2018 Unibet Premier League Darts – Mensur Suljovic vs Rob Cross Preview

AT A GLANCE

When? Thursday 15^th March

Where? Motorpoint Arena, Nottingham

What channel is it on? Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports Action

Where can I stream the match? Sky Sports subscribers can stream the match online via Sky Go

Are tickets still available? www.motorpointarenanottingham....

THE STATISTICS

THE LOWDOWN

CAREER HEAD-TO-HEAD
Mensur Suljovic 1-4 Rob Cross

MENSUR SULJOVIC

• Mensur Suljovic enjoyed a comprehensive 7-1 win over world number two Peter Wright last Thursday in Leeds to make it two consecutive Premier League wins since losing his opening three matches of the tournament.
• Suljovic has recorded the highest match average on each of the last two Premier League nights; he has averaged over 100 in four out of his five Premier League matches this season and his overall tournament average of 101.45 is bettered only by Michael van Gerwen.
• The popular Austrian tops the charts for the best tournament checkout percentage in the 2018 Premier League. He has hit 26 of his 56 double attempts giving him an impressive tournament checkout percentage of 46.4%.

ROB CROSS

• Rob Cross overcame a sluggish start to defeat Michael Smith 7-5 last week and claim his third league victory in a row. Cross had trailed 5-3 but reeled off four legs without reply to claim the two points.
• The quality of his finishing over the last two Premier League weeks has been a significant improvement on the opening three weeks of the season. Over his last two matches he has a checkout percentage of 64% compared to his checkout percentage of 27% during his first three matches.
• Cross has yet to have a match average of over 100 in this year’s Premier League; his overall tournament average of 95.75 is the sixth best after five weeks of action.

THE PREDICTION

A tasty clash between two in-form Premier League players who have recovered well after poor results at the start of their campaigns. The level of performance from Suljovic throughout the Premier League season should have seen him pick up more points than he has, but he didn’t let his head drop after the defeats and he must really be full of belief after his last two wins where he has dropped just four legs in total. Cross hasn’t shown his World Championship winning form in the Premier League but he has gradually improved and is well and truly settled into the tournament after three wins in a row.

In terms of their displays throughout the 2018 Premier League, it is Suljovic who has looked the more impressive and reliable performer. As mentioned above, Cross still isn’t hitting his best form just yet and Suljovic certainly has the potential to take the two points on offer.