The Premier League enters its sixth week, and things are about to get noisy as the boys roll into the always fiery atmosphere of Glasgow. Expect boos to ring out and flags to be waving as the English lads are in for a rough ride, although The Menace doesn’t think there’ll be smiles on too many Scottish faces when the dust settles.
The Bull v The Machine
The bottom two in the table square off in what both will be viewing as a must win game to keep their hopes of a semi-final berth alive. There is no doubt who will be going into the match really believing they will win it though, and that is Mr Jenkins.
A stunning performance, and easily the best of his tournament so far, from The Bull last week will have patched up his previously fragile confidence and has kept him in the chasing pack. It was a performance that came from nowhere and left Webster in his wake very convincingly. He’ll be heading to Glasgow believing that he’s going to move onto six points and really give the semi-finals a good crack, however he isn’t favourite with the bookies and that seems strange due to the form of his opponent.
The opponent I speak of is a man that is performing, well, well below par this campaign and should not be propping up the table, but unfortunately for him he is. He was very visibly frustrated as he got trounced by Barney last week, and it seems like he is in a rut both mentally and technically. His averages are well below what they should be, and what seems to be happening is that if he goes a break down in a match, there is no way he will make any kind of comeback.
It’s going to be a tight one and if Wade can come out firing then he has got a great chance of winning, but if he struggles early on then he could be in for another disappointing evening. It’s a very tough one to call, but I think The Machine might just have sorted himself out for this, and if he can handle the boos that are inevitably going to come his way then I think he can pinch it.
Prediction: The Bull 5 – 8 The Machine
Betting Tip: You can get 8/1 for Wade to win 8-5 with SkyBet.
Priestley’s Pick: A brilliant performance by Terry last week just when he needed it. Another defeat for James. Both players needing a win but I think James is due to hit form. Wade to win 8-5
Barney v Webby
This is another match that sees a big winner from last week face someone who was on the wrong end of a
heavy defeat.
The Dutchman looked excellent last week against Wade, and apart from his non-performance against The Power has generally been convincing throughout the competition. He seems calm and relaxed on stage and this has shone through in his results as he sits third place in the table.
Barney has been made favourite for this match and you can see why as he has been playing superbly, and has avoided the loss of form I predicted after his loss to Taylor.
Webster, in contrast, has been very up and down so far. Last week’s performance was a very poor one indeed, especially after his stunning win over Lewis the week before. It’s hard what to expect from the Welshman as it seems there are two Webster’s that can turn up on a Thursday night.
If Webster can pull out another one of his top performances then it will be a very close game, but I can’t see him doing enough to stay with Barney over the piece.
Prediction: Barney 8 – 4 Webster
Betting Tip: Webster over 2.5 180s is 4/7 and I fancy he’ll do it
Priestley’s Pick: Barney produced a good performance last week and Mark let himself down after impressing the week before. I think last week’s win will set Barney on a roll. Barney to win 8-5
The Wizard v The Power
This is the first of two World Championship final rematches that the fans in Glasgow will be treated to, and certainly could be an excellent contest.
Taylor’s win against Anderson last week cemented the fact that he is very much still the main man on the scene and will be unquestioned favourite for every contest he is involved in. Ever since his thrashing at the hands of Lewis in week one he has been back to his imperious best and is only not top of the table due to leg difference. You can’t see him losing to anyone at the minute if he carries on playing this way.
The Wizard, in comparison, was not firing last week at all and took a pasting from Adrian Lewis that he will be keen to make amends for. His average was still decent but bizarrely his finishing has gone from arguably the best in the game to pretty shoddy in general (17% last week) and this is nowhere near good enough to win games at this level.
If Whitlock has sorted this out then he has the talent to at least hold his own through throughout the contest and he will have the crowd very much on his side, but it’s a very big ask to beat Taylor when he’s on form and I don’t think he’ll do it.
Prediction: Whitlock 5 – 8 Taylor
Betting Tip: Draw at interval, Taylor win is 9/2
Priestley’s Pick: The hard games are coming thick and fast for Phil. Barney, Anderson now Whitlock. If the Whitlock from two weeks ago turns up then we are in for a game but I think Phil’s going to be too strong. Taylor to win 8-5
The Flying Scotsman v Jackpot
This would probably be the highlight of the night wherever it was being played, but with the contest taking place in Glasgow then it is undoubtedly the one that everyone is looking forward to the most. The atmosphere throughout the night will be raucous and Barney and Whitlock will have been cheered on with gusto, but the roof will really be blown off when Anderson appears.
The Scot played fantastically last week and was incredibly unlucky to lose to the world number one so his credentials were certainly not harmed too much as he matched him almost to the end of the encounter. The issue for him will be the whole new type of pressure that will arise from performing in front of his own fans. Yes he will be spurred on, but he is a man who suffers from nerves, and with everyone him to win he might struggle.
Lewis was back to his best in Manchester, with his finishing especially incredibly impressive. Anderson will still be favourite for the game, but there are only two men who I think could give him a proper challenge in Glasgow, and one of them is Jackpot. If he continues his good streak of form which he appears to be in then he could take the Scot all the way.
It may well be close, but I think Anderson should hold on to win it.
Prediction: Anderson 8 – 6 Lewis
Betting Tip: Over 8.5 180s is 11/10
Priestley’s Pick: Anderson lost his 1st match last week but that was against Taylor so no shame there! Another fine performance from Adrian last week and I think we are due a draw. Draw
My four picks will bring you a fairly small 11/1 and that reflects that of all the weeks so far I reckon this is the most predictable, but I could well be proved horribly wrong. Dennis going for the draw in the night’s main event would take the odds way up to 30/1 so that could be worth a go.
Adrian Lewis is currently 11/4 to produce the most 180s in the league, and I think this is a decent punt as he is only 2 behind Anderson and this could change very quickly indeed.
No comments:
Post a Comment