Premier League Darts: Night six predictions, betting tips, accas, order of play & TV time

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Now that an exhausting - albeit thrilling - UK Open weekend is behind us, attention now turns back to the Premier League, where arch-rivals Michael van Gerwen and Gerwyn Price meet in an instant rematch of their FA Cup of Darts final.

Stephen Bunting is this week's Challenger as he takes on Rob Cross looking to emulate the history-making efforts of Luke Humphries in Exeter while the home crowd will also be behind St Helens star Michael Smith as he faces the world champion Peter Wright.

Premier League Night Six: Thursday March 12

Click on the odds for more Sky Bet match markets

• TV Coverage: Sky Sports (1900 GMT)
• Format: Maximum of 12 legs
• Suggested Treble: Price, Cross & Aspinall at 11.83/1

Michael Smith (15/8) v Peter Wright (1/1), draw (3/1)

• Head-to-head: 10-17, 2 draws (TV: 3-9, 2 draws)
• Meetings since start of 2019: 2-4, 2 draws (TV: 0-2, 2 draws)
• PDC Titles Since Start of 2019: 0-8 (TV: 0-3)
• Career PDC Titles: 11-30 (TV: 2-7)

You have to go back almost two years to find the last time Michael Smith beat Peter Wright in a televised meeting...but he hasn't lost to Snakebite in the Premier League since 2016!

Bully Boy twice thrashed Snakebite 7-1 during the 2018 Premier League and their two encounters in the tournament last year were draws, so it's hard to say who has the phycological edge ahead of Thursday's clash.

Smith really should have ended his six-match televised winless run against the world champion - and more importantly his wait for a major title - when spurning three missed title darts in the season-opening Masters while it was also Wright who denied him a place in last year's Champions League final.

However, since then the St Helens man has recovered in quite some style by hitting his maiden televised nine-darter, claiming his first Premier League win over Michael van Gerwen last Thursday and also beating Snakebite en route to the recent Belgian Darts Championship final.

Neither player had a UK Open to write home about but they didn't exactly enjoy the luck of the draw, losing to Daryl Gurney and Rob Cross on Saturday, but that shouldn't detract from encouraging seasons so far.

It's very tough to call and perhaps the best option would be to avoid throwing this into your accas and instead look at the sub markets and specials, such as the 11/8 available on their being over 10.5 legs, a high checkout of 102.5 or more and over 5.5 180s.

Prediction: 7-5

Suggested bet: Match to have over 10.5 legs, highest checkout to be over 102.5 and over 5.5 total 180s at 11/8

Daryl Gurney (7/4) v Glen Durrant (11/10), draw (3/1)

• Head-to-head: 2-2 (TV: 1-1)
• Meetings since start of 2019: 2-2 (TV: 1-1)
• PDC Titles Since Start of 2019: 2-2 (TV: 0-0)
• Career PDC Titles: 4-2 (TV: 2-0)

I obviously wasn't the only one who incorrectly predicted a rough ride for Glen Durrant last week, with the likes of Wayne Mardle and Paul Nicholson given both barrels by Duzza during his post-match interview on Sky Sports.

Typically, I'd already tipped him up each-way for the UK Open only to see him fall at the first hurdle having received a stinker of a draw against Peter Wright on opening night.

As Nicholson wrote in his Sporting Life column, players shouldn't really be offended if their opponent is backed because we can't just predict draws all to keep everyone happy, and it was hard to oppose Gerwyn Price given his rich vein of form that almost helped him see off MVG in Sunday's UK Open final.

That said, this game really does have all the makings of a draw now that Daryl Gurney has rediscovered his confidence after coming through some nail-biting matches during his run to the semi-finals in Minehead.

Three of his four victories were 10-9, including a comeback from 7-1 down against William O'Connor, and his thrashing at the hands of MVG won't have knocked his spirit too much considering the phenomenal standard he came up against.

The Northern Irishman's change in fortunes has come at an ideal time to help him revive his Premier League season following a disappointing opening five weeks which has seen him pick up just two draws.

Duzza, by contrast, couldn't have asked for a better start and he's currently sitting pretty at the top on legs difference having bagged victories over Michael Smith, Gary Anderson and Gerwyn Price thanks largely to his finishing and his consistent mid-90s averages.

Durrant, who was soundly beaten by Gurney in the Premier League last year when playing as a 'Contender', did win their last meeting at the World Championship but if either player edges this one, it'll probably go down to a deciding leg.

I quite like the 7/2 available on there being three 100+ checkouts in the match. Durrant has been so clinical on his finishing while Gurney managed six at the UK Open, including three during his 10-6 victory over Wright.

Prediction: 6-6

Suggested bet: Three or more 100+ checkouts at 7/2

Gerwyn Price (2/1) v Michael van Gerwen (10/11), draw (3/1)

• Head-to-head: 2-20, 1 draw (TV: 1-12, 1 draw)
• Meetings since start of 2019: 2-6, 1 draw (TV: 1-5, 1 draw)
• PDC Titles Since Start of 2019: 7-15 (TV: 2-9)
• Career PDC Titles: 11-134 (TV: 2-54)

Just when we'd caught our breath from another gripping instalment of his budding rivalry, another comes along four days later.

Although the overall head-to-head record is heavily lopsided based on actual match results, Gerwyn Price has arguably turned into Michael van Gerwen's main protagonist since becoming a major winning for the first time at the 2018 Grand Slam of Darts and perhaps this time next year he'll have reduced that deficit.

In the 10 meetings that followed, Price managed to win two of them - the semi-finals of his successful Wolverhampton title defence last November and a recent Players Championship final away from the TV cameras - while only one of his seven defeats was by more than two legs.

Sunday's UK Open final was just as tight as the climax to November's Players Championship Finals in Minehead, which MVG also clinched 11-9, and Price will probably still be kicking himself for missing 12 darts at doubles across four successive legs that allowed the Dutchman to turn a into a 7-5 deficit into a 9-7 lead.

For the sake of the rivalry, I feel it needed Price to get one over his nemesis in a televised final for the first time but that's to take nothing away from van Gerwen, who fully deserved the trophy for his string of stunning displays all weekend - apart from that fifth-round scare against Ryan Lowe.

Not only did MVG show tremendous fighting spirit at the start and end of his campaign against Nathan Aspinall and Price respectively, but he produced averages of 108 and 110 (x2) to blow away James Wade, Rob Cross and Daryl Gurney, who was also on the receiving end of a magnificent nine-darter.

The Iceman, who was also largely dominant en route to the final despite needing to survive a deciding leg against Gabriel Clemens, will be fired up for this rematch and if he can blast out of the blocks like he did on Sunday then a measure of revenge is on the cards.

Rather than back him at a rather skinny 2/1, I'd rather take the 4/1 available for him to win and also achieve the modest targets of scoring over 2.5 180s and have a checkout over 76.5.

Prediction: 7-5

Suggested bet: Gerwyn Price to win the match, score over 2.5 180s and checkout over 76.5 at 4/1

Rob Cross (4/5) v Stephen Bunting (9/4), draw (3/1)

• Head-to-head: 4-0 (TV: 2-0)
• Meetings since start of 2019: 2-0 (TV: 2-0)
• PDC Titles Since Start of 2019: 2-0 (TV: 2-0)
• Career PDC Titles: 9-2 (TV: 4-0)

I had the pleasure of being at the World Matchplay last summer when Rob Cross and Stephen Bunting played out a thrilling quarter-final that Voltage edged 16-14 with the help of a Big Fish en route to the title.

The Bullet had previously shown immense bottle to see off off both Gerwyn Price and Ian White in sudden death legs and at 14-14, he looked as though he might well do it again and reach his third major PDC semi-final, four years after his last.

Ultimately he'd fall just short in what proved to be 'just' an appetiser for what turned out to be one of 'the' matches of the year between Peter Wright and Daryl Gurney, but there's no doubt it gave Bunting renewed belief that he belongs at the top of the sport.

His runs to the quarters of the Players Championship Finals and the last 16 of the World Championship were ended by Gerwyn Price and Michael van Gerwen while it was Cross yet again who dented his hopes of a long UK Open run this weekend in a closely fought encounter that finished 10-8.

The Merseysider, who recently reached a Pro Tour semi-final, is now relishing the prospect of stepping onto the Premier League stage for the first time since 2015 - even if it is only as a 'Challenger' - and will have the crowd right behind him in his quest to finally beat Cross at the fifth attempt.

Unfortunately for Bunting, it appears as if the Liverpool round has come a week or two late in terms of catching Cross at the the perfect time, with the former world champion beginning to find some rhythm again after a difficult few months.

He showed real character to defeat Michael Smith 10-9 en route to the quarter-finals at the weekend after Bully Boy had raised the roof with a quite stunning 118 checkout on the bullseye to force a decider, and he so nearly hit the same target again for what would have been a match-winning 164 finish.

In the end he was put to the sword by Michael van Gerwen's 110 average and while he's not yet at the level to cope with that kind of standard, I'd expect him to run out a winner over Bunting.

Prediction: 7-4

Suggested bet: Cross to win and hit the highest checkout at 13/8

Gary Anderson (11/8) v Nathan Aspinall (11/8), draw (3/1)

• Head-to-head: 1-2 (TV: 0-1)
• Meetings since start of 2019: 0-2 (TV: 0-1)
• PDC Titles Since Start of 2019: 1-3 (TV: 0-2)
• Career PDC Titles: 47-4 (TV: 19-2)

On current form, there were only three players that Nathan Aspinall would have ideally liked to avoid in the opening round of his UK Open title defence.

But out of the 63 possible options in the hat, he got one of them in a nightmare of an FA Cup of Darts draw and subsequently fell at the first hurdle last Friday night.

Nevertheless, it still took an average of 105.48 and a brilliant 150 checkout from eventual champion Michael van Gerwen to defeat him 10-8 in a high-class encounter so there's certainly no reason for the Stockport man to be too downhearted.

If anything, Aspinall would have quickly picked himself up and used the rest of competition to get back on the practice board and refocus his efforts on this week's Premier League battle with Gary Anderson because at the moment he's right in the thick of the leadership contest and has no intention of dropping towards the relegation battle.

He should be confident of making it two televised wins over Anderson out of two having showed superb composure and mental strength to defeat the legend at the World Championship, which he regards as one of the finest performances of his career despite the Flying Scotsman not operating at his best.

It's quite some feather in the cap to defeat any former world champion on the biggest stage of all - not least a two-time king still in the top 10 - and his stock has continued to rise since then, reaching the Masters semi-final at the start of the season before to firing a nine-darter against Peter Wright en route to winning a Players Championship event, in which he beat Gerwyn Price in the final.

His Pro Tour performances have been pretty steady in recent weeks but it's the stage of the Premier League where he's further underlined his credentials thanks to victories over Michael van Gerwen and Glen Durrant.

Anderson, by contrast, has been short of consistency since winning the opening Players Championship event of the season and was well below the standards he sets for himself when averaging 88 during his defeat to Luke Humphries last Thursday, while he was also shocked by Jelle Klaasen in the deciding leg of their UK Open clash.

While it would be no surprise at all to suddenly see him fire a 100+ average and blow Aspinall away, there is no solid reason to expect that at the moment so I've got to go with the Stockport man.

Prediction: 4-7

Suggested bet: Nathan Aspinall to win the match, score over 2.5 180s and checkout over 79.5 at 3/1

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