Taylor could be in for a consecutive defeats this week against Jackpot
Phil Taylor kicked off the Premier League season with a defeat to Gary Anderson he could well be in store for another loss this Thursday in Bournemouth as he takes on the on-song Adrian Lewis.
The Power hardly played badly in Leeds, averaging over 104 and hitting 50% of his doubles, but he was still downed 7-5 by the world champion. It was a missed opportunity for Taylor to get some early points on the board and he will struggle to chalk up any against Lewis, who is playing brilliantly.
Jackpot turned in a stunning performance to batter Raymond van Barneveld 7-1 in West Yorkshire and followed it up by winning the first UK Open qualifier on Friday. When the two-time world champion gets into a good rhythm he is very difficult to stop, and he has beaten Taylor in this competition in the past when he is in good form. The Power chose not to compete in the UK Open qualifiers which may prove to have been a poor decision, whilst Lewis will be all the more confident thanks to his trip to Wigan.
Lewis is the outsider ahead of this clash and could prove to be great value at 6/4 to win the contest, leaving Taylor near the foot of the table after two weeks of action.
One of the few men in better form than Lewis is Michael van Gerwen and he will no doubt be picking up a second win in two Betway Premier League matches this week against Stephen Bunting. MVG was great against Kim Huybrechts last week and then won the UK Open qualifiers on Saturday and Sunday. Some achievement.
Bunting looked good on his Betway Premier League debut as he drew with James Wade, but will not be able to compete with Mighty Mike, who will almost certainly average well over 100. You can back the Dutchman to win at 4/7 with complete confidence. He also looks good with a -2.5 handicap at 5/6.
James Wade looks a very generous price this week as he takes on Kim Huybrechts. The Machine was solid if unspectacular in his draw with Bunting, but he should be able to step up a gear to see off the Belgian. Wade has a very decent record against the Hurricane, winning six of their nine contests, including the last three, so will be in confident mood. The better player with vastly more experience is EVENS for the win, which is too good to turn down.
Another cracking bit of value is on Van Barneveld to beat Dave Chisnall in Bournemouth. Barney was walloped by Lewis last week but he was not at his best and Jackpot was very much at his peak. The Dutchman will certainly improve, where as Chizzy is a bit unpredictable. The Englishman beat Peter Wright comfortably last week but was not really that impressive in doing so.
Clearly Chisnall had the much better outing in Leeds but even so, Barney, who is the defending champion, should still be favourite and is not. RVB should be backed with some gusto at 6/4.
Finally, Peter Wright takes on Gary Anderson in a clash that is difficult to see going any other way than a win for the world champ. Anderson started in perfect fashion with a win over Taylor, whilst Snakebite looked well off the pace in defeat to Chisnall. Gary is a sure fire winner this week at 4/7.
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