PDC Premier League 2019: Week 4 Betting and Odds Preview

premier leagueWeek three of the 2019 PDC Premier League produced another entertaining set of five games and some more close finishes. However, the dominant theme is for Michael Van Gerwen to brush aside all opponents and the Dutchman is now pulling clear at the top.

2018 World Champion Rob Cross was no match for Mighty Mike as he went down 2-7 in Dublin so can anyone halt Van Gerwen’s charge as the roadshow moves to Exeter for Week 4?

Outright Updates

Michael van Gerwen
Michael van Gerwen

Before we look at the individual matches, we’ll just update you on the outright betting for the overall Premier League champion. Michael Van Gerwen has been the hot favourite since before a dart was thrown in anger and he is clear at the top now at odds of 2/5 with Unibet.

MVG’s numbers are largely unchanged but the chasing pack continues to drift: Rob Cross is our second favourite at 11/1 with SportingBet, followed by Peter Wright at best odds of 12/1 with William Hill and Royal Panda. 2019 World Championship runner up Michael Smith is also at 12/1 - this time with Ladbrokes.

Behind the top four, the gap opens further until we find three players at 25/1. Daryl Gurney is at that sum with Betway while you can also pick up Mensur Suljovic at 25/1 with Coral. Gerwyn Price completes our trio at 25/1 with Ladbrokes.

We now move back to James Wade who may be a tempter at best odds of 33/1 with SportingBet while Raymond Van Barneveld continues to battle without impressing the bookies. Barney is our rank outsider at 80/1 with Unibet and SportPesa.

From those numbers, Gerwyn Price looks a value option but unless you want a short figure on Michael Van Gerwen, it’s a little early to commit. We’ll therefore move on to week 4 and see if we can make some profits on the night.

First Up to the Oche

rob cross
Rob Cross

The latest in a line of darters to replace the injured Gary Anderson is PDC fringe player Luke Humphries. He has the daunting task of opening up proceedings in Exeter and the bookies have given him little chance as he takes on Gerwyn Price.

Price goes off as an odds on favourite here at 3/4 with BetBright while victory for Humphries is out at a best of 3/1. The draw rounds things off at a general 7/2. The temporary replacements have battled well but they’ve yet to secure a win and we don’t think the situation will change on Thursday.

Following on we have what should be a much closer battle between Daryl Gurney and Rob Cross. ‘Voltage’ Cross is the second favourite for the title but has done little to inspire confidence in potential backers.

Rob Cross is the favourite here at a top price of 5/4 with Unibet and SportPesa but we think there could be value in backing Gurney at 8/5 with BetBright. The draw finishes this one at 10/3 with BetFred.

Dutch Master

Peter Wright
Peter Wright

Michael Van Gerwen is fourth up this week but before that we have Peter Wright up against Mensur Suljovic. With a host of draws punctuating the opening exchanges, this is another game where punters will be eyeing up a 6-6 scoreline and that is available here at 100/30 with Betway.

Elsewhere, Snakebite Wright is the favourite at best odds of 16/11 with SportPesa, followed by Mensur Suljovic at 6/4 with William Hill and Betway.

Now we have MVG and the latest thrower to try to stop him is James Wade. The left hander is here by virtue of a strong campaign in 2018 but Wade hasn’t really hinted at a Premier League title and he’s given little chance here at 7/1 with Unibet.

A win for Van Gerwen is available at just 2/7 with 10Bet while the draw rounds things off at 5/1 with Unibet. Based on form, we won’t argue with those numbers so we’ll just move on.

Closing Out

Raymond Van Barneveld
Raymond Van Barneveld

Our final game of the evening involves Michael Smith and Raymond Van Barneveld. As we’ve seen, Barney has been written off by the bookmakers in the outright markets but he’s shown his mettle with two successive, battling draws.

Against Bully Boy, RVB is on offer at best odds of 7/2 with Betway while Smith is the clear favourite at 3/5 with SportingBet. The draw comes in at the same 7/2 with William Hill and because Michael Smith has also been involved in some tight games, another 6-6 outcome shouldn’t be ruled out.

Verdict

Three of the games on show this week feature clear markets where the favourite is odds on to win. We’ve seen some upsets and more 6-6 scorelines than we might have expected but we’re not going to argue with the bookies on those three. Feel free to take smaller profits on Gerwyn Price, Michael Smith and Michael Van Gerwen or, you can look for some better value elsewhere.

Daryl Gurney to beat Rob Cross would hardly be a shock, particularly when we consider that Cross is low on form and Gurney beat Michael Smith last time out. At odds of 8/5 for the Gurney win, that looks a value option and it’s our first confirmed tip of the night.

We felt that the Peter Wright vs Mensur Suljovic match would also be close and a correct score of 7-5 either way is an option to consider. However, with so many draws dropping in over the first three weeks, we’re opting for another share of the points at 100/30.

That leaves a final option for a correct score tip and we’ll look towards Michael Van Gerwen who has been so dominant in the opening exchanges. His run of wins doesn’t look like stopping anytime soon and at 4/1 with Unibet to overcome James Wade, we’ll look to MVG to round off what will be a profitable evening down in Exeter.

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