Weekend Gaelic football predictions and GAA betting tips

Best bets

Armagh
4pts 6-4 BoyleSports, Ladbrokes, Hills

Over 2.5 goals in Louth vs Meath
3pts 15-8 BoyleSports

Over 3.5 goals in Louth vs Meath
2pts 4-1 BoyleSports

Weekend Gaelic Football predictions

Armagh vs Donegal

BBC & RTE, 5.25pm Saturday

The Ulster champions v the All-Ireland champions. The stage is set for a stunning showdown at Clones on Saturday evening where Armagh are begging to be backed at 6-4.

Donegal haven't impressed me as much as they have impressed others this year and there is no way they deserve to be 8-11 with most firms on recent form.

They were possibly flattered by the final scoreline against Down, where they were quite poor in the final quarter, and Monaghan were made to rue several missed opportunities in the Ulster quarter-final, too.

The Jim McGuinness factor is why Donegal are so short. The layers are placing so much faith in the maestro and rightly so. Who knows what he has up his sleeve for the Ulster final but there will certainly be something up there. The problem, however, is whether he has the players to execute the plan.

Armagh have been beaten in the last two Ulster finals on penalty shootouts. Both hurt, especially last year to Donegal. An All-Ireland triumph helped to heal those scars, but there a few are still oozing and the only cure is a first provincial title since 2008. The 16-year wait can end here.

Rian O'Neill remains a massive loss to Armagh, but they snatched victory from the jaws of defeat against a strong Tyrone side and the fact they were able to introduce class acts like Conor Turbitt and Stefan Campbell from the bench was pivotal.

Armagh have a stronger squad than Donegal. They have a huge spread of different scoring options, too. Ten different players scored in the win over Tyrone and that could prove the main difference between the sides here.

Ethan Rafferty's kicking is a joy to behold and, if he is as accurate again here as he was against Tyrone, it can be the catalyst for a famous Armagh victory.

Donegal don't look the side they are made out to be and this is the day where they could be found out, so get on the All-Ireland champions at a very generous 6-4 to win in 70 minutes. Hopefully, there will be no penalty heartache this year.

Louth vs Meath

RTE, 4.15pm Sunday

Dublin's dominance of Leinster is officially over. After 14 provincial titles on the trot, the sequence came to an end last month and how fitting that we should have a repeat of the notorious 2010 Leinster final between Meath and Louth in the absence of the Dubs.

It is 15 years since Joe Sheridan threw the ball into the Louth net to claim a last-gasp success for the Royals, prompting Peter Fitzpatrick, the Wee County manager at the time, to label referee Martin Sludden "Dirk Turpin without a mask!"

It was so cruel on Louth and they certainly won't lack any motivation as they seek a first Leinster title since 1957.

Meath are favourites, but they probably shouldn't be. Louth had ten points to spare over them in the All-Ireland series last year and they also had their number in the final round of the league this spring, despite missing most of their marquee players, most notably Sam Mulroy.

Louth bring a more prolonged period of form to the table. This is their third Leinster final in a row and this time there is no Dublin in the decider. They will really fancy their chances.

Meath have just the one flash of brilliance, but in beating Dublin they showed a real maturity in the closing stages to see the game out. Their young side is growing up with every game and James Conlon could really flourish in Croke Park.

If forced to go one way or the other, I would ever so slightly edge towards Louth, but it might be better to concentrate on the goal markets instead.

You can get 15-8 about three or more goals in the game and that looks a huge price. There have been 14 goals scored in the last three Leinster finals - six in 2022, five in 2023 and three in 2024.

Meath conceded one goal to Dublin in that famous success a fortnight ago, but they needed goalkeeper Billy Hogan to make two outstanding stops to prevent further goals.

It was a similar story in the other semi-final where Niall McDonnell was absolutely superb and made a series of stunning saves to deny Kildare.

Meath and Louth are moving from provincial grounds such as Portloaise and Tullamore to Croke Park and there is no hiding place for rearguard units in Croker, especially under the new rules. You can cover ground quickly in Inniskeen, but you can't at Croke Park.

Neither side are particularly defensive so there could be goals on the menu - get on over 2.5 goals and over 3.5 goals and hopefully we can enjoy a goalfest.

Both sets of forwards have the potential to flourish. Meath do not have a marksman like Sam Mulroy, but they have Matthew Costello who will torment them with his direct running style if he is in the same sort of form as he was against Dublin.

It will almost certainly open up and it's just a case of how clinical both sides are when the opportunities present themselves.

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