Week four of the Whyte & Mackay Premier League Darts heads to Exeter on Thursday. Raymond van Barneveld and Phil Taylor face off as The Power looks to extend his 100% record.
James Wade v Adrian Lewis
Few would have predicted the lean times being endured by James Wade on the TV screens at the moment.He sits at the bottom of the table after three defeats from three and already three points away from the qualification criteria (top 4). Things are not made better in that his week four opponent is the brilliant, yet unpredictable Adrian Lewis. Wade’s form in general is not as bad as results suggest. He has two tour semi finals to his name in 2010 alone and posted his highest average of the competition in last week’s 8-2 defeat to Phil Taylor (96.96). The bookmakers have certainly not deserted him as of yet and Stan James make him the 5/4 jolly on Thursday. Lewis suffered his second defeat from three as he stumbled to defeat against Terry Jenkins last week after again faltering in the latter half of the contest. He has taken the first leg in two out of his three contests to date and those fancying Jackpot to race out of the traps again can take the 13/8 that he wins leg one against The Machine. Boylesports’ quote of even money that Wade averages under the 96.75 mark is worthy of interest after he fell woefully short of this mark in the opening couple of weeks (90.44 & 89.29).
Ronnie Baxter v Simon Whitlock
Ronnie Baxter is partying like it’s 1999 as he rolls back the years in having the time of his life on the big stage. The happy-go-lucky Lancastrian is back in the world’s top six and struck last week in Belfast by taking out the red-hot Mervyn King. The Rocket has been a model of consistency over the past couple of years and indeed this tournament and you can pretty much guarantee he will be averaging in the mid-90s with a continuous onslaught on the treble 20 bed. Simon Whitlock has shown significant improvement in his last two Premier League fixtures and sits beside Baxter on three points from a possible six. The Aussie had a tough weekend in Derby with Chris Mason taking him out at the last 16 stage on Saturday followed by a first round exit to Andy Callaby on Sunday. The layers go as short as 8/15 Whitlock but we are yet to see anything that suggests we should steaming into this. Baxter is the form horse and available to back at 10/3 (we fully expect this to disappear as Thursday progresses). A more cautious approach would see Baxter being taken in the draw no bet market at 23/10 at Sportingbet.
Verdict
James Wade to average under 96.75 at Evens (Boylesports)
Ronnie Baxter draw no bet to beat Simon Whitlock at 23/10 (Sportingbet)
***Part 2 of our Premier League Darts preview will follow later today***
