Premier League Darts Night 8: Michael van Gerwen to cement Premier League lead?

After a scintillating night of action in Nottingham last week, Premier League Darts heads to Newcastle for Night 8. Gerwyn Price emerged victorious last week, but with Michael van Gerwen pulling ahead in the table who can challenge him?

We preview the quarter-final action below.

Michael van Gerwen v Peter Wright

After winning three Premier League nights on the bounce, Michael van Gerwen suffered a shock defeat in the semi-finals last week, bowing out to Chris Dobey in a stunning 6-0 defeat.

van Gerwen will fancy himself as the 1/3 favourite in this matchup, and given his impressive 22 points in the league table, he will look to extend his lead this weekend. This will actually be a rematch of last week’s opening game which saw MVG better Peter Wright 6-1.

Wright, or Snakebite as he is known to most avid darts fans, has had a poor showing so far this season. The 23/10 underdog has failed to make it past the opening round on most nights and is sitting in last place on just two points in the table.

It’s unfortunate for Snakebite that he is unlikely to scrape any points from this round, but if you are looking for value then van Gerwen -2.5 is priced at EVS, and given his dominance in last week’s clash, it seems a likely outcome.

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Nathan Aspinall v Dimitri Van den Bergh

Nathan Aspinall versus Dimitri Van den Bergh is shaping up to be the fixture of the night. What makes the matchup so interesting is that both players are competing for a top four spot, with Aspinall currently fourth and Van den Bergh closing in, currently ranked fifth.

Aspinall lost last week’s quarter final duel against Van den Bergh, astonishingly marking a 10th straight loss to the Belgium competitor. Aspinall is EVS in this close matchup, despite his poor head-to-head form, and is yet to drop out of the top four – something which would happen if he loses this matchup.

Van den Bergh is also yet to win a Premier League night this season, but given last week’s result and his incredible streak against the Englishman he will probably be full of confidence. What the 4/5 favourite may be less confident about, is the realistic possibility of facing Michael van Gerwen in the semi-finals should he be victorious.

Regardless of who wins, this should be an electric display of skill between two worthy opponents. With so much at stake for both men, we should expect their top form and over 5.5 180s at 5/6 seems a decent punt.

Gerwyn Price v Jonny Clayton

Gerwyn Price was victorious in Nottingham last week and will fancy his chances of successive victories at 7/2 to win Night 8 outright, which would level him on three nights won with Michael van Gerwen.

Price has dipped in and out of form as of late, but is holding firm in the rankings at second place. The Welshman is the 4/7 favourite here which is no surprise given he comfortably beat Jonny Clayton last week which extended his streak to five over his fellow countryman.

Clayton has also experienced some indifferent results, with a good run of form in nights three, four and five before bowing out in the opening fixtures at both of the last nights. He is 11/8 for victory here, but his chances seem slim if Price is in the same form as last week.

On balance this should be another electric matchup, although it maybe not be quite as close as some of the other matchups of the evening. If you fancy a Price whitewash, Price to win, have the highest match checkout and also the most 180s is priced at 5/2.

Michael Smith v Chris Dobey

Chris Dobey had a phenomenal performance last week, bettering world number one Michael Smith in the quarters before beating Michael van Gerwen in the semi-finals.

Last week’s insane turn of events will have injected confidence back into the week one winner who has been very quiet since the opening week. He still heads out the 6/4 underdog here, since prior to last week he was on a five-game losing streak in the competition.

Smith took a hit last week, but the currently third placed legend will no doubt be looking to bounce back with a big performance in Newcastle. The 8/15 favourite has dipped in form the last couple of weeks, but the odds reflect his ability and outstanding talent.

It’s a hard one to call but given Dobey’s week seven performance he looks the most tempting underdog of the quarters, with the only problem being his consistency. Both men can sink 180s in their sleep and over 6.5 in the match is well priced at 11/10.

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