The 2017 Premier League Darts season continues tonight (Thursday March 23) at the Manchester Arena, featuring Peter Wright's clash with Phil Taylor while Dutch star Michael van Gerwen plays twice against James Wade and Raymond van Barneveld.

And here John Part, who triumphed in two PDC World Championship finals against Phil Taylor and Kirk Shepherd to add to his BDO crown of 1994, continues to bring you match-by-match analysis and predictions ahead of every round of the 16-week season, including the finale at London's O2 on May 18.

Darth Maple also reflects on the current state of play before revealing his best bets for all five games in Manchester, which will be screened live on Sky Sports from 1900 GMT... 

**LAST WEEK JOHN PART'S TREBLE LANDED PLUS HIS 3/1 FLAGSHIP TIP OF BARNEY TO BEAT GARY ANDERSON ALSO CAME IN** 

Part on the season so far...

It might be Judgement Night next week but this Thursday could effectively be summary execution night for Kim Huybrechts and Jelle Klaasen.

They need a minimum of three points from their next two games to stand a chance of survival so defeats in Manchester will see them relegated prematurely, meaning next week is likely to be nothing more than a send-off party of sorts for them.

Apart from that end of the table, the Premier League has produced more drama than ever in terms of the battle to make the top four. 

Yes, there’s been two sacrificial lambs, but you’ve got big hitters like Gary Anderson and Phil Taylor currently sitting on the outside and now they’ve got to really earn a play-off spot while everyone else is also in the picture. 

There’s nobody stranded in mid-table so they all have to deal with the pressures of either maintaining what they have or trying to move up. 

Premier League Darts: Week eight predictions

Click on each match for more Sky Bet odds

JOHN PART'S TREBLE: Anderson, Wright & Lewis all to win at 4/1 (Price Boost)

Michael van Gerwen (2/9) v James Wade (7/1) (Draw 7/1)

This of course is the first of MVG’s two games this week and if anything I think this will be his toughest test. 

James will be really pleased about where he is in the table after last week’s victory over Jelle Klaasen and he’s now able to look down on his main rivals for a top four spot. 

Out of everyone, and that includes Peter Wright who has the pressure of trying to be number one, I think James is in the happiest place right now. 

He did surprise Michael during last season’s Premier League and he’ll feel this is almost like a free shot with no pressure against him, given his position in table. 

That said, I don’t think this is enough for him to win but I expect him to stay in there, win some legs and force Michael into some quality darts. 

This can effectively help MVG land the 9/4 Player Performance bet of him to win, score over 3.5 180s and manage a checkout of over 110.5. 

Even if he wins 7-0, Michael can still meet these parameters so a much closer match will give him a much better chance. 

Kim Huybrechts (9/2) v Gary Anderson (4/11) (Draw 11/2)

I’ve already said at the start of this week’s article that this could be termination night and I fully expect Gary to seal Kim’s fate in Manchester. 

Gary comes away from the hostility of facing Barney in Holland to the relatively friendly confines of England and needs a bounce-back week now he’s dropped down the table a little. 

Both players are feeling the heat for different reasons but Kim has failed under pressure all season, even on those occasions when he’s playing well and deserves more than he ends up getting. 

Anderson is a clutch player and when he finds himself in troublesome positions tends to deal with it well. 

So he’ll be happier with his position and knows exactly what he needs to do whereas Huybrechts probably has that sinking feeling. 

As well as backing Gary to win, I’m going to throw in most 180s as well which enhances the price to 11/10. 

He’s currently second on the 180s list behind Barney with 25 from his seven games and although that’s only three more than Huybrechts, he has played four fewer legs overall. 

Peter Wright (10/11) v Phil Taylor (2/1) (Draw 4/1)

Both these players had almost identical averages last week of just over 93.5 but the results were very different. That average was enough for Wright to enjoy a comfortable 7-4 victory over Chizzy while for Taylor it was a demoralising slap on the wrist defeat against MVG having made such a good start. 

Peter heads into this week still at the top of table and isn’t fazed by facing Phil these days. 

He feels he is the better player now and won’t handcuff himself with any doubts. Taylor will be happy to be closer to home than last week but I can’t see him rattling Wright, who is hard to shake. 

He’s probably starting to doubt whether he can make the top four and his dignity is somewhat resting on reaching finals night. Of course everyone wants to win but it’s about who has the right mentality to win and I’m not sure he has after acknowledging his career is going to end this year. 

How can you be focused on winning when you’re not focused on playing as much, and effectively accepting you’re too old to handle it all anymore? 

Scoring-wise he doesn’t seem quite who he was and perhaps the BBC event he won last September was his last hurrah. 

As far as this match goes I’m going to back Wright to win and also hit the most 180s which is 2/1. 

He’s hit 22 of them compared to Phil’s 12 so far and played two fewer legs so it’s certainly an area of the game he’s stronger at these days.   

Jelle Klaasen (100/30) v Adrian Lewis (8/15) (Draw 9/2)

Jelle dominated their early battles before Adrian hit back in the era he was a two-time world champion but he actually holds recent supremacy with four wins in their last five meetings. 

Nevertheless, Adrian has come through a lot of pressure in recent weeks to now be able to look towards the top four and I think he’ll keep playing well. 

By contrast Jelle is clearly not in a good place and also has a bit of a wrist injury to contend with. 

He’s shown talent in his matches but not the all-important winning knack and it’s been a real tough grind for both him and Huybrechts this season.

I’m pretty sure Adrian will win this one due to the better frame of mind he’s in and he’s a solid bet at 8/15. 

It’s not the most exciting odds but as favourites go it’s a fair price and he’ll be in my treble this week. 

Raymond van Barneveld (11/2) v Michael van Gerwen (1/3) (Draw 11/2)

Barney played really well last week in front of his Dutch fans in Rotterdam and got a great result – as did MVG. That said, Michael didn’t play as well as he can and he’ll be viewing this week as a big chance to shine more than normal with two wins to go back to the top of the table. 

He performs when he really needs to and this is the scenario he’ll have mapped out and even if Taylor beats Wright earlier in the night, he’ll quickly amend his focus at going three points clear.  

In terms of their Dutch rivalry, Barney hasn’t fared well at all since their draw last year which was on the heels of that famous win at the world championship. MVG has not only beaten him in the last four meetings, but he also won double – or more – the number of legs or sets that Barney managed in each of them. 

I’d like Barney to win but I just can’t trust that track record, plus he might be too pleased with himself after last week and rest on his laurels somewhat. 

MVG to win with the most 180s is even money and I like that price. Barney has hit the most maximums this season but MVG has played a game fewer and should eventually climb to the top of that particular table. 

Premier League Darts 2017 Table

Wright P 7 W 5 D 1 L 1 LegD +11 Pts 11
MVG P 6 W 4 D 2 L 0 LegD +12 Pts 10
Wade P 7 W 3 D 2 L 2 LegD +5 Pts 8
RVB P 7 W 3 D 2 L 2 LegD +1 Pts 8
Lewis P 7 W 3 D 1 L 3 LegD +2 Pts 7
Taylor P 7 W 2 D 3 L 2 LegD +1 Pts 7
Anderson P 7 W 2 D 3 L 2 LegD +1 Pts 7
Chisnall P 8 W 3 D 0 L 5 LegD -10 Pts 6
Huybrechts P 7 W 0 D 3 L 4 LegD -11 Pts 3
Klaasen P 7 W 1 D 1 L 5 LegD -12 Pts 3 

 MVG has played one game less as he withdrew from week five due to injury, with Chisnall playing twice that night.   

CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL SEASON FIXTURE LIST AND RESULTS