Will Clayton defend his lead in the table?
Two Premier League champions add excitement and storylines to the Johnny Clayton vs. Michael van Gerwen tip. The Ferret should be happy with his season so far. He is playing consistently, making few mistakes and has not lost a quarterfinal yet.
The Premier League record champion from the Netherlands also got off to a promising start in the PDC’s weekly tournament format. MVG won the first night and also advanced to the final a week later. From then until this Johnny Clayton vs. Michael van Gerwen prediction, he has consistently failed in the quarterfinals.
The 36-year-old didn’t get very far at the UK Open last weekend either. Mighty Mike lost in the round of 16, falling to James Wade quite decisively (3:10). The five-time Premier League winner is not bringing any newly gained confidence to the Johnny Clayton vs. Michael van Gerwen betting odds.
Clayton leads the table after five match days (14 points). The Welshman is the only Premier League participant to have already earned double-digit points. We also argue in favor of a victory for the 51-year-old with the best leg difference in the current competition (+14).
MVG is outside the top 4. He collected his eight points on the first two match days. After that, he increasingly lost his rhythm and clearly lost the opening match against Luke Humphries (1:6) on the last match day.
Jonny Clayton – Michael van Gerwen Head-to-head record
The Ferret won the last meeting between the two top players convincingly, winning 6:1. Their last meeting in the Premier League took place in 2023. Back then, the 2021 Premier League champion also won, prevailing by three legs in the semi-finals (6:3).
Under the current circumstances, we expect another victory for the 51-year-old. Clayton has thrown the most 180s in the tournament (39), averaged 0.36 maximum shots per leg (3rd) and has the best checkout percentage (46.21 percent) of all eight participants across all match days.
Jonny Clayton – Michael van Gerwen Tip
MVG has slipped to fifth place in the Premier League table, despite having the lowest average of all eight players this season (95.06). Now he faces the league leader, who has the highest leg win rate (56.48 percent), in the quarterfinals.
The Ferret ended the UK Open in the quarterfinals, where he lost to his compatriot Gerwyn Price. The two have a friendly relationship. They are also linked in this Premier League season with the two best functional checkout rates (both over 58 percent).
Clayton has delivered under pressure this Premier League season, and his consistency will help him overcome MVG, who is struggling with form fluctuations. We expect The Ferret to extend his current streak and advance to the semifinals.
