Yes, it may seem like the most boring and obvious choice, but it’s just too difficult to look beyond Luke Littler from adding the European Championship to his ever-growing trophy cabinet this weekend.

The teenage sensation racked up his seventh major televised title at the World Grand Prix earlier this month by brilliantly dismantling Luke Humphries 6-1 in the final. In his post-match interview, Littler said that the Grand Prix was another trophy “ticked off” his list, so he will now have his sights set on what would be a maiden European Championship crown.

What’s more, ‘The Nuke’ also has the added incentive of knowing that certain permutations could see him end this weekend ranked as the number one player on the planet, as there is now just a £52,500 cash deficit between him and Humphries.

I fully expect Littler to ease himself into the tournament by seeing off Raymond van Barneveld in round one, and thereafter the world champion will take some stopping.

On current form, I think Gerwyn Price looks well placed to go all the way in Germany this weekend at 9.0. I thought that ‘The Iceman’ was on course for World Grand Prix glory earlier this month, before he lost to eventual winner Littler in bizarre circumstances at the quarter-final stage.

In fact, it could be argued that Price was one of the standout performers in Leicester, and that was also the case at this year's World Matchplay. As such, I think it’s only a matter of time before the Welshman bags another major trophy, and I expect him to be there or thereabouts this weekend.

Moreover, Price appears to have landed on the softer side of the draw, with both Luke Humphries and Luke Littler housed on the other side of the bracket. Therefore, Price has a favourable looking path to navigate, and given how well he is playing at the moment, I would fancy him to see off anyone he comes up against en-route to the final.

A potential showdown against either Humphries or Littler in the final wouldn’t faze Price either, as he has shown on several occasions that he can topple the top two seeds.

Priced up at a whopping 26.0, Nathan Aspinall simply looks too big to ignore to claim top honours at this year's European Darts Championship.

‘The Asp’ will come into the event on an extraordinary high and full of belief after winning last weekend’s German Darts Championship, courtesy of an 8-6 victory over Dirk van Duijvenbode in the final.

Impressively, that was Aspinall's third European Tour title of the season, so he will be quietly confident about his chances of enjoying another deep run this weekend. It’s also worth noting that the Stockport star reached the final of Players Championship 31 in Wigan last week, sensationally hitting two nine-darters en route to finishing as runner-up.

The 34-year-old also performed well in this year's Premier League, while he also put in a string of strong showings at both the Nordic and US Darts Masters over the summer. As such, I think there is plenty of scope for a rejuvenated Aspinall to outperform his lofty outright odds.