PDC Premier League Darts 2019: Week 14 Betting and Odds Preview

Following the epic events in Manchester last Thursday night, the PDC Premier League moves across the Pennines to the Sheffield Arena this week, for the penultimate night of the regular season, with the action due off at around 19:15 BST.

Week 13 Results and Outright Market Updates

Kicking off last week’s action was Rob Cross against Michael Smith, with ‘Voltage’ cementing his place in the Final Four with an outstanding performance against the below-par Smith in an 8-1 victory.

Cross went to the top of the league standings following his efforts, and he has guaranteed his spot at the O2 Arena in two weeks time. The bookmakers were suitably impressed by the performance, and they have clipped the 28-year-old into a generally available 4/1 to lift his first Premier League crown. By contrast, Smith is left to lick his wounds and is already eliminated from the latter stages of the tournament.

Austrian, Mensur Suljovic solidified his position within the top four placings with a narrow 8-6 victory over the already eliminated, Peter ‘Snakebite’ Wright. Mensur has been shortened in the Outright Market to a best-priced 16/1 with Ladbrokes and William Hill.

Suljovic is in fourth place in the standings on 17 points, but he faces two tough tests against Rob Cross and Michael van Gerwen in the final weeks of the regular season, so his passage to Finals Night is far from certain.

Daryl Gurney produced arguably the best performance of Week 13 with an 8-5 win over Michael van Gerwen, to continue his push for the Semi Final stages. Gurney flew into a 4-0 lead and never really looked in danger against his illustrious opponent, as the Northern Irishman gained his third successive win against the out-of-sorts Dutch master.

Gurney is into a best price of 18/1 to with the Premier League with Betway and 10bet, while van Gerwen is still the very prohibitive price of just 8/15 with Betfred. The Dutchman will have to show much more of his usual form going forwards, if he is to justify such short odds.

The final action of Week 13 saw James Wade in imperious finishing form by despatching Gerwyn Price 8-4 in a contest where both players were desperate for victory.

‘The Machine’ is effectively one win away from guaranteeing a place in the Final Four provided that Suljovic and Gurney do not both win on Thursday night. Wade is now a widely available 9/1 chance, while Price needs to win both games and hope results go his way to qualify. Ladbrokes and William Hill are 25/1 on the Welshman lifting the title.

Week 14 will provide further clues as to who will fill the top four placings, and in what order. It promises to be another intriguing round of fixtures. Here are some views on the matches to hopefully point our readers in the right direction for winning selections.

Michael Smith v James Wade

Bottom of the table Michael Smith has looked to be a shadow of his former self in recent weeks, but the man from St Helens could still pose problems for James Wade, who is desperate for victory in this contest.

The Match Betting has Wade as the strong favourite to take the victory, and on current form, you could not argue. Wade is a 21/20 chance with SportPesa and 10bet, while Smith can be backed with Ladbrokes and Coral at 2/1. The Draw is available with Betway and SportingBet at 15/4.

The head-to-head statistics between these two players is incredible. Of the 14 PDC meetings between these two players, James Wade has won all 14 since 2014. The level of probability would eventually suggest that ‘Bully Boy’ Smith will win against Wade, but I don’t foresee that happening on Thursday night. Both players are at the opposite ends of the confidence scale in this event, and Wade is of obvious interest at a shade over odds against.

Mensur Suljovic v Rob Cross

Both players need the two points in this game for contrasting reasons, Suljovic for top four qualification hopes, while Rob Cross can go another step closer to securing top spot in the Premier League table with victory.

Following last week’s 8-1 demolition of Michael Smith, the bookmakers have taken notice of Cross’ fine form, and they make ‘Voltage’ the 5/6 favourite with Ladbrokes and Coral to maintain first place in the standings. RedZoneSports and SportPesa are the top price of 12/5 on a Suljovic win, while the Draw can be had at 15/4 with Betway and SportingBet.

Mensur Suljovic is a fine player, who has a knack of making life difficult for the best players, and he could well do this again here. However, Cross has found some fine form in recent weeks, and can cover a –2.5 handicap at 8/5 with Unibet, provided he can maintain his excellent recent run.

Daryl Gurney v Gerwyn Price

This game is arguably the match of the evening, and it’s one that could prove to be something of a grudge game. Gurney will be boosted with the recent success over Michael van Gerwen, while Gerwyn Price is in a must-win situation in this contest following his loss to James Wade last week.

As with the current league standings, the bookmakers have made Gurney the slight leader over Price in the Match Betting market. Gurney is a 7/5 shot with Betfred, while William Hill and Betway go 6/4 for a win for Welshman, Price. The Draw can be had with Betway once again at 15/4.

In yet another contest that both players need to win, The Draw in this game could well be the play at the value odds of 15/4 with Betway. It is a result that neither player will want, but it could be the final outcome. As an alternative selection, SportingBet’s offer of 23/17 for Over 13.5 legs in the match offers the chance of an 8-6 win in either direction, while also covering the Draw.

Michael van Gerwen v Peter Wright

The last match of the evening sees ‘MVG’ against ‘Snakebite’ with all the pressure on van Gerwen to get back to winning ways. Wright has already been eliminated from the tournament and can relax against the World number one player.

Van Gerwen is the very short price of 3/10 with William Hill and Betway to prevail in this contest. The Draw is surprisingly the second choice in this game at 6/1 - again with Betway – while a victory for Peter Wright can be taken with Betfred at 13/2.

The Match Odds on van Gerwen are too short to offer up as a selection, so we must look at alternatives. While we believe that the Dutchman will be the winner of this contest, our belief is that Peter Wright can make life difficult on this occasion. The 10/11 with Betway on Wright with a +3.5 leg start in this game could prove profitable. An 8-5 win for van Gerwen would be enough for us in this contest.

Best Bets:

• James Wade to beat Michael Smith at 21/20 with SportPesa
• Rob Cross –2.5 Legs against Mensur Suljovic at 8/5 with Unibet
• Daryl Gurney and Gerwyn Price to Draw at 15/4 with Betway.