The Premier League hits Birmingham tonight with some titanic tungsten tussles on the agenda including Rob Cross and Michael van Gerwen and Raymond van Barneveld vs Gary Anderson. Wayne Mardle has given his thoughts to Sky Sports ahead of all of the games including in his opinion wins for the likes of Van Gerwen and Wright.
His thoughts on Wright vs Whitlock who open up Week 14 of the Premier League: 'Peter Wright used to be Mr Consistent, now he's not, and he's hard to read. I think Peter's got more chance of playing to a higher level than Simon more often than not so I'm going to go with the bookmakers and go with Wright to win 7-4 but that's with no confidence whatsoever.'
In the second game, Mardle thinks that Gurney will grab a big win: 'This is a real tight game to call but I watched Gurney practice in an exhibition and he missed two nine-darters on the double. That showed that he has the rhythm and he's got the game. He is more consistent than Michael Smith and will come through this 7-5 for a big win.'
On Cross vs Van Gerwen, Hawaii 501 thinks that Michael will come through in a 7-4 victory: 'I don't ever predict Michael van Gerwen to lose, but of course I'm wrong sometimes. He didn't play brilliantly last week, but he did a job. Cross is that little bit more inconsistent lately but he will be up for this and will try and put Van Gerwen in his place again. Michael beat Rob the first time around and I see him beating him again, just. I see him winning this 7-4.'
In terms of the final game of the night, the former Premier League participant sees a draw between the pair: 'Last week Anderson didn't look the same player that played in Rotterdam when he lost to Simon Whitlock. He's a feel and touch player. He's not one of those with the arm, he throws with the hands and fingers. When Anderson's hand tightens, he struggles. Last week he didn't release the dart right, he wasn't counting properly like he does. He just seemed unfocused. Why? I have no idea, but I'm assuming he'll play better against Raymond and I think he'll have to.'
'Raymond played decent last week without being brilliant. This is a tough one because I've predicted a draw for Barney the last three weeks and I've got one right. I can't separate these two, so maybe odds-wise, the 6-6 draw I like because I don't trust either of them.'
In the second game, Mardle thinks that Gurney will grab a big win: 'This is a real tight game to call but I watched Gurney practice in an exhibition and he missed two nine-darters on the double. That showed that he has the rhythm and he's got the game. He is more consistent than Michael Smith and will come through this 7-5 for a big win.'
On Cross vs Van Gerwen, Hawaii 501 thinks that Michael will come through in a 7-4 victory: 'I don't ever predict Michael van Gerwen to lose, but of course I'm wrong sometimes. He didn't play brilliantly last week, but he did a job. Cross is that little bit more inconsistent lately but he will be up for this and will try and put Van Gerwen in his place again. Michael beat Rob the first time around and I see him beating him again, just. I see him winning this 7-4.'
In terms of the final game of the night, the former Premier League participant sees a draw between the pair: 'Last week Anderson didn't look the same player that played in Rotterdam when he lost to Simon Whitlock. He's a feel and touch player. He's not one of those with the arm, he throws with the hands and fingers. When Anderson's hand tightens, he struggles. Last week he didn't release the dart right, he wasn't counting properly like he does. He just seemed unfocused. Why? I have no idea, but I'm assuming he'll play better against Raymond and I think he'll have to.'
'Raymond played decent last week without being brilliant. This is a tough one because I've predicted a draw for Barney the last three weeks and I've got one right. I can't separate these two, so maybe odds-wise, the 6-6 draw I like because I don't trust either of them.'
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