Premier League Darts news: Night 10 preview and predictions
The Premier League returns to the UK with Manchester hosting Night 10 of premier League Darts action.
Sports News Blitz writer Joseph Hannen dives into the key matchups and storylines from a night that could shake up the standings.
Littler's homecoming headlines Manchester showdown
Home favourite Luke Littler will be desperate to perform in his home city after taking no points in Berlin whilst Stephen Bunting defied the odds and wicked up his first nightly win.
Michael Van Gerwen’s withdrawal in Germany meant top-four rival Gerwyn Price got a bye and two points without playing his quarter-final.
Has Bunting’s brilliance put him back in contention?
Bunting put on a show in Berlin, taking home his first nightly win and first points of the season.
The Bullet took out Nathan Aspinall with an impressive 103.4 average to get himself off the mark for the campaign.
A 6-2 win over an underwhelming Luke Humphries set up his first final, where he won a last-leg decider against Price, averaging 93.73.
The beauty of the format means that Bunting could claw himself back into the playoff race, especially if he can take home another nightly win.
Eight points currently separate him from fourth-place Van Gerwen.
Bunting followed up his nightly win with a European Tour win on Sunday, beating Aspinall 8-4 in the final.
Due to Chris Dobey’s impressive 6-2 win over Littler, Bunting still sits bottom by two points.
He faces Humphries again in Manchester after beating the World No.1 on his way to his maiden Euro tour win.
Cool Hand sits comfortably in second place after picking up another two points in Berlin against Rob Cross.
Humphries has averaged 98.76 across the tournament, bettered only by Littler and Cross.
Littler to bounce back at home
Last year, Littler took the nightly win in Manchester with a 6-3 win over his quarter-final opponent Price.
Since then, Price has won six out of seven meetings, including two in this Premier League campaign.
The reigning World Champion holds a six-point gap at the top, as well as averaging a league high 103.56 and 102 180s.
Price sits third in the table after taking three points in Berlin, averaging 95.71 across the campaign.
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Can Cross break the curse?
Rob Cross takes on Aspinall in Manchester’s second quarter-final, with Aspinall winning seven on the bounce against Voltage in the Premier League.
The duo are separated by two points despite both winning six and losing nine. Cross’s six quarter-final wins keeps him ahead of Aspinall, who has reached two nightly finals.
Both players left Berlin pointless as Aspinall’s gap to Dobey in seventh is down to three points.
A win for Cross would create a four-point gap between the two and would give him a strong chance of ending the night in the top four.
The Asp has only one win in the last four nights, although he can take confidence from last week's Euro Tour as he reached the final again, falling at the final stage this time round.
Manchester order of play and predictions
The order of play for Manchester is as follows:
Chris Dobey vs Michael Van gerwen
Nathan Aspinall vs Rob Cross
Luke Littler vs Gerwyn Price
Stephen Bunting vs Luke Humphries
I expect Littler to put on a show in his hometown, and therefore take his fifth nightly win of the campaign and break his loss streak against Price.
The same goes for Cross, who I think finally gets one over Aspinall, as well as reaching his first nightly final.
Van Gerwen is the favourite to bounce back with a win, I think he takes two points before falling to Cross.
As for Humphries, I expect him to get revenge on Bunting before another defeat to Littler.
Night 10 prediction: Littler to beat Cross 6-3 in the final
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