All-Ireland football predictions: Donegal worth a wager at a very generous 25-1

Free Gaelic Football tips, best bets and analysis for the 2021 All-Ireland championship.

Best bets

Donegal to win All-Ireland
1pt each-way 25-1 Boylesports

Dublin and Donegal to meet in All-Ireland final
2pts 9-1 Boylesports

Donegal to win Ulster
3pts 9-4 Boylesports

Galway to win Connacht
3pts 6-4 bet365, William Hill, Paddy Power

Cormac Costello championship top scorer
2pts 7-1 Boylesports

Michael Murphy Footballer of the Year
1pt 40-1 Boylesports

Championship Preview

The layers agree on most things about the 2021 All-Ireland football championship. Dublin are 8-11 across the board to win a seventh straight title, Kerry are next best at 5-2, with one firm going 11-4, while Mayo are either 10-1 or 12-1 depending on where you look.

The big difference of opinion surrounds Donegal. You have to take 14-1 with bet365, but Boylesports go 25-1.

That 25-1 is a juicy price if Michael Murphy can shrug off a hamstring strain which basically ruled him out of the league, while Odhran Mac Niallais and Paddy McBrearty are both fitness concerns for their opener against Down on Sunday. All three are expected to be back sooner rather than later so it's worth taking a chance on Donegal and investing in them in a couple of markets.

It is hard to fathom how some firms have installed Tyrone as favourites for Ulster given Donegal have won two of the last three provincial titles and fell asleep at the wheel against Cavan in last year's decider. They have undoubtedly been the best team in Ulster of late and they are getting better.

Donegal's league campaign had Stephen Rochford's fingerprints all over it. They adopted a far more attacking approach and allowed both wing-backs to join the attack at almost every opportunity. It's a risky strategy but the way they resurrected a draw with Monaghan in the league, having been seven points down at one stage and conceded four goals, showed they had grown as a team both physically and mentally.

It is a long road to an All-Ireland final for Donegal. To get there they have to win four games in Ulster, most likely Down, Derry, Tyrone and either Armagh or Monaghan, but they now have a panel capable of coping with such a rigorous schedule.

Michael Langan and Oisin Gallan are a year older, a year stronger and a year wiser, while Ciaran Thompson and Niall O'Donnell suit their current style of play. McBrearty was brilliant during the league and looks as good as ever and even Dublin would struggle to match their long-range shooting ability.

A small each-way stake on an All-Ireland win at 25-1 is advised, but far more appealing is the 9-1 on offer about them meeting Dublin in the decider. There is not as much between Donegal and Kerry right now as the betting would make you believe.

Provided Murphy has recovered from his hamstring troubles, it is hard to resist having a little nibble on him at 40-1 in the Footballer of the Year market. Everything goes through him when Donegal are going well and there can't be too many more championships in the legs of the glorious Glenswilly attacker who turns 32 in August.

Dublin and Kerry are priced accordingly in their provinces, but Galway look outstanding value at 6-4 to win Connacht given that Mayo will be without Cillian O'Connor for the entire campaign.

The funny thing about Connacht is that three of the last four winners of the province have been relegated from Division 1 of the league in the same season. Who have just been demoted from the top tier? You guessed it - Galway.

In a strange sort of a way there were more positives than negatives to be dissected from the Tribesmen's league campaign. They were embarrassed by Kerry in round one, but recovered to beat Roscommon next time and played a nice brand of football for long periods against Dublin in round three. They really should have beaten Monaghan in their relegation play-off in normal time before they were edged out in extra-time.

Mayo have qualified for the Connacht final only once since 2015 - last year. They might be the knockout kings but their recent provincial form leaves a lot to be desired and, with Roscommon looking a pale shadow of the side of a few years ago, Connacht is Galway's for the taking.

One other wager that warrants a mention is Cormac Costello at 7-1 to be the championship's top scorer.

He is guaranteed to start against either Wexford or Wicklow in round one and, although Dean Rock might return at some stage in the campaign, Costello should get the nod for their three games in Leinster.

He could have a big lead built up by the time Dessie Farrell calls upon Rock.

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