Michael van Gerwen to beat James Wade –
With just one win in his last five Premier League matches – which came against the already-eliminated Jelle Klaasen – this double-header could have come at a better time for James Wade.
Particularly when his first opponent is Michael van Gerwen, against whom he has lost his last seven in a row and six of seven encounters in this competition, including a 7-4 defeat just a fortnight ago.
Wade’s overall average is now the lowest in the tournament, having failed to hit a single 180 in three of his last four games.
MVG, meanwhile, boasts the highest, and, with the second-best checkout percentage in the competition to boot, will be sure to punish any poor scoring by The Machine.
Having also cruised to the Players Championship Six at the weekend, the world No. 1 is sure to get us off to a winning start.
Raymond van Barneveld to beat Phil Taylor –
Unlike Wade, this is the perfect time for Raymond van Barneveld to play two matches in an evening.
Barney’s four consecutive wins is the best streak of any player so far this season and, having been able to raise his game against the top two in the world during that time, he will surely manage to do the same for his old nemesis Phil Taylor.
Despite being beaten 7-4 by Taylor before this winning run began, the Dutchman has won four of their last six encounters in this competition.
The Power has also been patchy this season, only averaging three figures once and even needing to come from 4-1 down to squeeze past Klaasen last week.
Barney is the man in form and, with the throw, should be backed to have the last laugh in what could potentially be their last ever Premier League meeting.
Peter Wright to beat Dave Chisnall –
Both Dave Chisnall and Peter Wright enjoyed productive weekends, making it to the final of the Players Championship Five and Six respectively.
But Chizzy, who is five points off the top four and seven behind Wright in the table, remains a huge outsider for the Premier League.
He has created the fewest checkout opportunities of any player left in the competition and, with an identical success rate to the two players who have already been eliminated, it is difficult to see how he can go about closing the gap.
Even though Chisnall shades the head-to-head record between the pair 11-9, it is Wright who has won both of their meetings so far this year, including a 7-4 victory in Rotterdam three weeks ago when playing far from his best.
With a game much more suited to this format, expect Snakebite to continue his push for a first-ever appearance at the O2 by picking up two easy points here
Gary Anderson to beat Adrian Lewis –
Adrian Lewis claimed his first ProTour title of the season on Sunday by winning the Players Championship Five.
It was not the most dominant display, however, with four of his six matches en route to the final going to a deciding leg.
Gary Anderson, on the other hand, is in much more convincing form – proven by his 7-3 thumping of Lewis in Cardiff last week.
That was his fourth win in a row over Jackpot – and eighth in their last 10 matches – and means that he has now won five of their last six meetings in this competition.
Having also won more legs against the throw than any other player, as well as nailing the highest number of 100+ checkouts, The Flying Scotsman will not be perturbed by throwing second and can be relied upon to do the business once again.
Raymond van Barneveld to beat James Wade –
With the earlier performances of both these players providing the greatest insight into their form, the final match of the evening is the hardest one to call.
We do, though, have a pretty clear indication of how this one is likely to turn out, given that it was just last week that Barney hammered Wade 7-2.
Wade looked lost in that match – averaging just 84.97 and creating only three opportunities to win a leg – and is unlikely to repair the confidence that is so important to his game against MVG in the opener.
As already mentioned, Wade has struggled when it comes to scoring recently, hitting a total of 13 maximums compared to Van Barneveld’s tournament-high tally of 35.
With the form of these two so far apart, it is hard to see anything other than another win for the Dutchman in the Dublin finale.
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