Premier League: Van Gerwen v Anderson and a 6/1 acca in week three
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The Premier League moves onto Newcastle on Thursday night where Michael van Gerwen’s clash with Gary Anderson tops a titanic bill of tungsten action.
The two former world champions meet in the penultimate game of the evening following Rob Cross’s tussle with Peter Wright.
We’ve got previews for all five matches ahead of another week of scintillating arrows…
Michael Smith couldn’t have wished for a better start to his second season in the Premier League.
‘Bully Boy’ has seen off Anderson and Daryl Gurney in the opening two weeks to sit joint-top of the fledgling table.
The 27-year-old is at the peak of his powers at the moment. He can continue his good form against Mensur Suljovic, who has been unlucky to lose his opening two matches 5-7.
Smith is 7/5 for victory and a tempting 7/2 to be King of the Oche. It’s 9/2 that he inflicts a third consecutive 7-5 defeat on his opponent.
Two of the PDCs breakthrough stars meet in the second game of the evening.
Both players are without victory thus far in the Premier League – but we’re expecting that to change in Newcastle.
Price has beaten Gurney in six of their last seven meetings, including in the Masters tournament last month.
The Welshman can take advantage of his opponent’s sloppy finishing at 12/5. In a match between two power scorers, a Draw in the Most 180s market could yield rewards at 4/1.
Cross has endured a torrid time of things since becoming world champion last month.
‘Voltage’ has opened 2018 with back-to-back Premier League defeats and a succession of poor performances in the floor tournaments.
However, the 27-year-old showed signs of a return to form over the weekend by reaching two semi-finals and a final in the UK Open qualifiers.
A rejuvenated Wright will be a tough test for the former electrician. But we think he can kick-start his campaign in style with a narrow 7-5 victory at 5/1. Cross is 8/5 in the outright market.
MVG will be eager to return to winning ways after a surprise defeat to Wright in Cardiff last week.
The Green Machine was lacking on his doubles and slipped to a 7-5 defeat.
We’re expecting him to be back on-song in Newcastle where he should be able to extend his unbeaten run in the Premier League against Anderson to six matches.
Van Gerwen is 8/15 to collect the points. It’s 13/2 that he prevails 7-4, while a MVG to hit over 3.5 180s is 5/6.
The re-emergence of Simon Whitlock has been one of the surprise stories of the Premier League so far.
The Aussie arrowsmith has won both of his matches and sits at the top of the table going into week three.
Taking on Raymond van Barneveld should prove to be his toughest test yet. The Dutchman chalked up a 100.39 average against Suljovic last week to win 7-5 and maintain his own unbeaten record.
Whitlock beat Barney 6-2 in their last meeting in 2016 and is backed to prevail once more at 12/5.
Meanwhile, this week’s oche acca sees Smith, Price and van Gerwen all to win at 6/1.
All Odds and Markets correct as of date of publication
