Premier League Week 9 Darts Preview

Premier League Darts moves to Nottingham for week 9 as world number one Phil Taylor looks to kick further clear at the top of the table.

The Power has been in unstoppable form so far and has the rest of the players scrambling for cover having racked up seven victories and a draw from his eight matches to date.

Kevin Painter was the latest to succumb to Taylor’s magic in Cardiff and a bloodless 8-2 success for the Merseyside man put a remarkable seven point gap between himself and the chasing pack.

Taylor takes on bottom man Andy Hamilton at the Capital FM arena and is unsurprisingly long odds on favourite to prevail again.

Hamilton got back to winning ways with a fine 8-4 triumph over Adrian Lewis in Wales but defeating Taylor is a different matter altogether and he will have to bridge an incredible 17 point disparity in terms of three dart average.

Taylor won’t be too popular at 1/7 but he should certainly be sided with on the handicap as it is hard to envisage the man from Stoke getting anywhere close.

Gary Anderson is tied with Hamilton and Painter at the foot of the standings but the Scot has a crucial game in hand having missed the action in Cardiff.

With only three wins from seven, Anderson has unquestionably been below par on the main and he was definitely out of sorts against Raymond Van Barneveld two weeks ago in Dublin.

The 41-year-old hopes to get back on track when he takes on Simon Whitlock this week and it should be the perfect opportunity considering that Aussie Whitlock was whitewashed by James Wade when last seen.

The bookmakers anticipate a close battle but it will surely take the Wizard a little longer to rediscover his form – and Anderson appeals at 6/5 to make in-roads on the top four.

James Wade started the campaign woefully but his overall standard has improved gradually over the past two months.

The Machine is a dangerous man when brimming with confidence and he will certainly be on the up having crushed Whitlock so stylishly.

Arch rival Adrian Lewis had better beware of Wade who will be extra keen to pounce on Lewis following his defeat last week.

Wade is currently a point to the good over Lewis in the table and is a narrow 5/4 favourite to extend that advantage by beating the Jackpot in Nottingham – a bet which looks hard to turn down as Lewis has so far failed to fire by and large.

Kevin Painter squares up to Raymond Van Barneveld in the fourth match of the round and both men will be adamant to turn things around following their crushing losses when last at the oche.

Barny is still holding a place in the top four and his superior average to Painter makes him the obvious choice at around 8/11, although the Artist may be able to cause a splash and force a stalemate if back to his very best.

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02/04/2012     © Frixo 2024