Betting-Previews is back with another set of darts betting previews and predictions for the seventh day of action at the 2021 PDC World Matchplay. Today’s schedule has two quarter-finals bouts featuring Peter Wright, Michael Smith, Michael van Gerwen, and Nathan Aspinall.
2021 PDC World Matchplay – Day 6 Recap
Krzysztof Ratajski made easy work of Callan Rydz yesterday, who he beat with 16-8 to improve upon his showing last year and reached the semi-finals of the 2021 PDC World Matchplay. The Polish Eagle is now only one win short of winning his first PDC Premier event.
Following Ratajski’s trashing of Rydz, we saw Grewyn Price take on Dimitri Van Den Bergh in what proved to be a much more one-sided affair than expected. The two heavyweights went back and forth for the first half of the match; however, Van Den Bergh came out ahead thanks to his clinical finishing in the last eight legs, outperforming Price 7-1.
If yesterday’s action is any indication, we are in for another exciting evening of darts as three of the top-10 rated players look to book their spot in the semi-finals.
Wright P. – Smith M.
Friday, July 23 – 19:10 BST
Peter Wright enters this match with an outstanding 102.93 2021 PDC World Matchplay average, which makes him a clear favorite to defeat Michael Smith who has managed only 96.90 on the tournament. What’s more, Wright has been far more efficient in hitting 180s, having scored 10 across 28 legs to Smith’s seven across 41.
Having said that, Smith has hit all seven of his in his shock win against Jose de Sousa, so you could make a case that the world no.7 has found his form just in time to give the “Snakebite” a run for his money this evening.
Still, it’s hard to look past the head-to-head record, which shows 5-2 in favor of Wright and 3-0 in televised matches. Wright last won this bout in November 2020 (10-6), and has previously bested Smith with a 6-3 and 8-5 in September.
Based on the numbers, Wright should win, especially if Smith fails to improve his tournament average. Having said that, the 2020 PDC World Matchplay runner-up can have his moments of inconsistencies, which Smith will hope will surface today.
Wright has been in exceptional form and has been clearly the better player at the tournament. You can back the Snakebite at 1.83 on Bet365 to win this match with a -2.5 legs handicap.
Prediction: Peter Wright -2.5 Legs – 2.00 at BetVictor, William Hill, 1.90 Unibet
Van Gerwen M. – Aspinall N.
Friday, July 23 – 19:10 BST
Michael van Gerwen and Nathan Aspinall will cross swords for the first time since May 2021, when Aspinall won with 8-3. It marked his third victory against the “Mighty Mike” and his first since March 2020.
With that victory, Aspinall improved his head-to-head record to 3-3 with one draw, which happened in April in the first stage of the Premer League. In televised matches, the two are tied at 2-2 with one draw in h2h.
Van Gerwen and Aspinall have both been relatively disappointing with their scoring averages on the tournament, with 98.28 and 97.01, respectively. While the Dutch has been slightly more efficient, he hasn’t had as much success in hitting 180s, with only seven across 36 legs to Aspinall’s 13 across 36.
Van Gerwen enters this match as a 1.44 (bet365) favorite, which is understandable; however, the atmosphere this evening won’t be too warm for the Dutch. If there is one thing we can be sure of, the crowd will be on the side of the Stockport man, which is definitely not something to ignore.
The crowd’s support is a key factor to consider here, and it will be interesting to see how will van Gerwen cope with that. There is a world where it inspires him to produce a monster display; however, we wouldn’t count on that happening, given his lack of impressive showings on the tournament.
Van Gerwen averaged 100.68 against White last time out, which is great; however, he also gave up eight legs, even though White averaged low 93.83. Performances like that suggest that van Gerwen might be vulnerable to an upset win; however, we aren’t ready to pull the trigger on Aspinall at 2.75 (Bet365).
Instead, we like over 27.5 legs since this match has the potential to be a close one. Last time out, Aspinall crushed MGV with 8-3, so he has the needed tools to give the Mighty Mike a run for his money.
Prediction: Over 27.5 Legs – 1.91 at William Hill
Prediction: Aspinall N. to win – 2.80 at Unibet, 2.75 at William Hill
We will return tomorrow with more darts betting picks and predictions for the first semi-finals match at the 2021 PDC World Matchplay between Dimitri van den Bergh and Krzystof Ratajski. If you’re looking for esports betting predictions, don’t forget to check out our CS:GO WePlay Academy League Day 5 Betting Picks!
