Worth chucking an arrer at Chisnall to shock Van Gerwen

Sky Sports 5, 7pm Thursday

James Wade v Adrian Lewis
Head-to-head: Wade leads 28-19

Adrian Lewis did what he does best in Belfast last Thursday by following up his previous week’s nine-dart roof-raiser with an abject effort against Dave Chisnall.

The great enigma that is Jackpot left punters out of pocket once more so there will be some understandable trepidation before taking a short price about Lewis against James Wade in Birmingham.

Lewis, in fairness, has been pretty good in recent weeks with five wins in seven to move to within a point of the Betway Premier League’s top four. That puts him three points clear of Wade, whose fate appears sealed.

Wade was also poor last week and has been fairly scratchy for a while now and there’s no doubt Lewis’s massive scoring power should give the twice world champ a decisive edge.

He’s obviously a skinny price to hit most 180s – he’s had 41 so far compared to Wade, who has had 19 – so maybe the Lewis-180s double at 11-8 is worth a stab.

Recommendation
A Lewis to win & hit most 180s
1pt 11-8 Sky Bet

Dave Chisnall v Michael van Gerwen
H2H: Van Gerwen leads 36-9

Dave Chisnall has lost only one of his last five Premier League matches – so too has Michael van Gerwen.

No one is saying that Chizzy is as good a player as Mighty Mike. A 14-game losing streak against the Dutchman emphasises the point.

But Chisnall is in really good nick at the moment and the idea that he can be a 9-1 shot following last week’s stunning double over Adrian Lewis and Phil Taylor is hard to fathom. The price has to be worth chucking a couple of quid at it.

Where Chisnall does have an edge which isn’t reflected in the prices is in gathering 180s. The Englishman heads that battle 55-45 and even when he throws badly in general he will still thump in maximums.

Recommendations
D Chisnall
1pt 9-1 BoyleSports
D Chisnall most 180s
1pt 6-5 general

Phil Taylor v Peter Wright
H2H: Taylor leads 20-8

Peter Wright dabbled with new darts once again last Thursday and produced an insipid performance, albeit in victory, against James Wade, averaging just over 92.

A few days later he won the German Open. Such are the vagaries of darts.

There is very little between Wright and Taylor in terms of averages, finishing percentages and, more importantly, points, which makes The Power a decent betting proposition.

He’s already beaten Wright once in this campaign – 7-5 in Manchester a month ago – and is a danger because he’s so relaxed.

Recommendation
P Taylor draw no bet
1pt 7-4 Betfair, Paddy Power

Gary Anderson v Raymond van Barneveld
H2H: Anderson leads 18-15

Barney absolutely battered Gary Anderson 7-2 when they met in Rotterdam in week seven, the second match in a four-game winning streak which saw the five-time world champ hoist himself back into playoff contention.

Back-to-back losses at the hands of Adrian Lewis and Michael van Gerwen have stopped the Dutchman in his tracks but he has won one more game than Anderson despite trailing him in the table and looks overpriced.

Recommendation
R van Barneveld draw no bet
1pt 15-8 BoyleSports, Coral, Ladbrokes

Adrian Lewis v Michael van Gerwen
H2H: Van Gerwen leads 31-14

Michael van Gerwen and Adrian Lewis come out for a second game and how they fared in their openers may well have a bearing on their mindsets.

What we can say, with some certainty, is that Jackpot is overpriced in a 180s matchbet.

Lewis has hit 41 maximums compared to Van Gerwen’s 45. However, over the last seven weeks, a period during which Lewis has come to life, Jackpot leads that battle 29-25.

Recommendation
A Lewis most 180s draw no bet
2pts 11-8 Coral, Ladbrokes