Lewis aiming to shut down Power in Premier League

PREMIER LEAGUE DARTS is back on our screens on Thursday with a tasty clash between Adrian Lewis and Phil Taylor headlining the week one action from the Manchester Arena.

The pair, the two most recent winners of the Ladbrokes World Championship, joined forces to win the World Cup of Darts last week, but will be keen to assert individual superiority in Manchester.

Taylor is beginning to lose the respect of the younger generation of darts players, and a couple of surprise defeats last weekend will have done his image no favours.

But beating the incumbent double world champion in a big TV match would go a long way towards restoring his reputation and bookmakers seem to fancy the Power to do so.

Taylor is 5-6 to win the match with Lewis a general 2-1 and the 4-4 draw is 9-2.

The Power is 15-8 to win the tournament for the sixth time with Lewis and defending champion Gary Anderson 9-2.

The opening contest of the night sees Premier League debutant Andy Hamilton take on James Wade, followed by Simon Whitlock against Raymond van Barneveld and another debutant Kevin Painter taking on Anderson.

Read Steve Davies's unbeatable preview of week one and the Premier League season in Thursday's Racing Post