Henry Hardwicke is backing The Asp to end his barren run of results against Dimitri van den Bergh when the two lock-horns for a second successive Thursday in Newcastle.

Michael van Gerwen is 2/1 to be the Night Winner in Week 8 and he begins his tilt for a fourth nightly victory against the struggling Peter Wright.

Gerwyn Price took the prize in Nottingham last week, beating Dobey in the final, and the Iceman is a 4/1 chance to claim the Motorpoint Arena crown.

MVG has moved clear at the top of the Premier League table, but just six points separate last week's winner Price in second place and Jonny Clayton in seventh and there is plenty to play for as we move on to Week 8.

Henry Hardwicke takes a look at all four quarter-finals, and gives us his thoughts on how the matches will play out:

What:	Premier League Darts 2023 – Week 8
Where:	Utilita Arena, Newcastle
When:	19:00, Thursday 23rd March
How to watch:	Sky Sports Main Event & Sky Sports Arena
Odds:	Michael van Gerwen 2/1, Gerwyn Price 4/1, Michael Smith 9/2, Dimitri Van den Bergh 17/2, Peter Wright 10/1

Michael Van Gerwen to beat Peter Wright @ 1/3

It's an interesting night in Newcastle, because this week's Premier League action has been preceded by the Players Championship 7 & 8 events in Germany.

Van Gerwen, Price, Dimitri Van den Bergh, Dobey and Clayton decide to take up the invitation to compete in Hildesheim, whereas Wright, Nathan Aspinall and Michael Smith were not involved.

The five players that took the opportunity to compete may well benefit from the match practice, outside of what it does for their ranking, but they have the extra demands of traveling from Nottingham last Thursday, to Hildesheim at the weekend and then back to Newcastle this week.

Those factors aside, Wright hasn't been anywhere near the form we associate with the two-time world champion. Snakebite has won just one match in seven weeks of Premier League action and the Scot could only manage a 89.06 three-dart average when losing 6-1 to MVG in Nottingham last week.

Van Gerwen has already been victorious three times in this season's competition, the Dutchman is well clear at the top of the Premier League table, and odds of 1/3 in the Match Winner market about a MVG quarter-final victory, tells you what is expected in the north east.
 

Nathan Aspinall to beat Dimitri van den Bergh @ 1/1

Victory in Nottingham for Van den Bergh last week made it 10 straight victories over Aspinall for the DreamMaker. The Belgian has a fantastic record against the Asp, but it was a far from convincing victory for Dancing Dimitri at the Motorpoint Area and I reckon Aspinall may turn the tables in Newcastle.

The Asp put in the higher average last week and the Stockport man may well have benefited from skipping the Players Championship events at the weekend. There has been a lot to like about Aspinall's form this season and at evens in the Match Winner market he provides value.
 

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Gerwyn Price to beat Jonny Clayton @ 4/7

These two arrowsmiths were teammates when lifting the World Cup for Wales in 2020, but in terms of head-to-head matches, Price has been the dominant force. 

A 6-4 win in Nottingham last week made it five straight victories over the Ferret for Price and at 4/7 in the Match Winner market it looks likely to be more of the same on the Tyne.

The Iceman's form looked to have cooled a little in Exeter and Liverpool, but the Markham man roared back to his best and claimed his second weekly win of the campaign with victory at the Motorpoint Arena.

Clayton needs a result to boost his playoff hopes, but the Ferret may have to wait for better opportunities.
 

Michael Smith to beat Chris Dobey (+1.5) @ 5/6

The Newcastle crowd will be pumped for the return of their local hero when Dobey takes on Smith, but the game might not go the way the crowd want it to.

Hollywood bounced back to form, when beating Bully Boy in Nottingham last week, but it has previously been five nights without a victory for the Bedlington arrowsmith.

This year's Masters champion has also endured a rather hampered preparation for this week's competition. Dobey was in Germany for the Players Championship events on Sunday and Monday, but Hollywood's 23g Unicorn darts were lost in transit and that was reflected in the 32-year-old's performance.

The local hero averaged only 81.09 when losing 6-0 to Mike de Decker in the first round of the Players Championship 8 event in Hildesheim and a clash with Smith looks far from the ideal tonic.

Bully Boy can be backed at 5/6 when giving Dobey a 1.5-leg start in Handicap 2-Way at the Motorpoint Arena in Nottingham and that looks one of the best bets on the card.