John Part reveals his Premier League picks for Night 13
Thursday 27 April 2017 22:45, UK
With Wayne Mardle taking a week off we've turned to Darth Maple, John Part for his verdict on the Premier League as the race for the play-off places reaches its final stages and MVG chases top spot...again.
The world number one doubles up in Birmingham and two wins will leave it nigh on impossible for him to be caught over the final two weeks in Aberdeen and Sheffield.
Van Gerwen faces a resurgent Dave Chisnall in the second match of the night before returning to face Adrian Lewis who has two matches of his own to get his play-off bid on track.
It's Heavyweight Week on Sky Sports and the Premier League has a couple of mighty encounters with 16-time champion of the world Phil Taylor up against the most recent winner of a major, Peter Wright, and with seven world titles between them, Gary Anderson faces Raymond van Barneveld.
Here's Dart Maple's verdict............
James Wade v Adrian Lewis
Both players were poor last week but Adrian clearly has plenty more to play for and it's also his game in hand week as he looks to put himself in a really good position to make the play-offs.
His second game tonight is against MVG so it's even more imperative he takes maximum points from this one.
Hopefully, Belfast was just a blip for Adie because everything was looking so good for him before then. To use a word Wayne Mardle often uses to describe him, he was looking majestic in terms of his throwing and he'll be looking to get back to that kind of form in Birmingham.
You can never be too confident backing Adie because occasionally, like last week, he doesn't turn up even if the signs and form have been good - but I've still got to go with him against Wade.
James has still only managed 19 180s this season compared to Adie's 41 so we can be confident that part of the treble will come in.
Part's verdict - Lewis to win and I'm also going to throw in the most 180s and highest checkout to up the price to 5/2 even though James is traditionally pretty solid on the 100-120 range.
Dave Chisnall v Michael van Gerwen
Who would have thought Chizzy would have won both games of a double-header week for the second time this season? By doing so he's put himself right in the mix and opened up the race for the play-offs.
MVG is looking a little bit flat by his standards and heads to Birmingham off the back of that heavy defeat to Ian White at the German Darts Open.
He has that double-match distraction this week, with a game against Adrian Lewis to come, and it could be a tough night for him. He could, of course, make things look easy with two wins that send him well clear of the pack but both his opponents have looked dangerous overall in recent weeks.
And if Adrian wins well in the first match that could also be another little distraction for MVG.
Chizzy was superb against Lewis and Taylor last week and could well fly out of the traps with more heavy scoring and plenty more 180s.
I just think all the above little things together presents a window of opportunity for something that doesn't happen often - an MVG defeat.
Part's verdict - He's 13/2 to cause a shock but I'm going to be even bolder and throw in the most 180s for Chizzy, who's always good for those, to make the price 12/1.
Phil Taylor v Peter Wright
Regardless of who wins I don't believe this will be a classic and I like the Match Action market where you can get 7/2 on their being under 6.5 180s, a checkout of under 122.5 and less than 11.5 total legs.
It's the legs line which particularly grabbed my attention as this just needs the match not to go the distance.
Obviously the way Taylor beat Anderson last week with seven straight legs was unforgettable but we can't forget how poor he started the match to fall 4-0 down. You can't expect to reel in top opposition like that all the time. And he didn't look like doing the same during his 7-3 defeat against Chizzy.
If Wright manages this game well then Taylor won't be able to afford another slow start.
The checkout mark is testing enough so the thing that worries me mainly is the maximums, but Taylor's liking to switch means he probably won't contribute many. Put it this way, going over on all those three marks seems a very ugly option.
Part's verdict - I've not really got a gut instinct on this one and I think it's tough to call in terms of picking a winner. There's pros and cons for both players but my crystal ball is a little cloudy.
Gary Anderson v Raymond van Barneveld
This one should be a real treat and I'm going on the Match Action market at 4/1 that there will be over 7.5 180s, a checkout of over 122.5 and more than 10.5 legs.
These are two of the best high out guys going and extremely prolific with 180s and it doesn't even have to go the full distance either.
The argument against this bet is their performances last week. Gary was rope-a-doped by Taylor after making a good start but I wouldn't put too much on that as it was a pretty unusual circumstance.
Barney didn't turn up on his birthday but he was playing MVG on the back of a lot of travelling so don't read too much into that either.
More importantly, the winner of this will be in a very nice position and they'll both be well up for producing their best.
Of the two I'd say Anderson is under more pressure because finishing in the top four was widely expected of him whereas Barney is almost playing with house money. Nobody would consider it a failure if he didn't make it.
This bet ideally needs Anderson playing well to spur on Barney and this will also suit our Match Action option.
Part's verdict - I like the 9/1 for Barney in the Player Performance market which requires him to win, score over 3.5 180s and have a checkout over 99.5.
For how he's been playing this season (50 180s and 10 checkouts over 100), the latter two parts are modest targets so the hardest part is the win.
He had lost the last 11 matches against Anderson until he overcame that monkey on his back to beat him in Rotterdam, where he had a 156 checkout and hit five 180s.
Adrian Lewis v Michael van Gerwen
I picked Adrian to do the match treble earlier in the night at a relatively modest 5/2 but for him to do the same (win, most 180s, highest checkout) against MVG is massive 28/1!
The 11/2 for him to win is interesting enough because I don't think he should be such a big outsider given his potential of producing such high-quality darts and his current overall form.
Obviously what you have against him is the world number one's ruthless consistency and if your player isn't on their game then you've lost the bet before it even starts.
But if they are then you have a chance and for the reasons mentioned earlier I think Adrian could have one of his best weeks. And the 180s and the high checkouts come naturally when he delivers his best.
Part's verdict - I'm not saying I expect MVG to lose twice in one night but for both matches I wouldn't want to lump on at those prices against dangerous opponents and I feel he could slip up in either.
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