All-Ireland Football Championship match predictions and betting tips: Big shock on the cards for Donegal

Best bets

Cork
2pts 10-3 Boylesports 

Cork half-time/full-time double result
1pt 15-2 bet365 

C Kilkenny over 2.5 points in Cavan v Dublin
2pts 11-8 Boylesports 

Armagh
2pts 15-8 Betfair, Paddy Power 

Sean O'Shea RTE Man of the Match in Meath v Kerry
2pts 13-2 Paddy Power

Weekend Football Championship previews

Cork v Donegal

2.30pm Saturday 

There has been the odd shock in the championship, most of them in the Tailteann Cup, but there could be a big one in the second round of the All-Ireland series with Cork fancied to dish out a first competitive beating of 2024 to Donegal. 

Jim McGuinness has made quite an impression in his second stint as Donegal manager. They went through the league unbeaten on their way to Division 2 glory, came through the toughest side of the draw to win an Ulster title on penalties, and breezed past Tyrone in their first game in the All-Ireland series. 

Things are very rosy in the Donegal garden, but I still can't have them as All-Ireland contenders and feel they are far too short at 1-3 for their trip to Pairc Ui Rinn for a number of different reasons. 

First of all, Cork have been underrated by the layers all year and a three-point defeat to Kerry in the Munster semi-final has been their only loss since mid-February. In that time they have beaten Fermanagh, Kildare, Meath, Limerick and Clare, as well as holding Armagh to a draw. One defeat in seven outings to the second-best team in the business, who they led at half-time is a decent run of form. 

Cork are at home and surely much fresher than Donegal, given they have only played Clare since exiting Munster on April 20. Donegal have been embroiled in some bruising battles in that time and surely their hectic schedule will start catching up on them at some stage. The long journey down to Cork can't help either. 

The Rebels are a progressive side and have scoring forwards so 10-3 looks decent value on home soil. Given their first half was their best half against Clare, leading by five point at the break but only winning by two, it could be worth having a few quid on the 15-2 available about them leading at half-time and full-time in the double result market. 

Cavan v Dublin

7pm Saturday - GAAGO

All-Ireland champions Dublin only pulled away in the latter stages against Roscommon but expect it to be more straightforward when they visit Breffni Park for round two. 

Cavan should really be outclassed, but the 12-point handicap looks just about right. 

The individual player markets are of more interest and, in particular, Ciaran Kilkenny to score at least three points. He failed to score against Roscommon, so will have a point to prove and provincial venues suit his style of play even better that Croke Park. Kilkenny might find himself in more scorable positions on this smaller pitch. 

Meath v Kerry

2pm Sunday - RTE

When you have a clash like Meath and Kerry, where the visitors are 1-33 and the handicap is 11 points with most firms, there tends to be terrific value in the RTE man of the match market. 

The reason being that a Kerry win would appear a foregone conclusion and they are expected to kick in the region of 25 points so instead of it being a 30-horse race for the man of the match market, it is whittled down to a three or four-runner field. It is highly likely that one of the main scoring forwards for the Kingdom will get the gong. It is hard to envisage any defender getting it, unless they roam forward and kick a right few scores. 

David Clifford is hot favourite in the market and rightly so. He is a joy to watch and the most talented footballer around right now. He is as short as 11-4, and of far more appeal is Sean O'Shea at an extremely generous 13-2. He is only 4-1 elsewhere. 

O'Shea scored nine points in the Munster final and will be kicking frees off one of the best surfaces in the country. He is slowly, but surely starting to hit top gear and if he scores seven or eight points, that 13-2 could look a very big price. 

Derry v Armagh

4pm Sunday - RTE

The standout clash of the second round of the All-Ireland series is unquestionably the Ulster showdown between Derry and Armagh and the hosts are way too short.

Derry have lost their last two games - big games at that - by a total of 11 points. Donegal scored four goals and beat them by six, while Galway were always in control and won by five. Yet, the market does not seem to have taken into account that poor run of form. 

Armagh did what they had to do against Westmeath, and now have the chance to fully erase the memory of their Ulster final heartache. They were superior to Donegal for so long of that Ulster final and now they are 15-8 to beat a Derry team who are 70 minutes away from three defeats on the bounce. That's value. 

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