Premier League Darts: John Part's week 7 predictions

The 2017 Premier League Darts season continues tonight (Thursday March 16) at the Ahoy Arena in Rotterdam, featuring Dutch star Michael van Gerwen against Phil Taylor and Raymond van Barneveld's clash with Gary Anderson.

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.

So check out Darth Maple's best bets for tonight's games in Rotterdam, which will be screened live on Sky Sports from 1900 GMT...  

Premier League Darts: Week seven predictions

Click on each match for more Sky Bet odds

JOHN PART'S TREBLE: Wade, Wright & Lewis all to win at 4.66/1

James Wade (1/1) v Jelle Klaasen (15/8) (Draw 7/2)

Jelle is the first of three Dutchman hoping to benefit from the raucous home support in Rotterdam, but it can of course work the other way by adding extra pressure and causing players to try too hard.

This may be the case for Jelle, who’s in an extremely vulnerable position and is struggling for consistency. He was in a strong position against Barney last week but collapsed when the going got tough and lost again. 

He just doesn’t seem to have any gears during his matches and a defeat on Thursday would really feel like a knockout blow – so the pressure is really on. We can’t just assume he’ll do well because of the crowd factor, if anything it could have the opposite effect. 

This is the second week in a row James will be coming up against a hostile crowd having faced Peter Wright in Glasgow last week and although he lost 7-5, he seemed to deal with it pretty well as the underdog. 

Overall his form is much better and he’s still very much in the hunt for a top four spot but he knows he must win this if he’s going to seriously contend. At even money I feel James is a good bet while those seeking a bigger price might consider the treble of him winning, hitting most 180s and having the highest checkout at 13/2.    

Peter Wright (4/7) v Dave Chisnall (3/1) (Draw 9/2)

After the highs of his UK Open triumph, Peter seemed rather de-energised last week despite his win and then had a poor weekend at the two Players Championship events. 

However, he should enjoy this venue and the atmosphere, so expect him to be produce a much better performance. His on stage persona and his pre-match dancing will get the crowd going in his favour and that could play into his hands as well in a match without a Dutchman. 

Chizzy is under pressure having played that extra game but the last time he found himself in a 'must-win' scenario, he responded well with two wins on the same night in Exeter. 

He is hard to read though – sometimes he can go missing and he under performed in front of the noisy Glasgow crowd, although he was playing a Scotsman in Gary Anderson. 

In past meetings with Wright he holds the overall supremacy which will be some source of confidence, albeit recently it’s been back and forth. 

Peter should win but Chizzy can make this close and his strength on 180s gives the 4/1 Match Action bet plenty of appeal – this requires over 10.5 legs, over 7.5 maximums and a checkout of over 121.5.

Raymond van Barneveld (3/1) v Gary Anderson (8/13) (Draw 4/1)

Barney is the home hero here and Gary very much the villain. Although Anderson has won the last 11 encounters I’m going to stick my neck on the line and back Barney at 3/1 – I really think he’ll rise to the occasion. 

The streak factor kind of goes out of the window in situations like this when he’ll be so fired up to please the home crowd. 

Last week he looked down and out against Jelle Klaasen on the back of his UK Open disappointment, which he didn’t take well, but all of a sudden turned it around, stopped feeling sorry for himself and played really well to pick up a valuable win which will revive his hopes for the Premier League season. 

On the back of that, he’s ready to give Anderson a game with plenty of gusto and a 'to hell with losing' attitude. It’s also a chance for him to steal the limelight from MVG on the night and he’s capable of that. 

Last year in Rotterdam, Gary lost 7-2 against Adrian Lewis so he’s not had to cope with a hostile crowd against him. He may think he can get in rough in England but that’s kid gloves in comparison to playing a Dutchman in Rotterdam. 

He may be good at hiding it mostly, but he can be temperamental if it’s not going well and the atmosphere could work against him. This all makes this match up very even so the 3/1 on Barney seems a great price. It’s the ideal situation for this streak to end.

Kim Huybrechts (9/4) v Adrian Lewis (4/5) (Draw 4/1)

This is as home as it gets for Kim and he’ll have decent support from those who have made the short trip – but he’s still without a win and therefore under a lot of pressure. 

In the Players Championship event on Saturday he hit a nine-dart finish but lost in the very next round and that sums up his season in terms of consistency. 

He’s also not getting it right at the key moments in the Premier League, failing to get a point against MVG and not winning against Taylor when he played well enough to do both. 

With Kim, it seems to be a case of his talent controlling him rather than him controlling his talent. Players with a lot of talent like Kim become dangerous when they also become timing players – like Anderson over the past two-three years. He didn’t control his like he does now and the same could more recently be said of Peter Wright. 

He has plenty of time on his side but another Premier League relegation could be damaging to him in the long run – and this is what he’s fighting to prevent. 

As far as Thursday is concerned I just feel he’s got more of his plate than he can swallow and although Adrian is still under pressure, he coped very well last week to beat Phil Taylor and his class can come through again. 

He can be flaky so I wouldn’t advise going in heavy at 4/5 but he’s well worth going into this week’s treble.  

Phil Taylor (9/2) v Michael van Gerwen (2/5) (Draw 5/1)

Which player on the circuit has won their last three meetings with Michael van Gerwen? You’ve guessed it, Phil Taylor. That’s an amazing statement when there probably isn’t even anyone who has won their last two against him! 

Of Phil’s three wins, two of them came in the Champions League of Darts event back in September but even so it’s still a phenomenal feat and one he’ll be desperate to extend. 

He doesn’t want to leave the game having been tamed completely by MVG and winning here in Rotterdam would be great for him. It would also put him in a position to go for first place in the table again so it’s must-win in terms of that ambition. 

I played with him in an exhibition event in Scotland at the weekend which he won and he seemed in pretty confident mood of going well against Michael. 

The crowd will obviously be against him but he’ll be fully prepared for that and resilient. Phil is clearly having more fun with the crowds this year so he might enjoy trying to silence them. 

MVG hasn’t produced his A game since coming back from injury – a hard-fought win over Huybrechts was followed by a disappointing weekend by his standards in the two Players Championship events, where he failed to win either of them. 

Taylor is 9/2 for a fourth straight win over Michael and that’s a price I like.   

Premier League Darts 2017 Table

Wright P 6 W 4 D 1 L 1 LegD +8 Pts 9
MVG P 5 W 3 D 2 L 0 LegD +9 Pts 8
Anderson P 6 W 2 D 3 L 1 LegD +6 Pts 7
Taylor P 6 W 2 D 3 L 1 LegD +4 Pts 7
Wade P 6 W 2 D 2 L 2 LegD +1 Pts 6
RVB P 6 W 2 D 2 L 2 LegD -4 Pts 6
Chisnall P 7 W 3 D 0 L 4 LegD -7 Pts 6
Lewis P 6 W 2 D 1 L 3 LegD -2 Pts 5
Huybrechts P 6 W 0 D 3 L 3 LegD -7 Pts 3
Klaasen P 6 W 1 D 1 L 4 LegD -8 Pts 3

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