Week two in Glasgow provided another thrilling night of darts in front of a packed, and at times, hostile crowd. In week three, we cross the Irish Sea to Dublin where there are another five important ties lying in wait. Here are our Premier League Darts 2019 week three betting preview.
2019 World Champion Michael Van Gerwen marches on with his second straight victory; but while it’s still early days, there are a number of throwers in need of some points.
Iceman Cometh
Gerwyn Price currently sits in second place in the table having been pegged to a 6-6 draw by Raymond Van Barneveld last week. The Iceman opens up proceedings in Dublin with a match against James Wade who beat Barney in week one before going down to Rob Cross last time out.
The Price is Tight
This is a very tight market with some bookies listing the same win odds for both players. Elsewhere, Gerwyn Price is a marginal favourite at 7/5 with BetFred and BetSafe and while James Wade is also at 7/5 in places, he sits just behind at 6/4 with Unibet.
The draw is a 3/1 shot with Coral and while there’s some value in this market, Price has the better form and should deliver.
Our Tip: Gerwyn Price to win – 7/5 at BetFred
The Irish Charm
Next up to the oche is Peter Wright who will face home favourite, Steve Lennon. Ireland’s Lennon is the latest man to form a list of replacements for Gary Anderson and they’ve so far stepped up with mixed results. Chris Dobey enjoyed an impressive 6-6 draw with Mensur Suljovic in week one but BDO Champion Glen Durrant went down 7-3 to Daryl Gurney when many expected him to upset the Northern Irishman.
The Wright Bet
This market is predictably much clearer with Wright the odds on favourite at 2/5 with Guts. The draw is available at 4/1 with William Hill and while victory for Steve Lennon can also be found at 4/1 in places, you can get a little more value on the Irishman at an industry best of 9/2 with 888sport.
Snakebite Wright can be vulnerable in this format and has suffered some heavy defeats in the Premier League. Lennon would need to be at the top of his game but there is some potential for an upset here.
Our Tip: Lennon for the upset – 9/2 with 888sport
Green Machine
Michael Van Gerwen sits proudly on top of the Premier League table after two straight wins. The Dutchman was in complete control as he eased past Mensur Suljovic in Glasgow. This week, Mighty Mike is third up on the night with 2018 World Champion Rob Cross standing in his way.
Cross’ form dipped after that world title triumph but he’s started the Premier League brightly enough with an opening draw, followed by a comfortable 7-4 victory over James Wade. This is the first of Thursday’s matches where we can consider head to head results from 2018. Both men were involved in the Premier League last season
A Repeat Victory
In fact, Van Gerwen and Cross met here in Dublin on the opening night of 2018 as MVG stormed his way to a 7-2 victory. The exact same result occurred again in a phase two rematch so it’s all pointing to another win for the Dutchman. We would, therefore, be looking at a modest profit at odds of 1/2 with BetBright here. Your other options are a win for Cross at 9/2 with Coral and Bethard or the draw at that same 9/2 with Bet365.
Our Tip: Van Gerwen to win – 1/2 at BetBright
Smith v Gurney
Our fourth game of the evening sees Michael Smith take on Daryl Gurney. Bully Boy Smith got some hostile treatment at the hands of a noisy Glasgow crowd last week and he may find a similar situation in Dublin.
Is Gurney on a Journey
We have three odds against prices on this clash but it’s Smith who starts as favourite at 21/20 with MansionBet. A win for Daryl Gurney is out at 2/1 with BetFred while the draw rounds this off at 3/1 with William Hill.
It could be as tight as those numbers suggest and after a number of tied scores in the first two weeks of competition, another 6-6 scoreline isn’t out of the question.
Our Tip: Smith to win – 21/20 at MansionBet
Closing Out
Two men who are struggling for form right now will close out week three’s action. Mensur Suljovic takes on Raymond Van Barneveld and with Barney having a particular struggle for form, the bookies have placed Mensur as favourite at 9/10 with 888Sport. Van Barneveld is available at 12/5 with BetBright while the same bookmaker has the best numbers on the draw at 7/2.
The End Battle
This is one game with the potential for value with Barney battling to draw with Gerwyn Price last time out and if you believe in the ‘form is temporary, class is permanent’ line, 12/5 looks a good option.
Our Tip: Van Barneveld to win – 12/5 at BetBright
Summary
This looks to be a close week over in Dublin and any of the above ties could finish 6-6 or 7-5. Punters may expect Peter Wright and Michael Van Gerwen to have easy nights but in this format, anyone can come through and cause an upset. We do believe both those men will win but it may well be much closer than the respective markets suggest.
Our first tip of the night is for Gerwyn Price to overcome James Wade. The Iceman has started strongly and while he has previously expressed a dislike for the Premier League, his abrasive character seems a perfect fit for the noisy crowds. More importantly, he’s the man in form and should, therefore, come through against Wade who was lacklustre in Glasgow last time out.
We’ll tip an upset in the final game where Mensur Suljovic is clearly struggling. The Austrian started 2018’s competition slowly and the format and the travelling just may not suit him. Van Barneveld to win at 12/5 is the tip from that one.
Finally, we’ll look at a correct score in the Van Gerwen vs Cross match. We were just one leg away from nailing a nice profit in MVG’s game last week and in a match where Rob Cross should prove a test, a final scoreline of 7-4 in favour of the Dutchman is the one to go for at 9/2 with William Hill.