Bet of the Day: Barney to make it tough for MVG at Ally Pally

Duo likely to produce a superb quarter-final

The action continues to hot up at Alexandra Palace, with Friday night heralding the quarter-finals of the PDC World Darts Championship.

Amongst them is a terrific tie between Dutch compatriots Michael van Gerwen and Raymond van Barneveld. The pair have met twice since the beginning of September, with one win apiece.

While MVG’s impressive displays in London have come as no surprise, Barney has been just as good as the world number 1 during the tournament. The veteran saw off Vincent van der Voort with a stellar 4-1 victory in the third round.

While beating Mighty Mike is a tall order, Barney’s form and the pair’s recent Head-to-Head record suggests it’ll be a close-run thing.

The latter narrowly lost 6-5 in legs to Van Gerwen at the Players’ Championship, following a 10-5 victory for Barneveld in September’s Champions League of Darts clash. Coral’s Bet of the Day is Raymond van Barneveld +2.5 at 11/8.

Both men can produce a huge checkout

The quarter-finals saw both men breeze to victory, and each recorded a hefty finish en route to victory.

MVG produced out a 170 checkout during his 4-2 win over Gerwyn Price, while Barney’s 161 finish against Van der Voort also sent the Ally Pally crowd into raptures.

Those kinds of numbers are par for the course when this pair are involved. Mighty Mike finished on 164 during his second round game, while Barney’s produced a number of 160+ checkouts in recent tournaments.

That means Highest Checkout: Over 145.5 looks a smart call at 5/6.