Night 10 Premier League Darts Preview

After a short break the PDC Premier League returns to TV screens tonight. All the players remaining are still in with a shout and every match matters. Our expert James Punt has previewed every game, check out his Night 10 Premier League tips below.

Night 10 Premier League: Jonny Clayton vs. James Wade

These are all big matches now and this one, between two players tied on ten points, has a four pointer feel to it.

When they met in the first phase it was James Wade who won 7-2. That ended a five-match losing run to The Ferret, but it was one of the highest quality matches in the entire league. Wade averaged 105.2 and Clayton 103.2. We are used to seeing Clayton knocking in ton plus averages, but Wade’s scoring went through the roof in the second set of matches in phase one.

Wade had arrived at the MK Arena as first reserve, not expecting to actually be taking part. When Gerwyn Price failed his Covid19 test, Wade was called up. He had not been practicing and he hadn’t said goodbye to the family as he was expecting to be heading home after the tests were all done. His head wasn’t in the game and he picked up one point from the first three nights. He had the luxury of playing MVG one of his off nights and picked up his two free points against Glen Durrant. That kept him in the mix and he went away and prepared properly for the next block of four matches.

He returned in the right frame of mind and hit four consecutive ton plus averages and picked up five points to move into fourth place.

Clayton Form Slipping

Jonny Clayton had topped the league at the end of the first block of matches, but he then got just one point from his next three matches and dropped to eighth place. A 7-3 win over MVG on Judgement Night was enough to move him up to fifth place and right back in the game.

The encouraging thing is that his good scoring form has remained intact right across his nine matches, but his doubling did go awry for three consecutive matches and that cost him points, losing to Cross and Van den Bergh. His checkout percentage got back to normal for his last three matches, but that was not good enough against a rampant Wade on the penultimate night of phase one.

Both players declined to go to Germany for Super Series 3, so they have had a couple of weeks off. It is hard to say how this will affect their form but at least it is the same for both.

This preview would usually say that this is a matchup between the power scoring of Clayton vs. the great doubling prowess of Wade. However, it is now a case of the great scoring prowess of both players and the better doubling of James Wade.

High Quality Contest

In their last match in phase one, both players scored over a ton average and it was Clayton whose checkout rate was the better at 50% with Wade at 35%. However, Wade missed eight doubles in one leg which skewed that stat. The simple fact was that Wade had six winning legs with 15 darts or less. He was just about unplayable.

Clearly if Wade plays like that again, he wins. Their career H2H record is 8-2 to Clayton and he has won five of the last six, so he knows he can beat Wade but if Wade remains in the kind of form he was before the break, he will be hard to stop. Clayton must hope that the break came at the wrong time for Wade and his standard has dropped.

Jonny Clayton is the 2.15 favourite to win, Wade 2.75 and the draw at 4.75. Looking at their historic H2H record we have had a 10-9 win, a 6-0 win and everything in between. The only pattern was Clayton winning five in a row, but that ended a couple of weeks ago in emphatic style. I am surprised to see Wade at the odds above and despite having backed Clayton to win the league, the value in this match looks to be with Wade. It is a bet I’ll be happy lose but Wade looks too big here.

Night 10 Premier League Tip: 1 point James Wade to win @ 2.75

Jose De Sousa vs. Gary Anderson

I am looking at a database of statistics which lists no less than 48 different metrics of the two players game over the last 12 months. Jose De Sousa leads in 44 of those metrics.

These two have only played each other once and that was in the first phase of this tournament and it was Gary Anderson won 7-5. De Sousa missed a double to tie the match and Anderson got over the line by the narrowest of margins. That was on night two and since then, De Sousa has settled into the tournament and his game has improved. He was the first to win three matches in a row and has lost just one of his last six. In five of his last seven PL matches, he has hit a ton plus average.

De Sousa travelled to Germany for the Super Series where he won PC 9 and 12 of his 15 matches. He hit some massive averages along the way, and he now tops the 3 dart averages of the twelve players championships played so far at 98.97.

Anderson’s Form Declining

Gary Anderson was expected to play himself into form in the first phase of the Premier League, but the opposite occurred. Over the first five nights he averaged 98, in the second set of four matches, 93. It was a gradual decline and his last match saw him average 88 in a 2-7 thumping by Nathan Aspinall. That left Anderson bottom of the league on eight points, but that is only 2 points off fourth place.

That is the good news. Anderson is still very much in with a chance to make the play offs. The problem is that he will need to find his A game and we have not seen that for a couple of months. His doubling was in poor shape for his last group of four matches, 33%, down from 41% in the opening five matches.

If Anderson has managed to sharpen up his doubling during the break (he did not travel to Germany for the Super Series) he has some sort of chance, if not, it seems likely he could suffer a heavy loss.

The Special One is the 2.00 favourite, Anderson 3.25 and the draw at 4.75.

In the matches Anderson has lost only one was close, a 5-7 loss to Dimitri van den Bergh. That was dreadful match and Van den Bergh averaged just 87. It is very unlikely De Sousa will be averaging anything like that.

Night 10 Premier League Tip: 1 point Jose De Sousa to win -3.5 legs @ 3.30 with Ladbrokes

Dimitri van den Bergh vs. Michael van Gerwen

What is going on with MVG? He looked back to his best when beating Jose de Sousa 7-4 with a 104 average, but he backed that up by losing 3-7 to Jonny Clayton the next night and he could only average 91. His performance against De Sousa was a bullying one. Shouting and balling at maximum volume but he was then firmly shut up by Clayton, because he cannot intimidate Clayton.

Van Gerwen went to Germany for the Super Series, no doubt hoping to play plenty of matches and build up his confidence. He should not have bothered. He won five of his nine matches, but it must be said that his only opponent in the world’s top 60 was Simon Whitlock, and he beat MVG 6-3. His other defeats came against Josh Payne, Gino Vos and William Borland. Those are players Van Gerwen should be beating with his C game.

MVG No Longer No.1

MVG is now down to number three in the official PDC rankings but down to the number 11 in the FDI rankings which more accurately reflects recent form. That is his lowest ranking for many years and highlights where he is right now. He now faces Dimitri van den Bergh, one place and two points ahead of him in the league table.

Their match in the first phase ended as a draw in a good quality match. Since then, Dimitri was continued in good form, rising to second in the table and in the Super Series he won PC12 and 16 of his 19 matches played, with 11 ton plus averages. Their H2H record is 6-1-1 to MVG but in stage events it is 1-1-1.

Dimitri is scoring better, checking out better, hitting more 180’s, winning more matches but is the 2.75 outsider with Van Gerwen the 2.30 favourite and the draw 4.75. The value must be with Van den Bergh.

Night 10 Premier League Tip: 2 points Dimitri van den Bergh to win @ 2.75 with Skybet

Night 10 Premier League: Peter Wright vs. Nathan Aspinall

This will be their tenth match and The Asp leads their H2H’s 6-4. In the PL it is 2-2 and in the last 12 months it’s 3-2 to Aspinall. Their first phase match saw a 7-3 win for Aspinall.

Aspinall tops the table with Wright down in seventh and four points behind. It is a bigger match for Wright who has not impressed so far. He has been inconsistent. The scoring has generally been good, his doubling likewise but he just hasn’t quite got the job done often enough. His three wins have been against Anderson, Durrant and Cross. The bottom of the table man and the two relegated players.

Wright has been a little unlucky in that he has faced good players who hit their A game against him. When these two met in the first phase, Aspinall averaged 105 with 50% on the doubles and it was a tough gig for Snakebite. It is unlikely that this will be any easier.

Peter Wright did not travel to Germany for the Super Series while Nathan did, winning seven of his eleven matches. He put in some very good performances but lost to a couple of ton plus averages and if Snakebite is to win, he will need his A game.

Peter Wright is the 2.25 favourite, Aspinall 2.60 and the draw at 4.75.

Wright is not winning enough of his games to make 2.25 attractive. The H2H record suggests that Aspinall should be favourite, and his game has been just that little bit better than Wrights, but not by much. The draw is another strong possibility. Aspinall is unbeaten in seven league matches and will be tough to crack. Aspinall to edge a close match.

Night 10 Premier League Tip: 1 point Nathan Aspinall to win @ 2.60 with Betfair, Betfred

Night 10 Premier League Tip: 0.5 point Nathan Aspinall to win 8-6 @ 7.00 with Skybet, Unibet

-JamesPunt