2016 Premier League Darts: Week 14 Preview & Betting Tips
Play-off places can be secured this week as the Darts Premier League heads to Manchester for Week 14 of the season. It’s the second-last week of the regular rounds, and only ladder leaders Michael van Gerwen and Phil Taylor are assured of a play-off berth.
Adrian Lewis and Gary Anderson will want to gain points this week to take the pressure off their final match next week, while it’s the last chance for Peter Wright and James Wade to make a impression on the top four.
We didn’t have an article last week but if you followed our tips on Twitter @BullsEye_Bets you would have secured another profitable night with our best bets landing.
Let’s hope that continues this week with our best bets for Week 14 of the Darts Premier League:
James Wade vs Peter Wright
What a cracking match to start the evening! As we alluded to earlier, both players need to gain two points from this match to have any shot at a play-offs spot as they currently sit in fifth and sixth place on the leaderboard. A loss, or even a draw, and it’s curtains on the season for both these players.
Peter Wright has given himself a chance after a great effort last week where he defeated Phil Taylor and drew with Gary Anderson. If he had played like that all season he would already have a play-offs spot secured. Wright switched his darts once again, but this setup looks like a keeper as he played superbly well. He needs to back it up against James Wade who was destroyed 7-1 last week by MVG.
Interestingly, both players reached separate finals, and both lost, in PDC events over the weekend. On Saturday, the two clashed in a quarter-final with Wade gaining the win in a tight 6-5 result.
There is so much to play for here, I really can see this one going right down to the wire. A draw is a distinct possibility, although it doesn’t benefit either player. They’ll be going for the win, so I think I would rather take the overs for number of legs. Over 10.5 legs looks a safe play, or if you want to be a little more aggressive, take the over 11.5 legs which means any draw or 7-5 result is a win.
I think we can also make a small play on Peter Wright to land the most 180s. He has the second most for the league this season (44) while Wade has the second lowest (32) of those still remaining in the league.
Bet: Over 10.5 legs at $1.53 OR Over 11.5 legs at $2.18 at CrownBet
Bet: Peter Wright most 180s at $1.66 at CrownBet
Gary Anderson vs Robert Thornton
Gary Anderson will secure himself a play-off spot with a win here against Robert Thornton, and that’s an opportunity he won’t want to miss. Anderson has had four draws in his last six matches, so is perhaps lacking a little of that killer instinct to finish off his opponents, but he’s not doing too much wrong on his own throw.
Thornton on the other hand, hasn’t really made much impression in recent weeks after going on a bit of a heater around relegation time. He’ll be happy once this season is over, so it’s hard to see him doing much damage here.
There’s not a lot of value in the match betting so we’ll make a play at the averages for this match. Thornton’s average line is set at 96.5 which looks a little high to me. He’s only been beyond that three times all season – once against Wade early in the season, once in a high-quality match against MVG and once in his win over Wright. His last three weeks haven’t been great and with little motivation here, we can play the unders and hope he doesn’t find form.
Bet: Robert Thornton average under 96.5 at $1.83 at Sportsbet
Michael van Gerwen vs Raymond van Barneveld
Another all-Dutch classic will see MVG look to maintain top spot on the ladder against Barney. MVG plays Phil Taylor in the last week of the regular season, so a win in this match will make sure that Taylor has to beat MVG in that final showdown to take over top spot and secure the bonus prize.
Meanwhile Barney continues to play well without getting the victories. He’s had so many 7-5 losses this season, that if a few clutch plays had gone his way, he might be in play-off contention. His leg differential is actually better than both Wade and Wright above him.
I usually side with Barney to make a good fist of these sorts of matches and push MVG the distance, but with nothing to play for, it’s hard to know how much fight will be in the tiger.
I can’t see MVG losing the match under the circumstances, so to give us some more value, we’ll multi that with him landing the most 180s.
Bet: MVG to win + most 180s at $1.72 at Sportsbet
Adrian Lewis vs Phil Taylor
The final match of the night will see Adrian Lewis take on Phil Taylor in a match with huge repercussions for both players.
Lewis is hanging onto the top four but has the toughest run home of any of the contenders. A loss here against Taylor will see Lewis have to take on Gary Anderson next week in what could be a must-win game. Wade and Wright have the somewhat easier opponents in Thornton and van Barneveld next week, so Lewis probably needs to find at least one point from one of his last two matches. It’s a big ask considering the opposition.
It’s also a big ask with Taylor coming off a rare loss and needing to win to challenge MVG for the top of the table bonus. He will be gunning for two points here.
Lewis is a tricky player to bet as you never know if he will turn up to play. He was scintillating three weeks ago, including a nine-darter, but then followed that up with a poor loss to Barney and a scrappy win against Thornton. At his best he can challenge Taylor, but this match is just too important for The Power to drop.
An interesting market for these two is the 180s market. Lewis hasn’t thrown more than three maximums in the last seven Premier League matches, including just two in the last three matches. Taylor hasn’t thrown more than three in the last eight Premier League matches, yet the books are giving us a generous line of 6.5 180s for the match! Sure, this may go the distance, but the match could easily be cut much shorter if Lewis isn’t at his best. I think the 6.5 line is very high for these two given recent form and their tendencies to switch to the 19. I’m happy to make this one my best bet of the week.
Bet: Phil Taylor to win at $1.80 at William Hill
Bet: Under 6.5 180s at $1.88 at William Hill (best bet)
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Take note: Any of the tips in this article are simply the author’s opinion, so bet at your own risk and always gamble responsibly. Also be sure to check out the Before You Bet Twitter Page for all our thoughts in the lead up to bets! Happy punting!
