2019-20 PDC World Darts Championship – Gary Anderson vs Nathan Aspinall Preview & Prediction

THE FACTS

When is Gary Anderson vs Nathan Aspinall taking place? Friday 27^th December, 2019 – evening

Where is Gary Anderson vs Nathan Aspinall taking place? Alexandra Palace, London

What channel is Gary Anderson vs Nathan Aspinall on? Sky Sports Darts

Where can I stream Gary Anderson vs Nathan Aspinall? Sky Sports subscribers can stream the match online via Sky Go

Where can I get tickets for Gary Anderson vs Nathan Aspinall? https://www.pdc.tv/william-hill-world-darts-championship-tickets

What was the outcome in the last meeting? Nathan Aspinall beat Gary Anderson 6-3

THE PLAYERS

GARY ANDERSON

• Two-time PDC World Championship winner Gary Anderson was forced to come back from 3-1 behind to defeat Ryan Searle in the last 32. Having levelled the match at 3-3, Anderson won the deciding set without dropping a leg.
• The Flying Scotsman averaged just under 100 against Searle and his finishing was much improved from his opening match with a success rate of around 47% on the doubles. Anderson also landed a 170 checkout during the contest.
• A win here would take Anderson into the quarter-finals at the PDC World Championship for the sixth consecutive time. He has triumphed in each of his last 11 matches over the best-of-seven sets at Alexandra Palace.

NATHAN ASPINALL

• Nathan Aspinall won through his last 32 match against Krzysztof Ratajski in a deciding set to reach the last 16 at Alexandra Palace for the second consecutive year.
• Aspinall finished with an average of 98.45 against Ratajski whilst having checkout percentage of 42.86%, with both stats showing an improvement from his round two win against Baggish.
• A surprise semi-finalist last year, Aspinall has now won seven of his eight previous matches at the PDC World Championship – with his only defeat coming in an enthralling encounter against Michael Smith in the last four at the 2018-19 tournament.

THE PREDICTION

Gary Anderson came through a tough test against Ryan Searle in the previous round and he will need to up his game even more against the 2019 UK Open champion Nathan Aspinall, who is very capable of at least matching his semi-final showing at Alexandra Palace 12 months ago. Anderson is still not at the level he was at when he won back-to-back titles here, but that is not to say he can’t produce when it matters, which makes this match all the more intriguing. The Scotsman’s record on this stage can’t be ignored, as he has won his last 11 matches over the best-of-seven sets at the PDC World Championship. Aspinall will certainly push Anderson all the way but it is the two-time champion who is predicted to come out on top in a seven-set thriller.