2020 Unibet Premier League Darts – Daryl Gurney vs Michael Smith Preview & Prediction

THE FACTS

When is Daryl Gurney vs Michael Smith taking place? Thursday 27^th February, 2020 – evening (UK)

Where is Daryl Gurney vs Michael Smith taking place? 3Arena

What channel is Daryl Gurney vs Michael Smith on? Sky Sports Action

Where can I stream Daryl Gurney vs Michael Smith? Sky Sports subscribers can stream the match via Sky Go

Where can I get tickets for Daryl Gurney vs Michael Smith? Click here to purchase tickets for the 2020 Premier League Darts

What was the score in the last meeting? Michael Smith beat Daryl Gurney 10-7

THE LOWDOWN

DARYL GURNEY

• Daryl Gurney picked up his first point of the campaign courtesy of a 6-6 draw against Gerwyn Price in Cardiff last Thursday. He still remains at the bottom of the table though, two points adrift of a group of five players who have three points.
• Gurney’s performance against Price was an improvement on his two previous matches, especially in the first half of the game where his average was 104 after six legs.
• Away from the Premier League, his wait for a first quarter-final appearance since last October goes on as a last 64 exit at Players Championship 5 on Saturday was followed by a defeat in the last 16 at Players Championship 6 on Sunday.

MICHAEL SMITH

• Michael Smith was in excellent form as he emphatically defeated Jonny Clayton 7-1 on night three. After losing the opening leg of the match, Smith reeled off seven consecutive legs in a dominant performance.
• Smith’s average of 105.51 against Clayton is the highest in the 2020 Premier League so far and he capped his display against the Welshman with checkouts of 167 and 142.
• He was brought back down to earth at the weekend with two opening round exits on the Players Championship circuit against Jamie Lewis and Robert Collins.

THE PREDICTION

Smith has produced some sublime spells of play in his last two matches and although he wasn’t able to get over the line against Price, he had no such problem against Clayton and as a result he will surely be feeling confident going into this match. Gurney showed glimpses of his true ability against Price last week but one feels he will need to improve on that if he is to prevail here. Smith is a streaky player but his spells of excellence could just see him come out on top. Both players are capable of hitting a good number of 180s and over 6.5 is certainly a possible, while a checkout of over 118.5 in the match also looks on the cards.