Forgotten Man Utd starlet who made Premier League debut with Marcus Rashford retires at 28
He didn’t reach the heights Marcus Rashford did at Man Utd. Read full story
Daryl Gurney will enjoy a Unibet Premier League homecoming as the tournament visits The SSE Arena in Belfast on Thursday, as the battle to avoid elimination continues.
With just a week remaining before the Premier League’s bottom two players are eliminated on Judgement Night, Northern Irish ace Gurney is aiming to secure his status in the event on home soil.
Gurney followed up four previous draws in the event by claiming his maiden victory last week by seeing off Mensur Suljovic in Glasgow.
Having moved up to six points, Gurney sits four points clear of bottom-placed Gerwyn Price and two clear of Suljovic and Peter Wright, who have claimed just four points in the opening seven weeks and Gurney takes on World Champion Rob Cross in Belfast.
Cross has now won five successive matches to move into third place in the table, and hopes to maintain that form as he makes his own Belfast debut.
Dutch rivals Michael van Gerwen and Raymond van Barneveld clash in another high-profile fixture in Belfast, in a repeat of the 2014 Premier League final.
Van Gerwen is now two points clear at the top of the table and has won five straight matches, but believes that he can still improve as he bids to retain the title.
Van Barneveld has picked up five points from his last five games to move into fourth place in the table, and is aiming to produce a memorable performance against the world number one.
Gary Anderson moved onto seven points with his win in Glasgow, and will be mathematically safe from elimination if he picks up a win or a draw against Suljovic.
Winless Price faces a crucial clash with Michael Smith as the Welshman bids to keep alive his hopes of escaping from the elimination battle.
Under-pressure Wright, meanwhile, plays Simon Whitlock as the Scot bids to continue his revival, having lost three successive Premier League matches 7-1 before reaching the weekend’s European Darts Open final.
League Table
| P | W | D | L | +/- | LWAT | Pts | |
| Michael van Gerwen | 7 | 6 | 0 | 1 | +24 | 17 | 12 |
| Michael Smith | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | +13 | 20 | 10 |
| Rob Cross | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | +9 | 18 | 10 |
| Raymond van Barneveld | 7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | +3 | 16 | 8 |
| Gary Anderson | 7 | 2 | 3 | 2 | +1 | 13 | 7 |
| Simon Whitlock | 7 | 3 | 1 | 3 | +1 | 12 | 7 |
| Daryl Gurney | 7 | 1 | 4 | 2 | -4 | 13 | 6 |
| Mensur Suljovic | 7 | 2 | 0 | 5 | -8 | 10 | 4 |
| Peter Wright | 7 | 1 | 2 | 4 | -19 | 10 | 4 |
| Gerwyn Price | 7 | 0 | 2 | 5 | -20 | 10 | 2 |
Unibet Match Odds – Night Eight
4/1 Mensur Suljovic 19/5 Draw 13/25 Gary Anderson
4/6 Michael Smith 18/5 Draw 3/1 Gerwyn Price
6/1 Raymond van Barneveld 5/1 Draw 33/100 Michael van Gerwen
18/5 Daryl Gurney 18/5 Draw 4/7 Rob Cross
19/10 Simon Whitlock 7/2 Draw Evs Peter Wright
