Gerwyn Price to Win v Rob Cross
Gerwyn Price can cement his position inside the top four of the Premier League table by overcoming Rob Cross on Thursday night. ‘The Iceman’ has been one of the most impressive performers in this season’s Premier League, earning his 13th win from his 23 matches thus far by edging out Luke Humphries in Birmingham last week.
With the race for play-off places really starting to heat up, Price will have earmarked this fixture as a huge opportunity to put another two vital points on the board, not to mention he can draw confidence from the fact that he defeated Cross 6-2 in Liverpool a fortnight ago.
As for ‘Voltage’ his own play-off hopes are beginning to fade as we head into the final three weeks of the regular season. Cross is the only player that has failed to reach a weekly final in this year’s Premier League, losing 13 of his overall 20 matches to date. What’s more, Cross has fallen at the first hurdle in four of the last five weeks, and everything points towards that trend continuing in Leeds this Thursday.
Luke Littler to Win & have the Most 180s v Nathan Aspinall
Luke Littler has won each of his four matches against Nathan Aspinall in this year’s Premier League and it’s difficult to envisage that sequence coming to an end in Leeds this week. That viewpoint is reflected in the pre-match odds, with Littler as short as 1.29 to emerge from this contest victorious. With the teenage trailblazer too short to side with as a single, instead look to him to rack up another win alongside hitting the most 180s.
Littler took his 180 tally for the Premier League season to a staggering 141 in Birmingham last week. Seven of those maximums were crashed in against Aspinall last Thursday, with the Stockport star managing three of his own. That means the ‘Nuke’ has now won the match as well as the 180 battle in each of his four meetings with the ‘Asp’ in this year’s Premier League, so there is good reason to side with the same formula when the pair lock horns again in Leeds this week.
Over 9.5 Legs in Michael van Gerwen v Luke Humphries
Look for Michael van Gerwn and Luke Humphries’ quarter-final clash to feature a minimum of 10 legs. The two players last crossed paths in Liverpool only two weeks ago, with Humphries taking top honours courtesy of a 6-4 victory. That was the third time that the pair have shared the oche in this season’s Premier League, with each of those respective three contests featuring 10 legs or more. In fact, one of those three showdowns required a final leg shootout to separate the duo.
With van Gerwen beginning to find some form again, another 10 legs looks well within range during his latest duel with Humphries on Thursday night. Five of the Dutchman’s last six Premier League matches have produced at least 10 legs, one of which, as already alluded to, was against Humphries. As for ‘Cool Hand’ each of his last three outings on the Premier League stage have featured 10 legs or more, including last week’s final leg decider defeat to Gerwyn Price.
