Lewis and Webster take centre-stage
The 673rd Phil Taylor vs. Raymond van Barneveld match (ok, I exaggerate...) may be taking place this week, but the clash between 2011 PDC world champion Adrian Lewis and Welshman Mark Webster is the encounter that the fans have come to see.
It was Webster who came out on top in their first match with arguably the performance of the league so far - an 8-2 win with an 110 average - but he has failed to build on that display and the final clash in Cardiff should be a much closer affair.
My money would be on Lewis to avenge that loss. I read earlier this week that "Jackpot" has been on the road for the past two weeks and is only day at home was Tuesday (yesterday), so there is bound to be some tiredness in there somewhere, but his Pro Tour form has been consistent and that should be enough to grind out a win.
Webster, on the other hand, has lost his last two Premier League matches and has failed to reach the last eight of a Pro Tour event all year so he will be up against it to please his native Welsh fans.
Taylor looking to continue hot-streak
It is not often that a clash between these two players doesn't conclude a Premier League night, but that should not have any effect on the end result as Taylor look's odds-on to continue his dominance over his Dutch rival.
"The Power" has won the last 14 matches between the two and there is nothing to suggest he won't win by a comfortable margin this time.
'Barney' has been in much better form of late, but seems to lack self-belief against his arch enemy and quickly comes despondent if he misses chances to take leg's from Taylor.
Taylor cantered into a 6-0 lead at the break in their match a few weeks ago, and 'Barney' is going to have to change that drastically if he his going to stand a chance.
Anderson looking to get back to winning ways
It was Gary Anderson who set the early pace in the 2011 Premier League but remarkably, after three successive defeats, a loss here could see leave him on the brink of falling out of the playoff places.
That was unthinkable a few weeks ago, but the main thing Anderson has in his favour is that he is up against bottom-of-the-league James Wade.
The Scot should be able to relax against "The Machine" in the knowledge that he will almost definitely get chances with Wade's scoring power off-colour at the moment.
A couple of damning stat's for Wade are that he hit six 180s against Lewis in week two, but he has only hit ten 180s in the other six weeks. He has also taken out eight ton-plus checkouts and still remains at the base of the table.
Jenkins bidding to break into top four
Terry Jenkins was the one player that some supporters felt didn't deserve a place in this year's league, but he can prove them wrong here with a win that could see him move into playoff contention.
He displayed his renowned fighting spirit last week, coming from 6-3 down to draw 7-7 with Lewis, and if he can do that against Simon Whitlock, he may be able to cause an upset.
However, it will be tough. Whitlock has shown renewed vigour in the past couple of weeks and he can put himself into the top four, albeit maybe momentarily, with a win in Wales.
He didn't has the best of weekend's in Crawley though and that could be the opening that Jenkins needs to nick something from this match.
Join the Conversation