Dave Chisnall to beat Jelle Klaasen –
Bottom of the table and without a single point to his name, Jelle Klaasen has struggled to impose himself on the Premier League so far.
Last week he was a break of throw up when leading Michael van Gerwen 3-2, but for the third successive week failed to maintain his performance across the 12 legs.
Dave Chisnall, meanwhile, finally got his campaign under way against Kim Huybrechts after achieving his first three-figure average of the season and hitting the highest checkout of the night with a 141.
Klaasen does, admittedly, shade their historical head-to-head 6-4.
But in this short format Chisnall’s power scoring should not offer his opponent many opportunities to break, whileKlaasen’s average checkout percentage – the lowest in the tournament so far – means he is unlikely to capitalise on any that come his way.
Chizzy is the sensible pick here.
Michael van Gerwen to beat Adrian Lewis –
Having hit the most 180s with six and achieved what was by far the highest checkout percentage of the night with 71.43 per cent, Gary Anderson must have wondered how he managed to lose his first game of the season last week.
In truth, he was simply not given a sniff by an inspired Peter Wright.
That, though, should not be the case against James Wade on Thursday, who has been in gritty rather than glittering form so far.
These two have drawn their last three Premier League meetings, with Wade tending to edge their meetings in major events.
Yet it it’s hard to see Anderson losing consecutive matches when playing this well, so trust the Flying Scotsman to get back up and running here.
Phil Taylor to beat Kim Huybrechts –
Phil Taylor’s serene start to his final Premier League season continued last week with a comfortable victory over his old rival Raymond van Barneveld.
As a result, The Power is one of three unbeaten players to be tied at the top on five points, despite having played two former champions in the first three weeks.
The old master has been far from his best but has still been able to produce moments of quality when it matters most, having thrown more 100+ checkouts than any other player so far.
And he is unlikely to let up on Thursday against Kim Huybrechts – a player with whom he has had a frosty relationship in the past, despite only being beaten in one of the 11 meetings between the pair.
This one should be comfortable.
Peter Wright to beat Raymond van Barneveld –
Interestingly, it is Raymond van Barneveld who has thrown the most 180s so far this season with 14.
That, though, is unlikely to count for much against Peter Wright, who threw his highest ever Premier League average of 109.48 and 16 scores of 140+ on his way to beating Gary Anderson last week.
That combined with some exceptional finishing – he registered four 100+ checkouts in the space of six legs – means that Snakebite is currently playing the best darts of his career.
Having also found a greater level of consistency against players beneath him in the rankings, expect him to improve on his record of one Premier League win in five attempts against Barney in Brighton this week.
