All-Ireland Championship: match previews, where to watch and free tips

Free football tips, best bets and analysis for the weekend's All-Ireland Championship games.

Armagh v Donegal

Sky Sports Mix, 1.15pm Saturday

Best bets

Armagh-Armagh double result
2pts 10-1 bet365

Over 14.5 Armagh points
2pts 11-10 Betfair, Paddy Power

Jamie Clarke Man of the Match
1pt 14-1 Boylesports

Match preview

Donegal dragged themselves through the mud in Ballybofey last Sunday week to become Dublin's biggest dangers in the All-Ireland according to the betting, but Armagh are fancied to sneak out of the long grass and send them packing.

It's lucky Donegal have had almost a fortnight to recover as that stamina-sapping triumph over Tyrone would have taken an awful lot out of them. It still might not be sufficient recovery time and Armagh are no pushovers, despite what the market would make you believe.

Kieran McGeeney has been making progress with Armagh and they are back playing top-flight football in the league after securing promotion from Division 2 with an away win against Clare on the final day.

They backed that up with an all-the-way win away to Derry at Celtic Park in their Ulster championship opener and, while the 0-17 to 0-15 win was no more than workmanlike, they controlled proceedings throughout and were never in any real danger.

The Armagh defence is a more solid unit now and up front they have match-winners in Rian O'Neill and Jamie Clarke plus scorers in their half-forward line in Rory Grugan and Stefan Campbell.

Donegal look to be further down the development line, but odds of 10-1 about Armagh leading at half-time and full-time are much too big. They are odds-against to score 15 points or more and that is worth taking too.

Jamie Clarke is a genius when on song and his three points against Derry suggest he is coming into top form at the perfect time, so a nibble of him to get man of the match on Sky Sports is advised.

Meath v Kildare

RTE News Channel, 1pm Sunday

Best bet

Meath -1
3pts Evs Betfair, Paddy Power

Match preview

For some reason bookmakers do not seem to have read much into the most recent set of results for Meath and Kildare who meet in the Leinster semi-final at Croke Park on Sunday.

Kildare overcame Offaly in the end, but there was nothing flamboyant about the performance and nothing to suggest there was any major improvement on what we seen from them in 2019 or the early stages of the league in 2020.

Meath have been building up serious momentum in recent weeks. Their last-gasp draw with Monaghan in the league was a teaser of what was to come against Wicklow. They scored 7-14 away in Aughrim and could have walloped Wicklow by even more had they been more clinical in the opening half.

Croke Park is made for this Meath team. Jordan Morris, who kicked 3-4 last Sunday, has been a revelation of late while Shane Walsh, Cillian O'Sullivan and Bryan McMahon bring pace to the attack.

Meath's most prized possession is their midfield partnership of Bryan Menton and Ronan Jones. They have the potential to dominate Kildare in the middle third of the pitch and it's hard to believe Meath are as big as 8-11 to book their ticket to the provincial decider.

Even better value is backing Meath at evens to win by two points or more.

Galway v Mayo

RTE, 1.30pm Sunday

Best bet

Mayo -1
2pts 23-20 bet365

Match preview

Perhaps Pearse Stadium is a factor in Galway being so short for the Connacht final on Sunday, but Mayo go into the tie in a much better frame of mind and look by far the likelier winners.

While it would be foolish to think the showdown between the two sides in round six of the league is a gauge of where the teams are at right now, Mayo still won the game by 15 points and scored 3-23.

Since then, Galway were well beaten by Dublin and we haven't seen them since. Mayo were relegated to Division 2 after losing narrowly to Tyrone but last Sunday's six-point success over Roscommon looks sure to stand to them.

Cillian and Diarmuid O'Connor kicked 1-10 between them in that victory and there is more potency in the Mayo attack since inter-county football resumed last month.

Damien Comer is definitely out with a hamstring injury, while Eamonn Brannigan, Damien Varley and Ronan Steed are doubtful for Galway too.

There is nothing overly positive to report from the Galway camp of late, yet Mayo look like a side ready to compete with Dublin again.

Cavan v Down

BBC, 1.30pm Sunday

Best bet

Cavan
1pt 13-8 BoyleSports

Match preview

It is hard to believe Cavan are not favourites to take care of Down in the second Ulster semi-final given they disposed of Monaghan a fortnight ago.

The Breffni boys got the job done against Antrim last weekend, despite being behind at half-time, and odds of 13-8 about a third win in as many weeks look generous.

Down looked a reformed outfit against Fermanagh and last month earned promotion from Division 3 but do not look better side than Cavan even though the betting firmly suggests they are.

Dublin v Laois

RTE News Channel, 3.30pm Sunday

Best bets

Over 2.5 Dublin goals
3pts 6-5 Paddy Power

Over 3.5 Dublin goals
2pts 9-2 Paddy Power

Match preview

Dublin failed to find the net in their double-score win over Westmeath last Saturday night, but expect that to change when they meet Laois in the Leinster semi-final.

The Dubs scored a staggering 19 goals on their way to All-Ireland glory last year and a return to Croke Park can see their goal touch return.

A palmed effort from Dean Rock was the only goal-scoring opportunity they created against Westmeath, but surely much of their attacking play at training this week was focused on opening up the Laois defence.

That shouldn't be too difficult as Laois conceded seven goals in their seven games in Division 2 of the league. They also coughed up one to Longford last weekend and looked very shaky at the back at various stages.

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