PDC Premier League Darts 2019: Week 5 Betting and Odds Preview

premier leagueMichael Van Gerwen’s winning streak came to an end in week 4 of this season’s darts premier league but the Dutchman remains at the top of the early table. James Wade was the man to overcome MVG and the competition seems a little more open than it did seven days ago.

The action now moves on to Aberdeen for week 5 so let’s firstly see if the outright market has been affected before considering our upcoming matches.

Outright Update

Van Gerwen is not unbeatable: We always knew that but defeat at the hands of James Wade has done little to affect the Dutchman’s outright win price. MVG remains an odds on option to lift the trophy at the end of the campaign and he can be claimed at a best of 4/9 with BetFred.

Rob Cross was a mover last week after flattening Daryl Gurney 7-1 before reaching the final of the UK Open. ‘Voltage’ can now be picked up at a top price of 9/1 with 188Bet. Michael Smith follows as third favourite at 12/1 with Ladbrokes and Coral and that puts him ahead of Peter Wright at 16/1 with Unibet and SportingBet.

The biggest shift in the market has seen James Wade’s win price cut in half. A week ago, you could have picked up The Machine at 40/1 but he’s now on offer at a best of 20/1 with William Hill and Betway.

Moving through the list, Mensur Suljovic is quoted at the same figure of 20/1 with 10Bet, followed by Gerwyn Price at best odds of 25/1 with William Hill and Royal Panda. Daryl Gurney is also quoted at 25/1 with BetFred and SportingBet before Raymond Van Barneveld concludes as our rank outsider at 125/1 with Royal Panda.

At this relatively early stage of the season, Van Gerwen remains the man to beat but the odds for Wade and Price hold some interest. We’ll now move on and consider our five games for Aberdeen this week.

First up to the Oche

Rob Cross
Rob Cross

Opening up the week five action are Michael Smith and Rob Cross and here are two men who will be hopeful of ultimate Premier League glory at the end of the campaign. Cross currently sits in third place in the table but Smith really needs the points after one win in four which has left him in eighth position.

We’ve a tight market for this one with Rob Cross as favourite at best odds of 7/5 with SportingBet and SportPesa, followed by a win for Michael Smith at a top price of 13/8 with BetFred. The draw will therefore be a tempter and this is available at a best of 100/30 with Betway.

Next up we have Daryl Gurney facing James Wade after the two men experienced very contrasting weeks in Exeter last time out. Wade ended Michael Van Gerwen’s run while Gurney slumped to defeat against Rob Cross but the result market is as close as it can get.

Both men are quoted at the same price with most bookies and it’s BetFred who come in with best odds of 6/4 on either Gurney or Wade. Once again, the draw will be an option to strongly consider and this is on offer at a best of 100/30 with Betway.

Welsh Wizardry

Gerwyn Price is undefeated in the Premier League so far this season but three draws keep the Welshman in fourth place. On Thursday, Price takes on Mensur Suljovic and the bookies are certainly backing him to get back to winning ways.

The Iceman is favourite to win that one at best odds of 7/5 with BetBright but it’s another tight market with Suljovic just behind at a top price of 28/17 with SportPesa. If you’re backing another draw then it’s over to Betway again with the same best odds of 100/30.

Our penultimate game of the evening is Raymond Van Barneveld and Peter Wright. Barney has been written off by the bookies and he’s battling to avoid elimination so the market for this one is much clearer.

Wright is odds on to win this one and ‘Snakebite’ is on offer at 3/4 with SportingBet while a victory for Van Barneveld is available at best odds of 14/5 with SportPesa. This time, the draw is available at a top price of 15/4 with Betway.

Closing Out

Michael van Gerwen
Michael van Gerwen

Michael Van Gerwen has the honour of closing proceedings this week and his opponent is John Henderson. The Scot is the latest in a line of one-off replacements for Gary Anderson and he won’t be short of support from a home crowd.

That support doesn’t extend to the bookmakers however and they’ve made MVG a hot favourite at best odds of just 1/5 with SportingBet. The draw is the next option on the list at 15/2 with Unibet while a win for Henderson completes this week’s betting at 10/1.

Verdict

The last two games on the schedule should go with the favourites and in view of the prices involved, we’ll avoid backing either Peter Wright or Michael Van Gerwen. Elsewhere, markets are so tight that we could see the trend for draws continue in Aberdeen.

In fact, we’ll opt for a tie at 6-6 in the first match of the evening between Rob Cross and Michael Smith. Form suggests a win for Cross while Smith also has an injury niggle but he is a better player than his Premier League start suggests.

The next two games could be equally tight but we’ll back Gerwyn Price to dispense with Mensur Suljovic. That run of draws may deter some punters but Price is showing good form across the early season tournaments and he should ease past the lacklustre Austrian.

Finally, we’re going to keep with the theme of domination in the final game between Michael Van Gerwen and John Henderson. MVG was due a blip at some stage but he’s ready to seek revenge on the latest Anderson replacement and Van Gerwen to win 7-1 offers decent value at 5/1 with BetFred.

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