Luke Littler told he's got himself to blame for Premier League boos as rival has his say

faces the daunting prospect of a raucous Liverpool crowd and believes it's a situation of his own making. The 18-year-old world champion, who has never hidden his loyalty to Manchester United, has a history of antagonising Liverpool supporters on social media.

As the Nuke gears up for a high-stakes rematch of the World Championship final against Michael van Gerwen in the Premier League, Bunting cautioned him about how Scousers have a penchant for holding grudges. The darts star known as the Bullet confessed when quizzed on whether he prefers cheers over jeers: "It doesn't really bother me - as long as they are supporting me, I couldn't give a carrot about anyone else.

"Football rivalries will always be part of the sport, one way or another, but it's a dangerous path to go down. Last year, I was there as a fan and he (Littler) was mocking us (Liverpool) for getting beat 2-0 by Everton, and I don't think people forget stuff like that."

Anticipating a chilly reception for Littler, Bunting added: "I would imagine he's going to get a few boos from a Liverpool crowd and, with how fragile he is at the minute after his experience in Germany, I don't think he likes it - but sometimes you can bring it on yourself."

"It's not only football rivalries that make people boo or cheer for their favourites, but you don't want to get the fans hating on you. It's been like that for quite a few years, ever since I joined the PDC, to be fair, but I don't think it's just Liverpool fans with me - I felt the crowd support in Germany, Holland, Scotland, Wales, where've I've played.

"I'm just a normal person who tries to give something back to the fans, whether it's on TikTok or YouTube, but it's not all about Liverpool tomorrow night. There will be fans who support me as a dart player, not because I support Liverpool."

After experiencing a tough time with the Munich crowd during his semi-final loss at the German Grand Prix on Easter Monday, Littler expressed relief at not having to return to Germany for six months on the European Tour. Despite this, he is set to team up with Luke Humphries to represent England at the World Cup of Darts in Frankfurt come June.

Currently at the bottom of the table, Bunting could make a significant leap towards the play-offs with a win at the M&S Bank Arena, which would be an impressive turnaround after a string of eight consecutive losses in the tournament.

Reflecting on his challenging journey, Bunting hopes for a better experience than his first Premier League appearance in Liverpool, where he suffered a 7-1 defeat to Phil Taylor in 2015. The world No.4 reflected: "This has probably been 10 years in the making - Phil absolutely hammered me here 10 years ago and it's been a long road back.

"As soon as the Premier League line-up was announced and I was in it, I was looking for the Liverpool fixture straight away."