Premier League Darts: Night eight predictions in Rotterdam, betting tips, accas, order of play & TV time

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It's a crucial part one of the Rotterdam double-header - to say the least - for a certain Dutch legend as Raymond van Barneveld bids to keep alive his hopes of avoiding relegation in his farewell Premier League Darts season.

If Michael Smith beats Gerwyn Price in the opening match on Wednesday then Barney simply must defeat third-bottom Daryl Gurney to ensure he has something to play for against Michael van Gerwen 24 hours later when the Ahoy Arena also hosts Judgement Night.

Meanwhile leader Rob Cross faces Mensur Suljovic, MVG is up against Peter Wright while Wednesday's 'contender' is rising star Dimitri van den Bergh, who takes on James Wade.

Here I'lI run through all five fixtures, complete with head-to-head records, season stats so far, match verdicts, suggested bets and accas - plus a reminder of how the table looks.

Premier League Night Eight: Wednesday March 27

Click on the odds for more Sky Bet match markets

• TV Coverage: Sky Sports (1900 GMT)
• Format: Maximum of 12 legs

Accumulators

Treble: Van den Bergh, Cross and van Barneveld at 15/1

Four Fold: Price, Van den Bergh, Cross and van Barneveld at 38/1

Draw no bet accas: The above accas at 7/1 and 16/1 respectively

Gerwyn Price (6/4) v Michael Smith (5/4), draw (3/1)

2019 PL Average: 96.98 - 94.91
Best Average: 104.11 - 100.21
Tournament 180s: 24 - 22
Checkout %: 44.71% (38/85) - 42.17% (35/83)
High Checkout: 147 - 150

Head-to-head: 11-5
Meetings since start of 2018: 2-2
PDC Titles Since Start of 2018: 4-3
Career Titles: 6-11

It's somewhat surprising that Gerwyn Price is one of the four players who could mathematically be relegated on Judgement Night considering he's only lost two matches and both of those were to the leading duo of Rob Cross and Michael van Gerwen.

But those came back-to-back in the last fortnight to take the wind out of his sails while the Welshman's three draws against Barney, James Wade and Luke Humphries also cost him crucial points that would have seen him sitting very comfortably in the top four.

That said, there's no need for Price to press any panic buttons just yet because he's still in pretty good form away from the Premier League, reaching the quarter-finals of the weekend's European Darts Open where he missed a match dart to beat Michael van Gerwen in a thrilling quarter-final.

In any case, the Grand Slam of Darts champion should be more confident than Michael Smith, who slumped to his fourth defeat of the season last Thursday to Mensur Suljovic and only averaged 85.

Apart from a run to the UK Open semi-finals, when ironically he was almost playing on one leg, he's been well below-par for much of the season and on Saturday he exited the European Tour event at his first hurdle, albeit because of an inspired display from Krzysztof Ratajski.

I'm going to give the edge to Price in this one but the bet that catches my eye is both players to hit a checkout of 100+ at a Price Boosted 4/1 from 2/1.

Score Prediction: 7-5

Suggested bet: Both players to hit a checkout of 100+ at 4/1 with Sky Bet

James Wade (1/1) v Dimitri van den Bergh (15/8), draw (3/1)

2019 PL Average: 100.66 - N/A
Best Average: 109.59 - N/A
Tournament 180s: 22 - N/A
Checkout %: 48.19% (40/83) - N/A
High Checkout: 158 - N/A

Head-to-head: 1-2
Meetings since start of 2018: 0-1
Senior PDC Titles Since Start of 2018: 2-0
Career Titles: 30-0

James Wade certainly drew one of the shortest straws with his Gary Anderson replacement and I fancy Dimitri van den Bergh to cause a minor upset on Wednesday night.

The rising Belgian star, who defeated the Machine en route to reaching the Players Championship Four final last month, was a deserving recipient of one of the nine 'Contender' spots and will no doubt milk the occasion for all it's worth.

It's only a matter of time before the two-time World Youth champion gets his hands on a senior PDC title and we've seen many glimpses of his talents on the televised stage - not least hitting a nine-dart finish at the Grand Slam of Darts last November as he went on to reach the quarter-finals.

He was pretty impressive on the stage at the weekend's European Darts Open, averaging over 102 in a 6-3 victory against Adrian Lewis only to be soundly despatched 6-0 by Daryl Gurney in the third round.

His weakness at this stage of his career is a lack of consistency but when he gets his A-game together then he's hard to stop and Wade will need to use all his experience and timing qualities to keep him at bay.

Van den Bergh is a good enough price at 15/8 but if you want to be bolder then how about backing him to win, score over 2.5 180s and have a checkout over 76.5 - all pretty tame targets especially if this match goes long.

Score Prediction: 4-7

Suggested bet: Van den Bergh to win, score over 2.5 180s and checkout over 76.5 at 9/2

Rob Cross (10/11) v Mensur Suljovic (2/1), draw (3/1)

2019 PL Average: 101.59 - 98.31
Best Average: 104.33 - 101.38
Tournament 180s: 20 - 18
Checkout %: 43.88% (43/98) - 44.83% (39/87)
High Checkout: 164 - 121

Head-to-head: 5-5
Meetings since start of 2018: 1-5
PDC Titles Since Start of 2018: 2-2
Career Titles: 7-5

To say Rob Cross is knocking on the door of winning a title this season is an understatement but if he carries on in this vein of form then he'll break it down sooner than later.

I tipped Voltage at 8/1 to win the European Darts Open at the weekend on the basis of how consistently well he's been playing and it was all going to plan when he stormed into the final with four victories, averaging 100+ in each of them.

He posted another three-figure mark when he came up against a resurgent Michael van Gerwen, who had fired in a third nine-darter of the season to help him get out of jail against Mensur Suljovic in the semi-final, but just came up short, losing 8-6 in a high-quality contest.

Nevertheless the Premier League leader will still be feeling great about his game at the moment but will need to stay close to his best if he's to snap a four-match losing streak against the Austrian.

Crucially they haven't met this year, with the last encounter being at the Grand Slam of Darts when Cross was struggling to find his best form, so I'm going to side with the former world champion here.

Not that Suljovic isn't without a chance of course - he's won his last two Premier League games against James Wade and Michael Smith, while he could so easily have found himself in that European Darts Open final had it not been for that inspired perfect leg.

It could go deep so I'm backing Cross at 5/2 to win, score over 2.5 180s and have a checkout of over 81.5. He hit 20 maximums in his five matches at the weekend while there were no shortage of high finishes either.

Score Prediction: 7-4

Suggested bet: Rob Cross to win the match, score over 2.5 180s and checkout over 81.5 at 5/2

Peter Wright (4/1) v Michael van Gerwen (1/2), draw (7/2)

2019 PL Average: 99.02 - 99.86
Best Average: 106.64 - 104.98
Tournament 180s: 22 - 21
Checkout %: 43.30% (42/97) - 44.68% (42/94)
High Checkout: 100 - 132

Head-to-head: 15-53 (2 draws)
Meetings since start of 2018: 4-6
PDC Titles Since Start of 2018: 2-23
Career Titles: 22-121

Peter Wright used to have one of the worst records against Michael van Gerwen but now he's among those who have quite a good one - relatively speaking of course.

Snakebite lost 16 matches in a row from the 2015 World Matchplay until a UK Open qualifier in 2017 but including that encounter, he's won seven of their previous 19 encounters, which isn't too shabby at all.

Although he lost their last meeting in the 2018 World Grand Prix final, which MVG won 5-2, Wright's victories have all been on the stage of European Tour events or televised matches in the Premier League, World Series or the Champions League of Darts, so he's clearly shaken off any mental blocks which did exist for many years.

His performance at the Champions League was especially gutsy, winning 11-9 after trailing 3-0 and 8-5 thanks to a devastating display of finishing.

After a largely disappointing 2018, which culminated in an early World Championship exit, the Scotsman has gradually got his game back to a level which can challenge the Dutchman and he's only averaging fractionally less than him in the Premier League this season.

His entertaining draw with James Wade last week means he dropped back out of the top four but only on legs difference and Wright will feel bullish of extending MVG's misery in Rotterdam.

Last year the world number one lost both of his matches there - including an unforgettable clash with Barney - but this past weekend we were all reminded of what MVG can do when he sets his mind of setting a record straight!

After two Premier League defeats straddled 'that' draw with John Henderson, the doubters questioning his dominance started to circle but he silenced them for the time being at least on Sunday by making his third nine-darter of the season - via another different route - as he went on to collect a fourth title of 2019 at the European Darts Open.

He was fantastic against Cross in the final too, averaging 104 and kicking the match off with a 170 checkout to complete a 12-darter, but he did survive match dart against Gerwyn Price in the quarter-finals and was also in big trouble when trailing Suljovic in the semis before his sensational perfect leg.

I think it could be a tad naive to think he's back to his ruthless best so I'm going to side with Wright in the double chance market at 6/4.

Score Prediction: 6-6

Suggested bet: Wright to win or draw at 6/4

Raymond van Barneveld (15/8) v Daryl Gurney (1/1), draw (3/1)

2019 PL Average: 92.36 - 96.64
Best Average: 95.36 - 100.05
Tournament 180s: 15 - 15
Checkout %: 39.29% (33/84) - 37.65% (32/85)
High Checkout: 170- 140

Head-to-head: 3-2 (1 draw)
Meetings since start of 2018: 0-1 (1 draw)
PDC Titles Since Start of 2018: 0-1
Career Titles: 41-3

Raymond van Barneveld realistically has to beat Daryl Gurney regardless of Michael Smith's result against Gerwyn Price earlier in the night because it gets a whole lot tougher on Judgement Night when he faces Michael van Gerwen.

Barney produced a much-needed bit of magic last week when a 170 checkout helped him defeat home favourite Max Hopp in Berlin, which gives him a glimmer of hope heading into the Rotterdam double-header.

Not only does he need to conjure up similar heroic moments in front of his own fans on back-to-back nights - just like he did 12 months ago - but he needs to play consistently a lot better than he has been all season.

Barney has only averaged above 95 once in the 2019 Premier League - and even then it was only fractionally - and managed just a single victory while on the Pro Tour, his run to the Players Championship Eight final is very much the exception to the rule as far as his form is concerned.

He crashed out in the first round to Steve Beaton when making his return to the European Tour last Friday night but we must not underestimate the power of the Barney Army and how much extra motivation that will give him against Gurney.

The Northern Irishman is desperate to avoid relegation himself - and not just so he can return to Belfast - but even he admits that not even ear plugs will drown out the wall of noise willing his opponent on to victory.

I'm going to keep it simple with this last match and back Barney to grab two points and set up a do or die clash with MVG on Thursday night.

Score Prediction: 7-3

Suggested bet: Barney to win at 7/4

Judgement Night Fixtures - Thursday March 28
Rotterdam Ahoy
TV Channel: Sky Sports (1900 GMT)

• Daryl Gurney v Mensur Suljovic
• Peter Wright v Gerwyn Price
• Rob Cross v Jeffrey de Zwaan
• Raymond van Barneveld v Michael van Gerwen
• James Wade v Michael Smith

2019 Premier League Darts Table

1. Cross P 7 W 5 D 1 L 1 LegD +15 Pts 11
2. Van Gerwen P 7 W 4 D 1 L 2 LegD +10 Pts 9
3. Wade P 7 W 3 D 2 L 2 LegD +7 Pts 8
4. Suljovic P 7 W 3 D 2 L 2 LegD +4 Pts 8
5. Wright P 7 W 2 D 4 L 1 LegD +3 Pts 8
6. Price P 7 W 2 D 3 L 2 LegD +5 Pts 7
7. Gurney P 7 W 3 D 1 L 3 LegD -8 Pts 7
8. Smith P 7 W 2 D 1 L 4 LegD -5 Pts 5
9. Van Barneveld P 7 W 1 D 2 L 4 LegD -10 Pts 4

CLICK HERE FOR FULL SEASON FIXTURES, RESULTS & TABLE

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