The second half of our week four Premier Lague Darts preview is now available as Terry Jenkins & Phil Taylor look to continue with their unbeaten starts to this year's competition:
Mervyn King v Terry Jenkins
What a difference a week makes for Mervyn King. This time last week he was going into his match with Ronnie Baxter armed with a 100% record on the back of a double tour victory in Swindon. His first Premier League defeat was swiftly followed by early exits to lowly ranked PDC players Darren Johnson & Stuart Dutton at the weekend’s events in Derby and he has to be seen as a weak 10/11 favourite, especially given his opponent Terry Jenkins’ fine win over Adrian Lewis last time out which was followed by a run to the final of the weekend Players Championship. Skybet go a standout 2/1 on the Raging Bull who is still unbeaten in the 2010 competition. Jenkins is becoming renowned as the Premier League draw king after several fight backs to force 7-7 draws. The King/Draw double result is trading at 12/1, again with Skybet.
Raymond van Barneveld v Phil Taylor
So often billed as ‘the’ game, the Barney v Taylor clash is not quite as an attractive proposition these days. These two heavyweights have gone in opposite directions over the last couple of years and gone are the days when these two used to vie for favouritism in the big games. Taylor is installed as the 2/7 favourite here with Bwin dangling 13/2 about the Dutchman. Barney was competitive in his latest defeat to Simon Whitlock but he will need to raise his game by 10-15 points to live with The Power on Thursday. He continues to snub the floor tournaments and whilst others, including Taylor, sharpen their game at the weekends, the Premier League encounters are van Barneveld’s only action at the moment. Taylor has been progressively improving over the weeks and last week’s 104 average could yet be improved upon again. Boylesports offer 3/4 that he goes over 101.25. Barney has the throw in leg one yet Taylor is a master of the early break and he can be backed at evens to take the opener. He is also 8/11 to outscore Barney on the 180s having hit 15 in the tournament so far compared with the Dutchman’s 12. The 8-0 whitewash is a general 33/1 poke.
Verdict
Phil Taylor to hit more 180s than Raymond van Barneveld at 8/11 (Various)
Blue Square are running a special offer on Thursday’s action. If the player you back is leading at the break (six legs) and then loses the match, they will refund all match betting stakes upto a maximum of £250.
