With only five weeks of the regular season remaining in the Premier League, the battle for a play-off place will intensify.
Luke Littler and Luke Humphries sit top of the table, while third-placed Michael van Gerwen added to his tally with victory in Birmingham last week.
Peter Wright remains adrift at the foot of the standings with just four points to his name, but Gerwyn Price, Nathan Aspinall, Michael Smith and Rob Cross can increase their chances of a top-four finish with victory in Rotterdam.
Premier League Darts Tips
- Michael Smith will beat Luke Littler @ 13/8
- Peter Wright defeats Nathan Aspinall @ 6/4
- Luke Humphries -1.5 legs vs Michael van Gerwen @ 20/21
Michael Smith will beat Luke Littler @ 13/8
Smith and Littler kick off the action in Rotterdam with a blockbuster quarter-final and Bully Boy looks worth a punt at 13/8
Littler didn’t have much success in last week’s Players Championship events, with the 17-year-old falling to Kevin Doets in the most recent of those competitions.
Smith has won three of his four meetings with Littler in the Premier League this season, and although a 6-5 defeat to Richie Edhouse last week at the International Darts Open was not what the St Helens man was hoping for , he achieved an average of 100.78 in this competition. and the game is still there.
Peter Wright defeats Nathan Aspinall @ 6/4
It’s been quite a painful Premier League campaign for Wright, but there have been glimpses of the two-time world champion’s brilliance in recent weeks.
Snakebite got the better of Price 6-5 in Nottingham and beat Cross 6-3 in Belfast and, although two quarter-final defeats followed that victory against Voltage, Wright posted averages of 93.32 and 109, 52 in his last two Premier League appearances.
A top Aspinall would be considered a tough opponent, but the Asp’s game has been riddled with inconsistencies over the last 12 months and the Stockport arrowsmith was last seen averaging just 90 .52 in a 6-2 loss to Danny Noppert at last week’s International Darts Open.
Luke Humphries -1.5 legs vs Michael van Gerwen @ 20/21
World champion Humphries has competed at an extremely high level on the Pro Tour, European Tour and Premier League this season and Cool Hand looks a cut above Van Gerwen at the moment.
The Newbury Arrowsmith was beaten in the third round of last week’s International Darts Open, but that could be to the 29-year-old’s advantage given the busy elite darts schedule.
Van Gerwen took nighttime honors in Birmingham last week, but it was only MVG’s second quarter-final victory in the last nine weeks of Premier League action and Players Championship defeats 7 and 8 against Andrew Gilding and Ian White are not glowing advertisements for Mighty. Mike’s form.
Humphries will face the Rotterdam crowd as well as Van Gerwen on Thursday night, but at 20/21 Cool Hand Luke rates a good handicap bet.
*all ratings correct at time of writing and subject to change
*18+ New customers only. Sign up and bet £10+ on any sport at odds 2.00+ within 7 days. No withdrawal. Get £10 in free bets on any sports market. Free bets expire in 7 days. Terms and conditions apply, see below. BeGambleAware.org | Please play responsibly
Remember to play responsibly
A responsible player is someone who:
- Establishes time and money limits before gambling
- They only play with money they can afford to lose
- Never chase their losses
- Don’t play if upset, angry or depressed
- GamCare – www.gamcare.org.uk
- Gamble Aware – www.begambleaware.org
For help with a gambling problem, call the National Gambling Helpline on 0808 8020 133 or visit www.gamstop.co.uk to be banned from all UK regulated gambling sites .
Commercial Content Notice: Taking one of the bookmaker offers presented in this article may result in a payment to talkSPORT. 18+. Terms and conditions apply. Begambleaware.org
