Raymond van Barneveld to beat Dave Chisnall –
After being taken apart by Jelle Klaasen last week, a second Judgement Night elimination in two seasons is starting to look increasingly likely for Dave Chisnall.
And on Tuesday against Raymond van Barneveld – who has thrown more 180s than any other player in the competition so far with 18 – he cannot even rely on his usual superiority when it comes to power scoring.
Barney performed well once again last week to rescue a point against the in-form Peter Wright, throwing his first three-figure average of the tournament in the process.
Having won five of their last six meetings – and been defeated just once in five Premier League encounters – the Dutchman is the sensible choice in the night’s opening game.
Jelle Klaasen to beat Kim Huybrechts –
Kim Huybrechts is now the only Premier League player still waiting for a win. Not that he hasn’t had his chances.
Last week against Phil Taylor was the second time this season that The Hurricane has failed to hold his throw – and, as he admitted afterwards, his nerve – in order to close out a match.
Unfortunately for him, this is not a good time to be playing one of the few players he has a realistic chance of beating, with Jelle Klaasen following up his superb performance against Dave Chisnall last time out by reaching the semi-finals of the Players Championship Two last weekend.
The Cobra has also won four of the pair’s five matches to date and, in their first ever encounter in a major ranking tournament, looks a solid shout to get one over on his good friend.
Gary Anderson to beat Phil Taylor –
Gary Anderson was another player to enjoy success over the weekend, claiming his first title of 2017 after winning the Players Championship Two final against Peter Wright in Barnsley.
Anderson should also be on a high after battling back from 5-1 down to have darts for the match against James Wade, before ultimately having to settle for a point.
Despite that unusually erratic performance, Anderson’s success rate of 47 per cent from 51 attempted checkouts remains the most impressive in the tournament so far.
Taylor, on the other hand, struggled to find any momentum whatsoever in his draw with Kim Huybrechts.
Anderson has lost his last three Premier League meetings with Taylor, but, having gone six without defeat before that, his superior form should be enough to carry him through.
Adrian Lewis and Peter Wright to draw –
If there’s a game to leave out of your accumulator, it’s this one.
Adrian Lewis lurched from a desperately poor performance against James Wade in Leeds to make Michael van Gerwen sweat on a draw last time out by throwing his first three-figure average and nailing a maximum 170 checkout.
That inconsistency was summed up at the weekend, when he threw a nine-darter only to be knocked out in the first round of the Players Championship Two by John Henderson.
Wright is the more consistent performer, but has only won one of five Premier League meetings against Lewis.
Two of the last four have ended in draws and, with Jackpot also throwing first, they could well cancel each other out again.
It’s a tough call, though, so for that reason it is being left out of the Boost.
James Wade to beat Dave Chisnall –
James Wade is probably one of the few people who will not have been disappointed to see Michael van Gerwen withdraw from the fifth round of matches with a back injury.
Rather than have to risk his unbeaten record against the world No. 1, Wade now has the chance to continue his impressive start against the struggling Chisnall.
Chizzy, of course, will already have featured in the evening’s opener and, regardless of how he fares against Barney, is unlikely to relish having to play two matches in one night.
The Machine has shown some moments of real quality to complement his usual gritty style so far in taking points from both Adrian Lewis and Phil Taylor.
Having beaten Chisnall 7-4 in Exeter last year, Wade should be confident of a similar result this time around.
