Premier League Darts: Night five predictions, betting tips, acca, order of play and Sky Sports TV time

There's been four different nightly winners out of four during the new-look campaign so will Michael Smith, Joe Cullen, Gary Anderson or James Wade join the club in Brighton tonight?

You can find stats for all four quarter-finals below as well as previews and tips...

Darts betting tips: Premier League night five

1pt Smith to beat Anderson and hit most 180s at 13/8 (Sky Bet)

1pt two or more 100+ checkouts in MVG v Wade at 6/4 (Sky Bet)

Sky Bet odds | Paddy Power | Betfair Sportsbook

SL Acca: Smith, Clayton, MVG & Price all to win with Sky Bet at 11/2

Thursday March 10: Night five quarter-finals

• Venue: Brighton Centre
• TV Coverage: Sky Sports (1900 GMT)
• Format: Best of 11 legs

Gary Anderson (6/4) v Michael Smith (4/6)

• Head to Head: 13-9 (TV: 7-6)
• Meetings since start of 2021: 1-1 (TV: 0-1)
• Tournament Average
  Anderson: 95.79 (5 games)
  Smith: 97.04 (5 games)
• Tournament 180s (180s per leg)
  Anderson: 12 (50 legs, 0.24 per leg)
  Smith: 11 (46 legs, 0.24 per leg)
• Tournament Checkout %: 22/44 (50%) - 17/38 (44.74%)
• Tournament 100+ Checkouts: 3 - 3
• % legs won with a 100+ checkout: 13.64% - 17.65%

I think we're all wishing Michael Smith was heading to Brighton as the UK Open champion but yet another agonising final defeat means he must keep hold of the 'best player never to win a major' tag for a little while longer.

His performance against Danny Noppert, who only averaged in the mid 80s before edging a deciding leg, was heartbreaking to watch especially after he'd played so well to beat both Gerwyn Price and Keane Barry to earn a shot at a big TV title that really was there for the taking.

Sadly - and annoyingly predictably given the world we live in - he received a fair share of stick on social media for 'bottling it', so I'm sure I wasn't the only one concerned about how he'd pick himself up from the disappointment in the coming days and weeks.

However, the message he put out on Twitter on Wednesday was a superb response to the critics while also demonstrating positivity and perspective in his career.

Bully Boy will want to come out all guns blazing in Brighton to put Sunday's final behind him - although let's not forget what a great tournament he played overall, averaging close to 100 prior to the clash with Noppert, firing in a nine-dart finish and a the most ever number of 180s ever seen at a UK Open.

That followed on from picking up a first Premier League win of the season before running into an explosive Michael van Gerwen in the semi-finals so he's certainly in the kind of form which helped him reach the World Championship final.

The maximums bizarrely deserted him during the opening three weeks of the Premier League campaign but he's found his range in emphatic fashion now so I'm going to double up the victory with the most 180s in this clash.

Gary Anderson has also only managed one win so far this season and that came on opening night, while he won't exactly be thrilled by the level of his displays.

Scoreline prediction: 4-6

• CLICK HERE to back Smith to win and hit most 180s with Sky Bet

Peter Wright (8/11) v Jonny Clayton (5/4)

• Head to Head: 12-2, 1 draw (TV: 4-1, 1 draw)
• Meetings since start of 2021: 6-1, 1 draw (TV: 3-1, 1 draw)
• Tournament Average
  Wright: 99.64 (9 games)
  Clayton: 96.99 (10 games)
• Tournament 180s (180s per leg)
  Wright: 23 (76 legs, 0.30 per leg)
  Clayton: 22 (70 legs, 0.31 per leg)
• Tournament Checkout %: 41/99 (41.41%) - 35/87 (40.23%)
• Tournament 100+ Checkouts: 3 - 3
• % legs won with a 100+ checkout: 7.32% - 8.57%

Peter Wright will be hoping he's announced as the new world number one as many times as possible during these Premier League nights over the coming months given how close the rankings are.

The 51-year-old is the 11th different player ever to top the standings in PDC history but he's under no illusions how tough it will be to stay there.

He said: "I showed all those people, the doubters out there. All the belief that my wife Jo and my family have got to get me to number one in the world. It’s been really hard and now I’ve got to keep hold of it. I travelled back from Minehead, and since I got back I’ve just been on the dartboard."

Wright was hoping to earn his spot by beating Gerwyn Price en route to the UK Open title but after two impressive wins over Joe Cullen and Simon Whitlock, he then suffered a surprise 10-7 defeat to William O'Connor despite averaging 101 compared to his opponent's 94.

Last week he comfortably averaged over 100 during his Premier League victories over Price and Wade only to be mauled 6-0 by MVG with an average of just 87.

That's actually the second time this season he's sunk into the depths of the 80s and any drop off tonight will be pounced upon by Jonny Clayton, who will be seeking revenge for his heavy final defeat to Wright in Cardiff on opening night.

The Ferret hasn't been quite the force we've come to expect in the past few weeks and has also lost their last six meetings dating back to May 21 last year, including three in 2022 by fairly big scorelines: 7-3, 6-1 and 6-0.

However, he's clearly got the class to roar back to form in these short format matches and this could be an ideal time to catch Snakebite cold and snap his losing streak.

Scoreline prediction: 4-6

Michael van Gerwen (2/5) v James Wade (11/5)

• Head-to-Head: 40-16, 1 draw (TV: 26-9, 1 draw)
• Meetings since start of 2021: 2-1 (TV: 2-1)
• Tournament Average
  Van Gerwen: 100.73 (8 games)
  Wade: 14 (75 legs, 0.19 per leg)
• Tournament 180s (180s per leg)
  Van Gerwen: 24 (68 legs, 0.35 per leg)
  Wade: 14 (75 legs, 0.19 per leg)
• Tournament Checkout %: 43/81 (53.09%) - 37/100 (37.00%)
• Tournament 100+ Checkouts: 6 - 8
• % legs won with a 100+ checkout: 13.95% - 21.62%

Last Thursday night Michael van Gerwen was 'back' but two days later in Minehead he'd apparently gone again as suffered an early exit at the UK Open.

Obviously both knee-jerk reactions are typical of what we've become accustomed to on social media but really the truth lies somewhere in the middle. Statistically he's been playing very well all season which is why last Thursday's run to the week four title with an overall average of around 102 wasn't a bolt from the blue, while he managed a similar 100+ level during his 10-4 defeat to Damon Heta in which he crucially missed six of his 10 darts at doubles.

James Wade will be feeling equally deflated by his UK Open despite progressing two rounds further into the quarter-finals, where he was stunned 10-4 by Keane Barry just when the tournament had really opened up.

As well as the Irish teenager played, the Machine will be kicking himself at missing 11 of his 15 doubles in a match he was hot favourite to win and will obviously need to be much sharper on the outer ring to push MVG close tonight.

I do expect van Gerwen to come through this clash but my bet for this one is for there to be two or more 100+ checkouts at 6/4.

Wade has been firing them in for fun in the Premier League so far with a tournament high of eight and also managed five across his four matches at the UK Open, while MVG isn't far behind with six and produced one in each of his two UK Open matches.

You could opt for the 9/4 about them having one or more each, but I'll play slightly safer.

Scoreline prediction: 6-3

• CLICK HERE to back two or more 100+ checkouts with Sky Bet

Joe Cullen v Gerwyn Price * CULLEN AWARDED 6-0 WIN DUE TO PRICE INJURY

Gerwyn Price has withdrawn from Thursday's Cazoo Premier League night at The Brighton Centre with an injured hand.

The Welshman informed the PDC of his decision at 1600 GMT on Thursday, having travelled to Brighton on Wednesday and attempted to practice ahead of his scheduled match with Joe Cullen.

Following the withdrawal, under the rules of the tournament Cullen is awarded a 6-0 win in the quarter-finals, and progresses into the semi-finals to play either Michael van Gerwen or James Wade.

Price has also withdrawn from the weekend's Interwetten German Darts Championship in Hildesheim, which begins on Friday.

Here are the season stats anyway:

• Head to Head: 7-6 (TV: 2-3)
• Meetings since start of 2021: 2-1 (TV: 1-1)
• Tournament Average
  Cullen: 95.00 (6 games)
  Price: 99.71 (7 games)
• Tournament 180s (180s per leg)
  Cullen: 24 (58 legs, 0.41 per leg)
  Price: 19 (67 legs, 0.28 per leg)
• Tournament Checkout %: 26/94 (27.66%) - 34/88 (38.64%)
• Tournament 100+ Checkouts: 4 - 6
• % legs won with a 100+ checkout: 15.38% - 17.65%

Weekly winner: Night five odds

• Price: 7/2
• Wright : 4/1
• MVG: 4/1
• Clayton: 6/1
• Smith: 7/1
• Cullen: 14/1
• Wade: 16/1
• Anderson: 20/1

CLICK HERE FOR ALL THIS SEASON'S RESULTS, TABLE AND STATISTICS

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