Will MvG continue his winning streak in Manchester?
The circle closes on Thursday evening at the AO Arena in Manchester as the second half of the PDC Premier League season kicks off and the matchups from the first round are repeated. The spotlight is naturally on the match between Mighty Mike and The Bullet.
While the Dutchman is back in fourth place following a recent resurgence and would qualify for the playoffs, the Englishman is second-to-last. The trend in the match between Michael van Gerwen and Stephen Bunting thus points toward the Green Machine, who finally put on a great performance again last Thursday and, despite a 4-6 final loss to Luke Littler, posted a strong average of 103.87.
Mighty Mike seems to have conquered his demons just in time for the crucial phase of the season and underscored his status as an elite finisher in Berlin with two 170 finishes. At the Players Championships 8 in Leicester, the Dutchman also posted an astronomical average of 107.97. Against this backdrop, we believe the Michael van Gerwen vs. Stephen Bunting prediction favors a victory for MvG, especially since all three previous matchups with Stephen Bunting in the 2026 calendar year went to Michael van Gerwen.
However, the match will certainly not be a walk in the park for MvG, because, at least statistically speaking, Stephen Bunting can certainly be described as unlucky in the current PDC Premier League. Despite some outstanding scoring performances, such as his 107.47 average against Luke Littler last week, the world number nine too often ends up empty-handed. Yet his first-9 average of 107.26 is high enough that he can put pressure on any opponent on the tour at the start of the legs.
Michael van Gerwen – Stephen Bunting Head-to-Head Record
Head to Head: 25:6
The two players have faced each other 31 times so far, and with 25 wins, Michael van Gerwen holds a very clear lead in their head-to-head record. In the 2026 calendar year, all three matches went to the Dutchman, who already eliminated Stephen Bunting 6-2 in the quarterfinals during the first week of the PDC Premier League.
Michael van Gerwen – Stephen Bunting Prediction
Although The Bullet is absolutely world-class, particularly in terms of his first-9 average, the Englishman has repeatedly lacked the decisive edge this year to keep pace with the PDC’s top stars. Therefore, our prediction for Michael van Gerwen vs. Stephen Bunting is that the 40-year-old will be eliminated in the quarterfinals.
After all, The Bullet has lost all three of his previous encounters with MvG in 2026 by at least two legs. Moreover, the Dutchman just proved once again in Berlin on the last matchday of the PDC Premier League that he can deliver high checkouts even under the highest pressure.
Given that both players prefer an extremely fast throwing rhythm and have recently averaged over 100 points, a bet on over 5.5 180s in this highly anticipated quarterfinal would also be a viable alternative. In our estimation, however, the best value lies in the straightforward bet on a Mighty Mike victory.
