Premier League Darts night 13 tips and predictions: Luke Humphries to get back on track in Liverpool
- Thomas Ridley
- 23 April 2024
The Premier League is reaching the home straight and it's Liverpool's turn to host the tungsten tussles, with several players looking to get more precious points in the battle for the play-offs.
Since winning three consecutive nights in March, Luke Humphries has struggled in the Premier League, winning just two matches in the following four nights.
After beating Michael Van Gerwen last week, Humphries returned to top spot on the virtue of night wins after Luke Littler had a rare quarter-final loss last week against Michael Smith.
Planet Sport Bet Offer: Bet £20+ cash on Premier League Darts & if match reaches a deciding leg, get a £5 Free Bet
Cool Hand Luke will be looking nervously over his shoulder, with the chasing pack bunching up and now only six points separate the top five.
The world champion faces last week's winner, Nathan Aspinall, knowing that a night win in Liverpool would almost secure his spot at the O2 come the end of May. The same applies for Littler.
Meanwhile, the other quarter-final in the top half of the draw sees Littler take on Gerwyn Price and in the bottom half, Michael Van Gerwen takes on Peter Wright and Michael Smith takes on Rob Cross.
Night 13 quarter-finals (1900 BST)
Luke Littler vs Gerwyn Price
Luke Humphries vs Nathan Aspinall
Peter Wright vs Michael Van Gerwen
Michael Smith vs Rob Cross
Teenage sensation Littler opens up night 13 at Liverpool with a quarter-final against Gerwyn Price.
Price has improved in recent weeks, but it has been a case of too Littler, too late for the Welshman as he finds himself 10 points off the final play-off spot and on the wrong side of his head-to-heads against the 17-year-old, losing three out of four meetings so far.
The Nuke was dumped out last week by his darting equivalent of a bogey team, Smith, but he has a 75% strike rate in the quarter-finals, which is better than anyone else in the competition.
We're backing Littler to have the better of the Iceman once more and pick up two vital points.
World number one Humphries takes on the consistent Aspinall in the night's second quarter-final, which promises to be an intriguing match-up.
Humphries has become known for his high scoring, while Aspinall has managed to grind his way to third, even though his tournament average is a lowly 95.75 - only Wright has a worse average.
Despite the stats not being in his favour, Aspinall's resilience has given him a great chance of making the end of season jamboree, but we think Humphries will grab a narrow win here.
In the other half of the draw, Van Gerwen looks to protect his play-off spot against Wright, who lies bottom of the table with just four points to his name.
MVG got back on track with a win in Birmingham two weeks ago, but was brought back down to Earth by Humphries in the quarter-finals last week.
The Dutchman has previously been the master of this competition, winning both years since the new format was brought in, but this year he has found it tougher.
However, he should have too much for Snakebite, who has had a poor competition and looks destined to finish bottom for a second consecutive season.
The night's final quarter-final sees two world champions face off in the form of Smith and Cross.
Smith hasn't hit the heights that we know he can, but is very much in the mix for a trip to the O2 Arena come the end of May.
A disappointing defeat against play-off rival Aspinall in the final last week means that Bully Boy is still outside the top four, but Cross is in a dreaful run of form in the Premier League.
Voltage hasn't won a match in the competition since night six, however a run to the semi-final at the European Darts Grand Prix should have boosted his confidence.
We think Smith will make it a seventh Premier League night without a win for Cross and Bully Boy could very much make it to a fifth night final, with a potential semi-final against Van Gerwen, who has been in mixed form recently.
However, we think that a Luke will take the night victory once again and with a potential semi-final battle, we're backing Humphries to beat Littler after he finally broke the 17-year-old's streak in their head-to-head in Sindelfingen.
Humphries to win the night and Smith to get to the final is the way to go.
Suggested bets
Luke Humphries to win the night
