Football predictions and weekend betting tips: Galway should thrive as underdogs

Free GAA football tips, best bets and match previews for this weekend's championship fixtures.

Best bets

Antrim -1
2pts 16-5 Betfair, Boyles, Paddy Power

Over 13.5 Antrim points
4pts 8-11 BoyleSports

Donegal -1
2pts 6-5 Betfair, Paddy Power

Over 32.5 points in Donegal v Armagh
4pts 5-6 Betfair, Paddy Power

Galway -1
2pts 11-4 Betfair, Paddy Power

Mayo v Galway

RTE2, 4pm Sunday

There is not as much between Mayo and Galway at the moment as the betting for their Connacht clash would lead you to believe and the visitors look decent value at 11-4 to win by two points or more.

Both teams are going into the championship following league final losses but whereas Galway lost the Division 2 decider by a single point after a stunning shootout with Roscommon, Mayo were taught a lesson by Kerry in a display which raised serious question marks about their defensive set-up.

There are so many injury concerns in the Mayo camp, not least the absence of the terrific Tommy Conroy, and Galway's record at MacHale Park will give the visiting support cause for optimism.

Going in as big underdogs will suit Galway and there were glimpses of a very bright future during their league campaign.

Donegal v Armagh

BBC Sport NI, 2pm Sunday

You get the impression this is Michael Murphy's last shot at an All-Ireland title and a win over Armagh could be the catalyst for a cracking campaign for Donegal.

When these two sides met in round seven of the league, the scoreboard read 1-14 to 1-13 in Donegal's favour at the end but the hosts should have been out of sight long before Paddy McBrearty fired over a last-gasp winner.

Donegal destroyed Armagh in the first half and should have been more than five points in front at the break. A mistake from Shaun Patton allowed the visitors a lifeline.

Murphy missed a penalty halfway through the second half which would have ended the game as a contest.

Donegal are in the closing years of their cycle under Declan Bonner, whereas Armagh remain in the early stages of theirs. Experience could win out.

The best bet on the match coupon is for 33 points or more. Donegal's three outings in Ulster last year average 39 points per game, while the total points in Armagh's two outings were 41 and 56.

Antrim v Cavan

BBC Sport NI, 2pm Saturday

The betting for this Ulster encounter in Belfast looks all wrong with Cavan much too short.

Antrim, who are at home at Corrigan Park which only has a capacity of 3,000, have had a wretched time of things in Ulster in the last century but their record against Cavan is actually not bad at all.

Cavan won the most recent encounter between the sides in 2020, the year the Breffni boys marched on to provincial glory, but that quarter-final clash was in the melting pot most of the way and Antrim led at half-time.

It finished 0-13 to 0-9 but the Ulster champions that year had goalkeeper and subsequent All-Star Raymond Galligan to thank for that as he made one outstanding save at a crucial stage. Cavan look a pale shadow of that side now.

Prior to that 2020 encounter, Antrim had beaten Cavan in five of their previous clashes in all competitions.

The fact is that Antrim played in Division 3 of the league this year, while Cavan were in Division 4. Mickey Graham's charges did sneak some silverware with a last-gasp win over Tipperary but they certainly weren't head and shoulders above every other team in the division, far from it. They lost to Tipperary in round five and had only a point to spare over London in round six.

Antrim enjoyed a perfectly respectable league campaign, which included a nine-point away win over Fermanagh and victories over Wicklow and Longford. There were definite signs of progress.

Enda McGinley and Stephen O'Neill have built a decent side and, with the vastly experienced Michael McCann still producing the goods plus forwards like Ryan and Conor Murray as well as Tomas McCann and Pat Shivers, an upset could be on the cards.

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