PDC Premier League Darts 2019: Week 7 Betting and Odds Preview

premier leagueAnother week of Premier League darts produced another round of upsets in a tournament that is becoming increasingly hard to call. At least we returned to normality to an extent as Michael Van Gerwen won his first game for three weeks while Michael Smith also enjoyed a much needed victory.

For week seven, we make our first trip overseas as we head to the Mercedes Benz Arena in Berlin so let’s quickly update the outright markets before checking on what Thursday has in store.

Outright Updates

That win for MVG cements his place as clear favourite to win the Premier League darts title for 2019. The Flying Dutchman is back on top of the table and can be picked up at 1/2 with most bookies including SportingBet. Joining MVG on nine points is Rob Cross who despatched Raymond Van Barneveld last time out and is at 7/1 across the board including William Hill and 10Bet.

Peter Wright was held to a draw by Daryl Gurney but sneaks into the top four as one of three players locked on seven points. Snakebite Wright is quoted at best odds of 14/1 with Unibet and BetFred and you can also pick up Michael Smith at that same 14/1 with 10Bet and SportPesa.

We then have Gerwyn Price at a best of 16/1 with BetFred again while James Wade eases from 12/1 to 16/1 with BetFred following his defeat to Mensur Suljovic in Nottingham.

Speaking of Mensur, the Austrian is next on the list at 25/1 with SportNation and RedZoneSports while Daryl Gurney is out at a top price of 40/1 with Ladbrokes and Coral. Finally, it seems unlikely that there will be a fairytale finish to Raymond Van Barneveld’s Premier League career: Barney is bottom of the table and the outsider in the outright betting at a discouraging 500/1 with Betway.

Those are the outright numbers for this week so we’ll now move on to the action in Berlin.

First up to the Oche

rob cross
Rob Cross

Opening up for us in week seven are Gerwyn Price and Rob Cross and, at this stage of the campaign, a win for either man could cement their place in the top four. On paper, this looks to be a tight contest and Cross is a narrow favourite at best industry odds of 5/4 with William Hill and BetFred.

A win for Price then follows at 17/10 with BetFred and SportPesa while the draw completes this one at a best of 100/30 with Betway.

Moving on to our second game of the evening and we have James Wade up against Peter Wright. It’s third versus fourth and once again, we have a tight market with Wade just ahead at best odds of 13/10 with SportNation. A win for Snakebite Wright can be claimed at a top price of 28/17 with SportPesa while the draw is at a familiar best of 100/30 with Betway.

Dutch Delight

Michael van Gerwen
Michael van Gerwen

Michael Van Gerwen stormed back to the top of the table with a 7-2 demolition of Gerwyn Price last week and he now takes on the struggling Daryl Gurney. As you’d expect, this is our first clear market of the evening with MVG ahead at 2/7 with Betway.

The draw is next in this contest at best odds of 11/2 with Unibet while a win for Daryl Gurney is right out at 7/1 with BetFred.

Next up is Michael Smith who ended a poor run of form in the competition with victory over Nathan Aspinall in Nottingham last week. Bully Boy Smith has shortened in the outright markets as we’ve seen and he is favourite at best odds of 13/10 with SportPesa to beat Mensur Suljovic. Mensur beat James Wade in week 6 as we know but it’s been a quiet tournament for The Gentle and we can’t see too much value in his top price of 8/5.

Completing the market for that fourth game is the draw at that best of 100/30 with Betway.

Closing Out

Germany’s Max Hopp is the latest replacement for the injured Gary Anderson and he has the honour of closing out the night in front of his home crowd. Hopp takes on Raymond Van Barneveld and there will be some takers at his best odds of 6/4 with Unibet.

Barney is also on offer at that same top price of 6/4 with BetFred while the draw is at - you’ve guessed it - a best of 100/30 with Betway.

Verdict

Daryl Gurney
Daryl Gurney

Michael Van Gerwen is expected to make short work of Daryl Gurney but otherwise, we may have some tight games in prospect. As we’ve seen in recent weeks, there are tough calls but at least there is some value for Berlin as long as we make the right predictions.

We’re going to stay with the match betting for our three tips and start with Gerwyn Price against Rob Cross. Voltage Cross may be second in the table but like the rest of the chasing pack, he’s been less than convincing and we expect the inconsistent Price to take advantage.

We’ll close with two favourites who should come through at decent odds against numbers. Michael Smith looked to be struggling at the start of the competition and that may have been down to disappointment following his World Championship Final defeat at the hands of Van Gerwen.

Expect Smith to recover from here and build the momentum from last week’s win over Nathan Aspinall.

Finally, while Raymond Van Barneveld looks to be vulnerable against home favourite Max Hopp, Barney retains some quality and is too proud a man to bow out without a fight. Take RVB to win at 6/4 and we’ll hopefully look forward to a profitable evening in Germany.

Best Bets: