Van Gerwen looks forward to night on Toon
MICHAEL VAN GERWEN aims to get his Unibet Premier League campaign back on track when he faces Gary Anderson in tonight’s visit to the Metro Radio Arena in Newcastle.
Reigning Premier League champion van Gerwen suffered a 7-5 loss to Peter Wright in last week’s second league night of the season in Cardiff, despite being a comfortable 7-2 winner in Dublin against Rob Cross.
However, the Dutchman believes a clash with two-time world champion Anderson in Newcastle – in a repeat of the 2015 Premier League final which the Scot won – is a perfect challenge for him to bounce back.
Van Gerwen said: “I know I’m not going to win every single game in the Premier League. But after losing I like to bounce back with a good win.
“That won’t be easy against Gary but it is what I will try to do. We always have good matches and it is one of the games that the fans want to see.
“It will be fast and a very good standard and I’m really looking forward to a great match.”
Van Gerwen paid the price for nine missed doubles against Wright last week. He said: “Last week was a disappointing result against Peter. It was a game I should have won.”
Wright will aim to build on that success against van Gerwen when he takes on Rob Cross in Newcastle, although the world No.2 is taking nothing for granted.
Cross bounced back to form in last weekend’s UK Open qualifiers which included a semi-final win over Wright on Saturday.
The Scot said: “Rob’s come back into form. I just worry about the next game.”