Michael van Gerwen vs Simon Whitlock
21st July 21:15hrs
Darts – England – World Matchplay
Pick Michael Van Gerwen -5.5 handicap
Bookmaker Unibet
Odds: Even money odds taken 1952 GMT Sunday, 19th July
This is a second round duel at the World Matchplay Darts 2020 as two-time champion and 2020 tournament favourite Michael van Gerwen steps back into action.
World Number One Van Gerwen was given a fight by Brendan Dolan in his opening match.
Will he have an easier time of things as he takes on Simon Whitlock, who eased through his first round contest?
Table of Contents
Michael van Gerwen Preview – Van Gerwen to step it up?
World number one Michael van Gerwen found himself up against Brendan Dolan in the opening round of the World Mathcplay.
It was a 10-7 victory that Mighty Mike took, probably not expecting the Northern Irish thrower to get that close to him.
Still, in this fractured year of action, that will have been a decent opening contest for MVG to come through.
He was only just shy of a 100 three-dart average in the match as well but his finishing could be sharpened up a tad.
Van Gerwen is looking for his third World Matchplay title and his first since 2016.
Michael van Gerwen took part in the PDC Summer Series earlier this month and won two of the five events that he entered.
He won the UK Open back in March as well, which would have been welcome for him as he failed to capture either the World Championship or Masters this season.
He is the red hot favourite for this match and he can be backed at even money for a -5.5 handicap* (betting odds taken from Unibet at 19:54 GMT on Sunday, July 19th 2020).
Simon Whitlock Preview – Can the Wizard cause an upset?
Simon Whitlock opened his World Matchplay 2020 account with a comfortable 10-4 victory over Ryan Joyce.
Aussie Whitlock, long a faded force when it comes to the major titles, will be up against it here.
He is the lowest ranked of the PDC Order of Merit players lining up in this field.
There was very little on offer from him as a threat at the recent PDC Summer Series and it has been such a long time since we’ve seen him at the business end of any level of tournament.
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Simon Whitlock is W5 D1 L34 against Michael van Gerwen in the head to head.
The last win that the Wizard took against Mighty Mike was at the Players Championship Ireland back in 2016.
It has been a fifteen match losing streak from Whitlock against MVG following that.
The streak doesn’t necessarily look as if it is going to get snapped when the two meet on Tuesday in Milton Keynes.
Michael van Gerwen vs Simon Whitlock Betting Advice
So even though Brendan Dolan took seven legs off MVG in the opening round, why wouldn’t we look at that -5.5 handicap on MVG for evens* (betting odds taken from Unibet at 19:54 GMT on Sunday, July 19th 2020)?
In three of their last five meetings, Whitlock has managed to take just one leg off Van Gerwen in defeat.
Only once in his last dozen against Mighty Mike has Whitlock been within two legs of the Dutchman.
Key Facts – Michael van Gerwen vs Simon Whitlock Betting Tip
- Michael van Gerwen has won the last 15 meetings with Whitlock
- Michael van Gerwen is a two-time World Matchplay winner
- Simon Whitlock is W5 D1 L34 in the head to head with MVG
So yes, we can see a comfortable win for Mighty Mike coming in this one. He is the best in the business.
Whitlock may have his tail up early on after his first round win, but MVG doesn’t look like falling.
The best betting odds for Michael van Gerwen vs Simon Whitlock
Michael van Gerwen to win: 1/12 at Bet365
Simon Whitlock to win: 7/1 at Bet365
