Weekend All-Ireland Football match predictions and GAA betting tips

Best bets

Tyrone
4pts Evs bet365

Down +8
4pts Evs Paddy Power

Down +5
2pts 21-10 Boylesports

Meath +8
4pts 10-11 general

Meath to lead at half-time
1pt 11-2 Paddy Power

Already advised, April 4

Kildare to reach Leinster final
3pts 13-8 BoyleSports

Down to reach Ulster final
1pt 6-1 BoyleSports

Weekend Gaelic Football predictions

Armagh vs Tyrone

GAA+, 4.45pm Saturday

Tyrone are one of the form teams in the country and they can make a major statement of not just Ulster intent, but All-Ireland intent, too, by beating the champions Armagh in Clones.

Malachy O'Rourke has a terrific reputation in the game and has made sweet music everywhere he has gone. You could see in the latter stages of the league that he was starting to finely tune his new side and they were value for a lot more than the winning margin of seven points against Cavan in their Ulster opener. They coasted through the game from start to finish and barely accelerated out of second gear. They didn't have to.

They destroyed Dublin in the last round of the league, beat Donegal in the round before that and had earlier drawn with Galway away in Tuam before that. They have put together a string of top performances and they are strongly fancied to beat an Armagh side without Rian O'Neill.

The All-Ireland defence is a much bigger deal to Armagh than an Ulster title and this could be the day when Tyrone show everybody just how good they are. Evens looks a great price.

Donegal vs Down

BBC, 3pm Sunday

How Down remain in the Ulster championship is a mystery. They went out to 100-1 in-play against Fermanagh when seven points down and going nowhere with six minutes to go.

They scored a pair of late goals to seal a sensational smash and grab raid - 2-19 to 0-23 - but if they play like they did for the first 25 minutes of the second half Donegal will dismantle them easily.

It is hard to believe they can be that bad again and the eight-point handicap looks a bit of an overreaction from the layers. Ask yourself this: if Monaghan had beaten Donegal, which they could have done, what would the handicap be? My guess would be about four so getting an eight-point headstart against an overrated Donegal team looks a great bet.

Donegal don't score goals and instead rely on kicking a huge points tally. They will probably have enough quality to escape unscathed from the tie, but it could be much closer than expected.

Don't forget Down beat Monaghan in the final round of the league so on a direct form line through the Farney Army, there shouldn't be a great deal between the sides.

Down need massive performances from Pat Havern and Odhran Murdock and if the duo bring their A-game this could be in the melting pot right up until the final five minutes or so.

Dublin vs Meath

GAA+, 4pm Sunday

Dublin are not the untouchable kings of Leinster they have been for the last two decades and their workmanlike win over Wicklow was further proof that the blue machine is not as well-oiled as it once way.

That rather lethargic display by a margin well short of handicap spread came on the back of a league campaign that was very hot and cold and taking the provincial semi-finals out of Croke Park could see them struggle against old rivals Meath.

The Royals look to be in for a right old thumping at the halfway point of their Leinster quarter-final with Offaly. They trailed by ten and looked devoid of ideas, but there was a 17-point turnaround in the second half and they ended up winning by 1-25 to 0-21.

There is a bit of confidence building in the Meath camp and going to Portlaoise is psychologically very different from going to Croke Park to face Dublin. There are mental scars from the heavy defeats at headquarters but the smaller confines of a provincial ground brings no such worries.

Matthew Costello is back at the peak of his powers for Meath and, while Jordan Morris is a big loss, they have enough scoring power up front to pose Dublin problems. The new rules suit them, too, as they have huge men around the middle third of the pitch and Jack Flynn, in particular, has blossomed under new boss Robbie Brennan.

Given Dublin only beat Wicklow by nine in Aughrim, an eight-point handicap seems big for their clash with Meath.

This is a huge game for Meath football, monumental in fact. They need to finally show that there are not light years between themselves and Dublin, so expect a blistering start and 11-2 about a half-time lead is worth taking.

Dublin's high-profile retirements are slowly but surely coming back to haunt them and the goalkeeping situation is a bit of a mess, so Meath might not get many better chances to give the Dubs a proper rattle.

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