Van Gerwen might be in great form but so is Taylor and he can upset the odds
Darts contests get no bigger nowadays than Michael van Gerwen against Phil Taylor and the Power can prove he still has got what it takes to upset the World Number One in the Betway Premier League on Thursday.
There is no doubt that MVG is on top of the world right now. He lifted the UK Open title for the first time on Sunday and has a whopping lead at the top of the world rankings. He is undefeated in the Betway Premier League thus far and has looked sublime for much of it.
Having said all this, he is facing Taylor this week and the Power can never, ever be written off. He was looking very good in Minehead over the weekend and lost in the quarters despite averaging over 108. He is only one point behind Van Gerwen in the Betway Premier League and has a better tournament average and checkout ratio.
Mighty Mike has enjoyed some high profile wins over Taylor, not least in this tournament, but the Englishman still has the beating of him more often than not. The Power has triumphed in five of their last six contests. Rarely will you see Taylor at a price of 7/4 to win a game and he should definitely be backed this week.
Gary Anderson against Adrian Lewis could really steal the show but it is the Scot that should come out on top. Lewis may have prospered when these two met in the 2011 World Championship final but Anderson had the better of their personal history.
The current World Champ has won the last six against Jackpot, including as recently as last month in Germany. Lewis is notoriously unreliable in this tournament making the Flying Scotland a must back at 11/10.
If ever a draw could be likely in the Betway Premier League it is when Raymond van Barneveld takes on James Wade. Three of their last five meetings in the competition have ended level and for them to share the points again this Thursday looks great value at 7/2.
They are both in similarly inconsistent form and both are struggling to get over the line for much needed wins. Their head to head record is incredibly level and they should be finishing level this week.
