GAA: Allianz Football League Saturday match betting preview and tips

Dublin v Kerry

When to watch

Eir Sport, 7.15pm Saturday

Best bets

Dublin -1
2pts 6-5 BoyleSports, Ladbrokes
Dublin-Dublin double result
2pts 21-10 Boylesports
Over 1.5 Dublin goals
1pt 7-4 BoyleSports

Match preview

Dublin can make a statement of intent on home soil in Dessie Farrell's first game in change as they meet Kerry in a repeat of last season's All-Ireland final.

There is a valid argument to be made for an away win. Dublin are not long back from their holidays, Jim Gavin has departed, the Kingdom will want revenge for their replay defeat and the Dubs lost their opening game in last year's league by six points to Monaghan.

But Dublin look so strong. Con O'Callaghan could be out injured for the first few rounds of the league but they have plenty of talented players keen to get their chance.

Dublin destroyed Kildare by 2-17 to 2-10 the last time they played their league opener at Croke Park and these two sides met in round one in 2016. The build-up to that game was similar to this one with plenty of experts expecting Kerry to catch Dublin cold after their All-Ireland celebrations but it was one-way traffic as the Dubs won easily by 2-14 to 0-14.

Gavin's surprise departure is not ideal, but Farrell has played a big part in most of the Dublin panel's careers and he knows them inside out. He will want to hit the ground running so this game will mean more to the hosts than you might think.

Kerry boss Peter Keane is keen to rest star midfielder David Moran and Jack Barry is also missing because of club duties. Peter Crowley, Dara Moynihan and David Shaw are also on the missing list, so the Kingdom will not be as strong for the league opener as their fans would have hoped.

The gap between Dublin and Kerry is narrowing, but the Dubs have a stronger panel and more talented fringe players. That could be the difference in what promises to be a fascinating showdown between the two best teams in the business.

Donegal v Mayo

When to watch

Eir Sport, 7.15pm Saturday

Best bet

Mayo -1
2pts 21-10 Ladbrokes

Match preview

Mayo have won their league opener for the last two years on the trot and they can compete the hat-trick against a depleted Donegal side.

James Horan has tried to blend youth with experience for the trip to Ballybofey and the presence of Colm Boyle, Stephen Coen, Paddy Durcan, Diarmuid O'Connor, Brian Reape and James Carr in the starting line-up offers hope that Mayo can make a bright start to their league campaign.

They could not be playing Donegal at a better time given all the talent Declan Bonner has to do without.

Donegal were quite sluggish in the early stages of their Division 2 campaign last spring before securing promotion with a late surge and it might not be until the later stages of the league that we see the best of them.

Armagh v Cavan

Best Bet

Armagh -3
2pts 11-10 Betway

Match preview

There has been a mass exodus from the Cavan camp over the last few weeks and Armagh are approaching the league in a much better frame of mind.

There were positive signs from Armagh in the McKenna Cup and a home tie against the Breffni boys is the perfect way for Kieran McGeeney's charges to start the campaign.

It is hard to envisage anything other than a comfortable home win and they should be able to defy the three-point handicap.

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