Our guide for night six of the Cazoo Premier League Darts season includes match-by-match statistics, predictions, best bets and an acca.
Michael van Gerwen is bidding for a hat-trick of Premier League victories as the season rolls into Nottingham while Michael Smith, Joe Cullen, Gary Anderson and James Wade are still eyeing their first.
You can find stats for all four quarter-finals below as well as match previews and tips,
Darts betting tips: Premier League night six
1pt Smith to beat Wade and hit most 180s at 11/10 (General)
1pt MVG (-1.5 legs) to beat Price at 11/8 (Coral, Ladbrokes)
1pt Cullen to hit over 3.5 180s at 13/8 (Ladbrokes)
Thursday March 17: Night six quarter-finals
- Venue: Brighton Centre
- TV Coverage: Sky Sports (1900 GMT)
- Format: Best of 11 legs
Michael Smith (8/15) v James Wade (13/8)
- Head to Head: 5-17, 1 draw (TV: 5-17, 1 draw)
- Meetings since start of 2021: 1-0 (TV: 1-0)
- Tournament Average
Smith: 95.86 (8 games)
Wade: 93.39 (9 games) - Tournament 180s (180s per leg)
Smith: 22 (71 legs, 0.31 per leg)
Wade: 16 (86 legs, 0.19 per leg) - Tournament Checkout %: 33/77 (42.86%) - 42/112 (37.50%)
- Tournament 100+ Checkouts: 4 - 10
- % legs won with a 100+ checkout: 12.12% - 23.81%
Michael Smith has responded pretty well since his UK Open heartache earlier this month, reaching last week's Premier League final before a decent enough run to the last four of the German Darts Championship.
Focusing on his efforts in Brighton last Thursday night, Bully Boy only needed a couple of averages around 90 to beat below-par performances from Gary Anderson and Jonny Clayton but an improved level of 101 wasn't enough to deny a rampant Michael van Gerwen.
Smith was a bit up and down in Germany at the weekend, averaging a stunning 108 against Dave Chisnall before wasteful doubling cost him dearly in a low-quality with Dimitri Van den Bergh.
James Wade, who wasn't in European Tour action, was pipped by MVG in a scrappy encounter that went the distance last Thursday and he may need to add to his bulging tally of 10 100+ checkouts if Smith piles on the pressure with his scoring boots tonight.
The St Helens man had strangely been struggling to fill up the red bit in the opening four weeks of the season but hit 11 maximums in 25 legs in Brighton to drag up his 180 per leg ratio to a much more respectable 0.31 by his high standards.
Backing Smith to win and hit most 180s at 11/10 feels a safe enough option in this one - although Wade to hit one or more 100+ checkout is the same price and equally tempting.
Scoreline prediction: 6-3
Michael van Gerwen (8/11) v Gerwyn Price (5/4)
- Head to Head: 22-6, 1 draw (TV: 14-3, 1 draw)
- Meetings since start of 2021: 1-3 (TV: 1-1)
- Tournament Average
Van Gerwen: 100.61 (11 games)
Price: 99.71 (7 games) - Tournament 180s (180s per leg)
Van Gerwen: 32 (96 legs, 0.33 per leg)
Clayton: 25 (89 legs, 0.28 per leg) - Tournament Checkout %: 61/124 (49.19%) - 34/88 (38.64%)
- Tournament 100+ Checkouts: 10 - 6
- % legs won with a 100+ checkout: 16.39% - 17.65%
Michael van Gerwen's recent return to form reached another high point at the weekend when ending his two-and-a-half year wait for a European Tour title at the German Darts Championship - while it was also his first ranking title in front of a crowd since the UK Open back in March 2020.
As Paul Nicholson wrote in a recent Sporting Life column, it was no coincidence MVG's form went on a dramatic slide when the European Tour arena was decimated by Covid because he'd become so dominant on it that it meant he could pick and choose other events and stay as fresh - and confident - as possible heading into all the majors.
Nicholson wrote: "It was always his comfort blanket and when that was taken away he’s had to completely remodel his calendar, and it didn't suit him as well as before. One title in Barnsley last year was never going to give him the same kind of confidence he’d get from winning multiple events on the European stage so there’s no doubt this could be the key to his revival."
Sure, he did benefit from Peter Wright's withdrawal with a back injury to reach the semi-finals, where he survived three match darts against Dimitri Van den Bergh in a deciding leg, but ultimately he made the most of his fortune by winning seven of the last eight legs to beat Rob Cross 8-5 in the final and claim a much-needed first title of the season.
Having also won the last two Premier League nights, he really is the man of the moment right now and a confident, mentally-strong MVG spells danger for everyone else. Even Gerwyn Price.
The Iceman may have got the better of his rival in three of their last four meetings and looked in red hot form himself just a few weeks ago but you have to wonder if the hand injury that forced him out of last Thursday's Premier League and the weekend's European Tour event has healed enough for him to attain the levels needed to push van Gerwen.
Price has admitted he's "not 100%" so I've got to go with MVG in this one and to cover the handicap.
Scoreline prediction: 6-3
Gary Anderson (7/4) v Jonny Clayton (8/15)
- Head-to-Head: 9-4 (TV: 2-2)
- Meetings since start of 2021: 0-3 (TV: 0-2)
- Tournament Average
Anderson: 94.43 (6 games)
Clayton: 95.79 (12 games) - Tournament 180s (180s per leg)
Anderson: 13 (57 legs, 0.23 per leg)
Clayton: 25 (89 legs, 0.28 per leg) - Tournament Checkout %: 23/57 (40.35%) - 43/116 (37.07%)
- Tournament 100+ Checkouts: 3 - 6
- % legs won with a 100+ checkout: 13.64% - 13.95%
Gary Anderson is on a five-match losing streak in the Premier League since beating Michael van Gerwen in his season opener so he's already in danger of being cut adrift at the foot of the table.
The Flying Scotsman has only got close to averaging over 100 twice - and they were both in defeat - but this could be an opportunity to turn the corner as he prepares to face a relatively out-of-sorts Jonny Clayton.
Since a flurry of sparkling performances in the opening two weeks, the Ferret has struggled to hit the heights we've come to expect from him on the Premier League stage while he wouldn't have described his performances at the German Darts Championship as anything more than solid.
Clayton should edge the 180s battle judging on their 180s per leg ratios this season and is 11/10 to do so but as far as the match result is concerned, I'd expect a hungry Anderson to battle his way to a hard-fought victory.
Scoreline prediction: 6-5
Joe Cullen (6/4) v Peter Wright (4/7)
- Head to Head: 5-21 (TV: 0-8)
- Meetings since start of 2021: 0-3 (TV: 0-2)
- Tournament Average
Cullen: 94.37 (7 games)
Wright: 100.06 (10 games) - Tournament 180s (180s per leg)
Cullen: 28 (65 legs, 0.43 per leg)
Wright: 25 (87 legs, 0.32 per leg) - Tournament Checkout %: 27/99 (27.27%) - 46/110 (41.82%)
- Tournament 100+ Checkouts: 4 - 3
- % legs won with a 100+ checkout: 14.81% - 6.52%
Joe Cullen has lost all eight of his previous meetings with Peter Wright in televised tournaments dating back to the 2011 UK Open and didn't get particularly close to breaking this duck in their recent clash in Minehead.
The Rockstar, who was also soundly beaten by Snakebite in the 2021 World Matchplay, only averaged 92 during that 10-6 defeat earlier this month and his performance was pretty much in keeping to what he's served up in all competitions of late.
Since winning back-to-back Players Championships in February, which followed his Masters heroics and a run to the night two Premier League final, Cullen has lost six of his last eight matches and has 'only' averaged around 93.5 across them all.
However, while he was gifted two points by Gerwyn Price's absence last Thursday, he now faces a potentially wounded Snakebite, who withdrew from his quarter-final with van Gerwen at the German Darts Championship with a back injury.
Snakebite said: "It's been a really hard couple of weeks. I've not been anywhere near 100 percent this month. The back issue on top of the gallstones was the last straw for me in Germany at the weekend. I feel better now that I've been checked out by the docs.
"I will have to look after myself a bit now, rest as much as I can between events. If I can focus on the darts, I think I win matches."
Wright did still manage to average 98 in a 6-4 victory over Krzysztof Ratajski prior to pulling out on Sunday while he also posted 103 during his 6-5 defeat to Jonny Clayton last Thursday, so his problems have been far from obvious.
But with this in mind, I'd cautiously avoid picking a winner and instead go for Cullen to hit over 3.5 180s at 13/10.
Scoreline prediction: 6-5
Weekly winner: Night six odds
- MVG: 3/1
- Price: 7/2
- Wright : 4/1
- Clayton: 4/1
- Smith: 11/2
- Cullen: 10/1
- Wade: 11/1
- Anderson: 18/1
CLICK HERE FOR ALL THIS SEASON'S RESULTS, TABLE AND STATISTICS
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