Anderson to Rebound in Front of Home Fans

Gary Anderson faces World Champion Adrian Lewis in the Premier League darts at Glasgow this Thursday evening.

Anderson had hoped to return to his home country undefeated in the Premier League but a loss to Phil Taylor last Thursday put pay to that idea. Nevertheless, he remains at the top of the table and will be keen to exact revenge on Lewis who beat him in the World Championship final earlier this year.

The Scot is required to endure patriotic crowds that are not in his favour throughout the majority of the Premier League fixtures that take place in England. This week the crowds will be very much behind him and are likely to be louder than ever as the Premier League’s first ever Scottish representative comes to Glasgow.

However, Lewis will not be intimidated. He was brilliant last week in beating Simon Whitlock 8-2 with a 101.83 three-dart average and took that form into the first of the weekend’s UK Open qualifiers which he won by beating another Scot, Robert Thornton, in the final.

"I know the crowd will be behind Gary and it will be a difficult game wherever I play him because he's a fantastic player,” said Lewis after last Thursday’s victory.

"Most importantly I'll enjoy myself and I'm looking forward to it, it's going to be a brilliant atmosphere!"

The bookmakers have Anderson as the 5/6 favourite to add another two points to his tally. The World Champion can be backed at odds of 2/1 and the draw is a general 4/1.

Raymond van Barneveld moved into the top four with another impressive victory over James Wade last week. This Thursday he takes on Welshman Mark Webster.

Webster is proving to be extremely inconsistent in the league this season. After posting a tournament record low three-dart average of 84.81 in week three he came back with a record high of 110.19 in week four then dipped to 90.91 again last week.

Conversely, Barney is, perhaps surprisingly, proving to be one of the more reliable throwers in this year’s league. Consistently averaging around the mid-90s he certainly looks to be edging back towards some semblance of form, if not the heady heights of his very best.

The bookmakers quote the Dutchman as the 11/10 favourite for the win, with Webster at 6/4 and the draw at 7/2.