Take a chance on Roscommon at generous odds

2pm Sunday

Monaghan don't really deserve to be as short as 1-3 favourites to beat Roscommon.

They go into the game following a four-point defeat to Tyrone and only drew with bottom side Cavan in their last home game.

They managed just seven points that day and do not look as talented as the Farney army who won the Ulster Championship in 2013 and 2015. They could be vulnerable.

Roscommon, as expected, have found the going tough in the top tier but their performances have been a lot better than their results.

They gave Kerry a fright in round four and would have pushed Mayo a lot closer in round three had home goalkeeper David Clarke not been in inspired form. They didn’t play badly there and the eight-point loss was not a fair reflection of the game.

Donegal inflicted a minimum-margin loss on them in round two, 0-16 to 2-9, and Roscommon should have more points on the board.

Roscommon’s full-forward line of Donie Smith, Ciarain Murtagh and Cian Connolly got 1-7 between them in the defeat to Kerry last time and they have the potential to pose problems to every rearguard unit in the country. Monaghan could struggle to cope with them.

The betting suggests this will be a cakewalk for Monaghan but it might not work out like that. Roscommon are fighting for their lives and need a win today to keep alive whatever slim chances of survival they have. Quotes of 100-30 look at least a point too big and Kevin McStay will be hoping to get a complete performance from his troops at last.

Meath gained a much-needed victory over Galway in the last round but that was on home soil and the Royals are not as formidable away from Pairc Tailteann. Not only that, but the Rebels are a better side and will still hold aspirations of getting back to Division 1.

The visit of Meath could provide Cork with a perfect chance of getting back to winning ways and they are fancied to defy a two-point handicap, which is priced at a juicy 6-5. A comfortable home success could be on the cards.

Galway will still be seething over the late goal they conceded to Meath which cost them vital ground in the quest for Division 2 honours and they could take out that anger on Derry, who look all over the place.

They were destroyed by Down and Pearse Stadium is not the place to go looking for a confidence-booster. A cosy Galway win is predicted and the best bet on the match coupon is for the home side to score 19 points or more.

Louth have been the surprise package of Division 3 but they could be brought back down to earth with a bang when an in-form Armagh side visit Drogheda.

Recommendations
Roscommon
2pts 10-3 Ladbrokes
Cork -2
2pts 6-5 BoyleSports
Over 18.5 Galway points
2pts Evs Paddy Power
Armagh -2
2pts 7-5 Paddy Power