DENNIS PRIESTLEY has labelled Phil Taylor 'better than ever' ahead of their Whyte & Mackay Premier League Darts Challenge Match on Thursday.
Mexborough's Priestley, 58, will make a return to the big stage at the Sheffield Arena after Wayne Mardle was ruled out of the remainder of the Premier League through illness.
Priestley will take on 14-time World Champion Taylor in a best-of-13 leg Challenge Match, renewing a rivalry the pair have shared over almost two decades at the top of the sport.
While Priestley has defied prostate cancer to remain inside the world's top ten, Taylor has continued his dominance of darts over the past year.
He is the reigning Premier League champion, won the World Championship with a 7-1 destruction of Raymond van Barneveld and produced the highest average ever in a televised match of 116.01 in defeating John Part in the Premier League last week.
"It's always a pleasure to play in front of my home fans and I can't wait for Thursday," said Priestley, a semi-finalist in the 2007 Premier League.
"I've certainly got a tough task ahead of me against Phil but I'll be giving it my best shot.
"If he misses some doubles, hopefully I'll be on his heels and hit mine but his scoring power has been fantastic lately.
"He's better than ever. He's the yardstick, and his averages prove that.
"He's miles better than when we were at the top of the game in the 1990s. Then, a good average was in the high 90s and a great average was in the low 100s, and now he's taken that ten points on.
"I'm quietly optimistic, but I know his A game is better than mine. It doesn't always work like that, but if I get a chance I have to take it."
Stoke's Adrian Lewis, a semi-finalist in last year's Premier League and the current world number seven, also comes in to play in Sheffield, and takes on Raymond van Barneveld.
The two league matches on the night see Terry Jenkins meet John Part, and James Wade face Jelle Klaasen.
Tickets for Thursday's Whyte & Mackay Premier League Darts are still available from the Sheffield Arena Box Office on 0114 256 5656.
Whyte & Mackay Premier League Darts
April 30 - Sheffield Arena
Raymond van Barneveld v Adrian Lewis (Challenge Match)
Phil Taylor v Dennis Priestley (Challenge Match)
Terry Jenkins v John Part
James Wade v Jelle Klaasen
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