Premier League Darts preview: Glasgow to go wild for Gary Anderson

Gary Anderson is expected to receive a rapturous reception when the Premier League visits Glasgow’s SSE Hydro on Thursday.

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Anderson will take to the stage in Scotland for the first time since his World Championship victory in January. The 44-year-old faces Kim Huybrechts in front of a sell-out crowd of over 10,000 fans.

Fellow Scot Peter Wright faces a huge game in his battle to avoid elimination as he meets Stephen Bunting, with both players enjoying an upturn in fortunes in recent weeks.

Old foes Raymond van Barneveld and Phil Taylor lock horns once again, while first plays second as an unbeaten Michael van Gerwen meets Dave Chisnall.

James Wade v Adrian Lewis

Wade picked up his second win of the campaign in Nottingham last week and followed that with a superb weekend at the Players Championship in Barnsley.

‘The Machine’ reached the final on both days, beating Peter Wright in Sunday’s decider, and he is hoping to back that up with a victory over Lewis.

"I'm looking forward to playing Adrian," said Wade. "I had a couple of weeks where I lapsed off and let my opponent back in so I was glad to get the job done last week.

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"When I had to produce good darts, it felt like it was there on tap and I'm feeling happy and confident in my game at the moment."

Lewis’ Premier League record has been poor since reaching the final in 2011 and his only win this season came on the opening night.

The Stoke thrower changed his darts for the match with Anderson last week, and although he suffered a 7-1 hiding he was relatively pleased with his performance.

However, it’s results that Lewis needs, with just three games remaining before the bottom two players are eliminated.

Peter Wright v Stephen Bunting

After stuttering starts, both players have found some form and pulling themselves away from the danger zone.

Wright has taken points off Phil Taylor and Michael van Gerwen, and beat the former at the UK Open, and he also dished out a 10-0 drubbing to Bunting in Minehead.

Peter's a fantastic player but I'm hoping that he doesn't beat me to nil again and I can reverse the tables this week - I'll be ready for it!

‘Snakebite’ picked up his first Premier League victory last week after finishing strongly against Huybrechts, and after numerous switches he finally looks to have settled on a set of darts.

The 2014 world finalist is in unbeaten in four Premier League games but he needs to get more points on the board to extend his season.

"I'm playing a lot better now and taking chances when I get them," said Wright. "It's pretty tight down at the bottom now and I've got a couple of big games coming up.

"Stephen's playing really well but hopefully the 10-0 win from the UK Open will be in his head."

Bunting has also hit form recently, defeating Lewis and Dave Chisnall in his last two fixtures, and believes he has adapted to the Premier League stage following a rocky start.

"I've had a few hard weeks and obviously they don't get any easier, but I feel like I'm back playing some really good darts again," said Bunting.

"I want to keep climbing up the table and get as far away from relegation as I can.

"Peter's a fantastic player but I'm hoping that he doesn't beat me to nil again and I can reverse the tables this week - I'll be ready for it!"

Raymond van Barneveld v Phil Taylor

Reigning champion Van Barneveld is staring elimination in the face after four defeats in his opening six games, and averaged a lowly 88.38 in last week’s 7-3 loss to Wade.

The Dutchman has the lowest tournament average - 94.81 – and he needs to rediscover his best form ahead of a tricky run of fixtures. He faces the world’s top three players – Taylor, van Gerwen and Anderson - in successive weeks and another reverse in Glasgow could spell the end.

Taylor also lost 7-3 in Nottingham as missed doubles cost him dearly against Van Gerwen, but the 16-time world champion remains in good form and will be confident of hanging onto his top-four spot.

The darting veterans have enjoyed some fantastic tussles through the years, with Van Barneveld beating Taylor in last year’s Premier League semi-final, but current form points to a fourth win of the campaign for ‘The Power’.

Kim Huybrechts v Gary Anderson

‘The Flying Scotsman’ was in unstoppable form against Lewis in Nottingham, averaging 108.98 with a 58 per cent checkout rate, and he defeated the likes of Bunting, Lewis, Chisnall and Wade as he claimed a Players Championship title on Saturday.

While the proud Scot is relishing his chance to follow in the footsteps of Jocky Wilson in claiming the adulation of his home crowd, Anderson insists he cannot lose focus against the Belgian.

"It's going to be the first time in Scotland that I'm announced as world champion, so it's a heavy weight on my shoulders," said Anderson.

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"I'm quite a quiet guy; I like to be in the shadows, go up, play my darts and disappear - but with winning the world championship it's been a bit hectic and I'm doing things that I'm not quite comfortable doing.

"There's extra pressure because you want to win in your home country and people don't realise how much is on your shoulders. I'll enjoy it a lot better if I can get the win, or at least a draw!"

Huybrechts sits bottom of the Premier League after a narrow defeat to Wright last week, his fourth loss in six games. But the 29-year-old has been playing better than his results suggest.

"He had a 107 average against Dave Chisnall and walked away beaten, which is hard to take, but he's sticking in there and playing well,” said Anderson.

"He's hitting high averages and playing well and he's going to come good sooner or later, so it's going to be hard to call on Thursday and the game will be nip and tuck."

Dave Chisnall v Michael van Gerwen

The final game of the night comes at the head of the table as Chisnall looks to bounce back from his first loss of the season.

‘Chizzy’ was below his best against Bunting but still managed four 180s, and he needs to reproduce the form shown in his win over Anderson if he is to end Van Gerwen’s unbeaten start.

MVG withdrew from the Players Championship last weekend due to illness but he has been in unstoppable form in the Premier League. The back-to-back finalist averaged 107.61 in his win over Taylor in Nottingham, finishing strongly after showing some early nerves on doubles.

"Dave's doing really well this season so I know that I have to perform as well as possible in Glasgow and that's what I'll be trying to do," said Van Gerwen.

"There's no extra pressure on me because I'm at the top of the table. I want to perform better and better each week and I don't want to let myself down."

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