TAYLOR CHASING VAN GERWEN SCALP AS BETWAY PREMIER LEAGUE DARTS VISITS ABERDEEN
THE world's top two darts players, Michael van Gerwen and Phil Taylor, will renew their rivalry when the Betway Premier League Darts visits Aberdeen's GE Oil & Gas Arena on Thursday.
Dutch star van Gerwen took the Premier League Darts title from Taylor's grasp 12 months ago and has since succeeded the Stoke legend as both World Champion and world number one.
He also claimed a stunning 7-0 whitewash win when the pair met on the opening night of this year's Premier League Darts season in Liverpool in February - Taylor's heaviest ever defeat in ten years of the event.
However, after overcoming his shaky start Taylor is now unbeaten in his last five games and moved into the Play-Off places for the first time when he defeated Adrian Lewis 7-4 in Sheffield last week.
The 53-year-old insists he is not gunning for revenge when he faces van Gerwen at a sold-out GE Oil & Gas Arena, but claims the reigning champion is worried ahead of facing his great rival in Aberdeen.
"There's no thoughts of revenge, you just move on and you've got to get on with it," said Taylor. "It's just about winning this week, and if I can beat him 7-0 then I will!
"I want to get back up - I want to be number one or number two in this, I don't want to be down there at the bottom, so I'm fighting now and everything's right.
"They're all scared of me now. They're running scared - even Michael.
"He was saying to me last week 'I've got to play you and Adrian next week', and he's never talked like that before. He's worried.
"Michael's my target, and Adrian's my target. They're the two players who are doing all the business at the moment, so if you can beat them you've cracked it."
With Taylor having entered the Premier League season following a six-week break and with a new set of darts, van Gerwen believes that his match-sharp opponent will prove a greater challenge this time around.
The 24-year-old said: "The 7-0 win was lovely and I'd love to do that again, but it's going to be difficult. Phil's playing better and better all the time and he's getting there.
"You can't underestimate him at any time because he's always a big player and he always will be a big player. He's the biggest player on the planet - but at the moment I'm top of the Premier League, the world number one and World Champion and he needs to beat me."
Van Gerwen sits a point clear of fellow Dutchman Raymond van Barneveld at the head of the Premier League table, but doubles up with two key matches in Aberdeen as he follows his meeting with Taylor with a clash against world number three Adrian Lewis later in the night.
"It's going to be a tough night playing against Phil and Adrian, but I'm aiming for four points," he added. "I just need to play my own game, and I've shown before that I can beat them both.
"I want to beat everyone; whether it's Phil Taylor, Robert Thornton or Dave Chisnall, they're all the same.
"I want to keep top spot and it's about winning the league and winning the tournament, and I'll do whatever I have to do to do that. I don't want to relax now, I just want to fight hard for every point."
Lewis also doubles up in Scotland as he opens the night with a clash against Gary Anderson in a repeat of the 2011 Premier League Darts final between the two in-form stars.
Lewis had won his first World Championship at the start of 2011 as he defeated Anderson with the aid of a nine-darter in the final, only to see the Scot avenge that as he picked up Premier League glory in his debut season.
"Adrian's a good lad and we get on great, and if we can both play well it will be a cracking game," said Anderson.
"When we're on-song it's a special game, and we go back a few years too. In the World Championship I was in top form for most of the tournament and I slacked off in the final and he won it!
"Then I went on and won the Premier League final against him, which was sweet and it's a great honour to be on my CV.
"My game still isn't close to where I was then. It's going alright but I'm still not 100 percent happy with my game up on stage. The 180s had disappeared but they're creeping back slowly and my finishing's going alright."
Peter Wright slipped to third place in the table as he suffered two defeats when he doubled up in Sheffield last Thursday, and the Scottish-born ace is bidding to revive his challenge for a Play-Off place against Dave Chisnall in their Aberdeen debut.
The night also sees the Premier League's other Scot, Robert Thornton, also looking to bounce back from two straight losses when he takes on another form player, Raymond van Barneveld.
The five-time World Champion - who hit a nine-darter in Aberdeen in 2010 - followed up a run of five successive draws with a win against Chisnall in Sheffield as he moved up to second in the table.
"It will be a big game," said van Barneveld. "Robert played extremely well last week, he's hitting so many 180s but hasn't always got the results.
"Every week you're seeing the best of the best, and the first target is not to be relegated and the next is to get into the top four. We've got eight players left and they can all still reach the top four so I can't relax."
The visit to the GE Oil & Gas Arena in Aberdeen will be played in front of a sell-out 4,000 crowd, and broadcast live on Sky Sports 2HD.
Betway Premier League Darts
Week 11
April 17, GE Gas & Oil Arena, Aberdeen
Gary Anderson v Adrian Lewis
Michael van Gerwen v Phil Taylor
Peter Wright v Dave Chisnall
Robert Thornton v Raymond van Barneveld
Michael van Gerwen v Adrian Lewis
BETWAY ODDS
LATEST OUTRIGHT ODDS
11/10 Michael van Gerwen
9/4 Phil Taylor
8/1 Adrian Lewis
10/1 Peter Wright
10/1 Raymond van Barneveld
14/1 Gary Anderson
150/1 Dave Chisnall
150/1 Robert Thornton
WEEK 11 MATCH ODDS
Gary Anderson v Adrian Lewis
8/5 Gary Anderson
7/2 Draw
6/5 Adrian Lewis
Michael van Gerwen v Phil Taylor
6/5 Michael van Gerwen
7/2 Draw
8/5 Phil Taylor
Peter Wright v Dave Chisnall
11/10 Peter Wright
7/2 Draw
7/4 Dave Chisnall
Robert Thornton v Raymond van Barneveld
9/4 Robert Thornton
7/2 Draw
9/10 Raymond van Barneveld
Michael van Gerwen v Adrian Lewis
4/5 Michael van Gerwen
7/2 Draw
5/2 Adrian Lewis
For other bets and special offers, visit www.betway.com. Odds above correct at time of writing and may be subject to change.