It was a pretty tough evening for us on Night 13. We had to make do with one winner, Jose De Sousa to win at odds of 2.50. We were only a leg away from having the correct score in that match so hopefully we get a bit more luck on Tuesday. Check out James Punt’s Night 14 Premier League darts preview below.

James Wade vs. Nathan Aspinall

James Wades 4-8 loss to Peter Wright last night leaves him five points adrift of the play off places with just a possible six up for grabs. His task is all but impossible and he is a 201.00 shot to win the league. How this affects his motivation remains to be seen. Looking back at the 2014 and 2015 Premier Leagues, when Wade was in a similar position, of his last three matches played in those two years he won one, lost two and drew three. He didn’t completely down tools. Looking at this year, Wade has picked up just one point in the second phase of the league, despite playing well (average of 99.1).

Nathan Aspinall continued his good record vs. MVG, beating him 8-3 in a pretty poor match. Both players wanted the crowd back but looked like they were trying too hard, and it took half the match before Aspinall found his game, finishing it with legs of 13, 14 and 13 dart legs. That puts Aspinall back on top of the league table but the top five are separated by just two points.

Their H2H record is 8-7 to Aspinall and it was he who won their first phase match 7-4. They are both averaging 98 in the league, Wade is checking out slightly better at 50% to 46%, while Aspinall is the bigger maximum hitter with 49 to Wade’s 31.

Nathan Aspinall is the 2.20 favourite, Wade 2.75 and the draw at 4.60.

Those odds look about right, and it is hard to find any value in the outright or side markets.

Night 14 Premier League: Jonny Clayton vs. Jose de Sousa

Jonny Clayton had massive 8-1 win over Gary Anderson last night, despite Anderson averaging 104. It was another ton plus average for Clayton and more importantly, 57% on the doubles. The commentators were saying it was as good as Clayton has played but I would disagree. He took advantage of Anderson trying to check out on the Bullseye three times and missing. In the end they both scored well but Clayton was the better finisher. What was clear is that he was very happy with the result and the whole experience of having the crowd in. He has become quite the crowd favourite.

Jose de Sousa was another very happy player last night. He had an 8-6 win over Van den Bergh (missing a dart at bullseye to land the 8-5 bet) and while he has played better, it was a ton average and two points. Like Clayton, he enjoyed the crowd, while Van den Bergh looked very tight.  

The H2H record between these two is an emphatic 6-1 to Clayton. They have played five times in 2021 and Clayton has won the lot by a total leg score of 31-19. Incredibly, De Sousa’s averages in those five defeats were 101, 92, 104.9, 103.9 and 108.4! Clearly these two bring out the best in each other.

Despite the big H2H advantage held by Clayton, the bookmakers can’t separate them with both available at 2.40 to win with the draw at 4.60. With these two players arguably being the best players of 2021, that is no surprise.

Important Match

This is a big match. Both players are tied on 16 points, with De Sousa holding a three leg advantage. A win for either player would be a huge step towards making the play off.

I have to favour Clayton here. He has that great record against De Sousa, beating his A game multiple times. De Sousa was not quite at his best last night, struggling on the treble twenty. He made up for that by being very good on treble 19 but it meant he had to move around the board more and wasn’t able to dominate by smashing in maximum after maximum, the real strength of his game.

So long as Clayton can keep up his good doubling of last night, he will be hard to beat and Jose needs to get back to nailing the treble twenty if he is to put Clayton under maximum pressure.

Night 14 Premier League Tip: 1 point Jonny Clayton to win @ 2.40 generally available

Gary Anderson vs. Michael van Gerwen

Gary Anderson was on the wrong end of drubbing last night, but he didn’t play badly. Jonny Clayton was taking his chances and quickly put Anderson under pressure. Anderson missed three bullseyes to win legs and had he hit them the match would have been very different, but he only hits around 23% of his attempts at bull, so missing was no great surprise. It does mean that his chances of making the play offs are slim (17.00).

Michael van Gerwen put in one of his poor performances last night, losing 8-3 to Nathan Aspinall. The Asp only started playing well in the latter stages of the game, but he was 3-0 up despite needing 18 and 17 darts to win the first two legs. MVG was very flat and crucially never got the crowd on his side, and while he likes the crowd, he needs them right behind him for best results.

Gary Andersons last three matches have seen him average 104.6, 107.8 and 104.4 so there is little wrong with his scoring, but it is his finishing which can be his weak spot. MVG’s phase two averages have been 109.9, 95.8, 107.4 and 96.7. There is no consistency to his game and any confidence he has continues to be fragile. His B game is no longer good enough at this level.

Michael van Gerwen has a very healthy 41-17 H2H record over Anderson and he starts as the 1.85 favourite, unbackable given is inconsistent form. Anderson is a 3.60 shot which is more attractive, so long as he can hit his doubles and MVG does not find his A game.

This match makes very little appeal. Both players too unpredictable, MVG for his in inconsistency and Anderson for his doubling. No bet.

Night 14 Premier League: Peter Wright vs. Dimitri van den Bergh

Peter Wright was more like his old self last night. Happier and with no sign of any shoulder problems. It is too late for his play off chances as he, like James Wade, is five points short of the top four and even winning all three of his last matches is unlikely to be enough. He put in a good performance to beat Wade 8-4, averaging 98.6 with 61 on the doubles and five 180’s. He was a bit hot and cold however with some excellent legs and some pretty ordinary ones.

Dimitri van den Bergh lost 6-8 to Jose de Sousa and he never looked comfortable despite winning six legs. It all looked like hard work. I suspect he is feeling the pressure. Van den Bergh was top of the table for five weeks but from Night 9 he has slipped to second, then third and now fifth. He has lost three of his last four, despite hitting some big averages, and a certain degree of panic might be setting in.

Their H2H record is 8-2 to Peter Wright with one draw in the first stage of this Premier League.

Playoff Hopes Still Alive

Van den Bergh is still in with a chance, a good chance, of making the play offs. He is only one point behind third and fourth place, but that brings its own pressure. He cannot afford a defeat as that would make life very difficult. Peter Wright on the other hand knows his chances are gone and is under no pressure. He can get up there and enjoy the crowd who will be cheering him on. Win this and he could find himself in sixth place and there is still quite a bit of prizemoney on offer, so he has some incentive but no pressure.

Van den Bergh is the 2.38 favourite, Wright 2.50 despite a healthy H2H record and the draw 4.75. I can see Snakebite continuing his good form over Dimitri.

Night 14 Premier League Tip: 1 point Peter Wright to win @ 2.50 with Skybet

-JamesPunt