Night four of the new-look Premier League is set to take place in Exeter with the world’s top two players on a collision course in the quarter-finals.
Price and Wright Set For Potential Classic
Gerwyn Price and Peter Wright are some way ahead of the pack in the world rankings and have been the most consistent and high-class players over the past couple of years.
Each of their last four meetings have come in the finals of tournaments with the latest coming in the International Darts Open on Sunday.
Price won and in doing so retained his status as the world number one, which Wright would have taken for the first time in his career had he come out best.
The two players have also tasted victory in the Premier League this season – Wright winning night one and Price winning last time out after defeating James Wade in Belfast.
It is incredibly hard to call who will win but Price seems to be raising his game to such heights that he might prevail and he can be backed at 6/1 to win 6-5.
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗹𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗼𝗽 𝘀𝗽𝗼𝘁
Relive Sunday's full final from the @Interwetten_com International Darts Open between @Gezzyprice and @snakebitewright as they battle it out in a straight shoot-out for the world number one spot!
https://t.co/7ecGqI51iw pic.twitter.com/pYa1xWqWc2
— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) February 28, 2022
MvG in Need of a Win
Two years ago, if you were to predict a winner between Michael van Gerwen and Jonny Clayton, the vast majority would back the Dutchman without hesitating.
How things have changed – MvG, who has won dozens of majors through his career including five Premier Leagues, seems to have lost that aura that made him such a Taylor-esque dominant force.
He has only made the semi-finals twice and is a shadow of the player who for so long was the game’s superstar.
Clayton, on the other hand, has stormed up the darts pyramid as he claimed four TV titles last year.
He has already beaten Van Gerwen in the competition this season, in the semi-finals of Liverpool, and has reached two finals, winning one.
He is priced at 4/5 to win.
Smith In Need Of Points
World Championship runner-up Michael Smith is the only player not to have picked up any points in the competition so far and he will be aiming to change that when he faces new boy Joe Cullen.
Smith was below par in his first two weeks but averaged 103 in defeat to Price last time so the performance levels are there.
However, Masters champion Cullen has been in superb form this year and he also picked up a brace of Pro Tour titles last month.
He is becoming more ruthless in his play and he can be backed to beat Smith at 23/20.
Veterans Set For Meeting In Exeter
Ending the quarter-finals are James Wade and Gary Anderson, the two most experienced players in the field.
Wade is currently fourth and reached the final in Belfast last time – a game he probably should have gone to win but he spurned too many chances.
Anderson is yet to reach a final in the revamped event but has won the Premier League twice before with Wade’s sole triumph coming way back in 2009.
The Scot has won five of the last eight meetings and can be backed to win 6-5 at 5/1.
* All odds correct at time of writing.
