ANDERSON to continue his remarkable run of form

The World Matchplay Darts quarter-finals continue Thursday night with a couple of cracking matches as Gary Anderson takes on Adrian Lewis and Phil Taylor takes on Wes Newton.

The opening match is the one between Anderson and Lewis with bet365 making Jackpot the 8/11 favourite while Anderson can be backed at 11/10. These two players are no strangers to each other having met 26 times before. It is Jackpot who narrowly leads the head-to-head record 13-10 with three of the games ending all square. Lewis booked his place in the last eight with a comfortable 13-8 victory over Mervyn King who never really got going though Jackpot did average 99.61 and coupled with his 110.51 three dart average in the opening round he seems to be in a good place. Anderson though will be his toughest test to date and the Scotsman can take heart from the fact he was won the last two meetings between the pair. Gary looked in excellent form on Wednesday night when throwing 104.41 in a 13-8 defeat of Stephen Bunting that was a lot more comfortable than the score suggested. The Flying Scotsman took the first five legs and eight of the first 11 to see off Bunting who averaged 99.37 in defeat. It reflects the great form that he has been in this season on the back of reaching the last four of the Premier League. I tipped up Anderson outright at the start of the tournament and I am happy with how my bet is doing. I think for those who have not got involved in Anderson on the outrights then you should take the 11/10 on the Scotsman to see off Lewis in this match.

The second game of the evening sees Phil Taylor take on Wes Newton with the Power the 1/20 favourite and Newton the outsider at 11/1. The Power produced a nine darter en-route to a 13-6 victory over Michael Smith as Taylor come back from losing the first two legs to wrap up the next eight. Smith must have wondered what hit him as he threw a three dart average of 100.44 yet was outplayed. Taylor will be in confident mood that he can land his seventh straight World Matchplay with the way he is throwing and he will be delighted to be up against Newton who has beaten him just once in their thirty previous meetings. This is a remarkable record and you have to go back to September 2011 for that sole Newton victory. Av It though must be coming in with the pressure off after coming back from 12-10 down against Nicholson before coming through 15-13. For Wes this is a game that few expect him to win and I think this coupled with a battling spirit make him worth an interest in the handicap market with a 7.5 leg start. bet365 are going evens on this market and I think this looks worth taking for as good as Taylor has been in the last few rounds he has still been giving some legs away cheaply. The Power let Webster win four legs in the opening round and Smith won six despite been clearly gone mentally following the Taylor nine darter.

RECOMMENDATION: Anderson to beat Lewis, 11/10, bet365
Newton +7.5 in handicap market, evens, bet365

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25/07/2014     © Frixo 2024