Mardle predicts Van Gerwen won't make Premier League top four: "He is nowhere near anything like his best"

The Premier League Darts restarts on Wednesday evening and the battle for the top four begins with Wayne Mardle casting his eye over who he thinks will be in front of the returning fans on Play-Offs Night.

Speaking to Sky Sports, Mardle believes that the three debutants in Jonny Clayton, Jose de Sousa and Dimitri van den Bergh will upset the apple cart and win through.

"You look at the stalwarts like Gary Anderson and Peter Wright who are struggling in seventh and eighth place but that is only position-wise because points-wise they are still very much in it," said Mardle to Sky Sports.

"Michael van Gerwen is nowhere near anything like his best and that will remain a concern for him and in contrast to all three of those you look at the debutants this year - Jonny Clayton, Jose De Sousa and Dimitri Van den Bergh - and, spoiler alert, I am predicting that all three of those will now make the play-offs.

"It is the way that I have changed my thinking and the likes of Anderson, Van Gerwen, Wright and Wade - who by the way is playing some of his best stuff since his mid-20s - they don't have the right to dominate perhaps in the way they used to.

"These debutants they play these multiple world and major champions so often that it is not any bigger game than when they play each other.

"There is no fear and they are not intimidated any more and there is definitely a slight change in the order of the darting world."

"Whichever of the eight goes on to win it, it wouldn't surprise you" - Mardle

But despite that potential change in the darting world, Mardle wouldn't be surprised if MVG comes back fighting and goes on to win it.

"But if Van Gerwen goes out and wins would that be a shock? Not at all. Before the lockdown MvG's form had started to go, Gary had become a bit disinterested in the game and I feel for Peter who had no chance to celebrate being a world champion," he continued.

"But all the guys now are different animals. They live better, they prepare right, their performance management is better than those that have gone before them and they practice.

"Gary has always said he doesn't practice much, Peter has always been chopping and maybe that has caught up with him. But it's interesting times because they don't need a settling in period because they are already champions in their own right.

"Whichever of the eight goes on to win it, it wouldn't surprise you - that's where we are, but like last year we could find ourselves in a position where we have two debutants in the final."