All-Ireland Football predictions and betting tips: Big shock in store as Galway fancied to dump out Dubs

Best bets

Over 2.5 goals in Armagh vs Roscommon
2pts 2-1 BoyleSports 

Galway
2pts 4-1 BoyleSports 

Galway to win by four to six points
1pt 14-1 Paddy Power

Donegal to score under 18.5 points
2pts 6-4 Boylesports 

Kerry -3
4pts Evs Paddy Power 

Kerry to score over 1.5 goals
2pts 7-4 Boylesports 

Kerry to score over 2.5 goals
1pt 13-2 Boylesports

Weekend championship previews

Armagh vs Roscommon

GAAGO, 4pm Saturday 

None of last year's quarter-finals contained more than two goals but the first one this year could break the trend. 

Armagh were last in an All-Ireland semi-final in 2005 but they should return to those dizzy heights in 2024 and ought to have too much class for Roscommon, who have come alive over the last few weeks. 

The league clash between these two sides last year was cagey - Roscommon winning 1-12 to 0-12 - but Armagh have scored seven goals in their six championship games and they can be expected to carve open quite a few goalscoring opportunities now that they move to Croke Park. 

Roscommon netted three times against Cavan in the All-Ireland series and also found the net against Mayo. There were no green flags raised in their surprise success over Tyrone, but they can find the net in this clash. 

The 2-1 available about three or more goals in the game looks generous as both forward units are expected to flourish at Croker. 

Dublin vs Galway

GAAGO, 6.15pm Saturday

Dublin are no bigger than 13-8 to go all the way and lift the Sam Maguire for a ninth time in 13 years but a shock quarter-final exit could be on the cards this weekend. 

Galway are a massive 4-1 to beat the Dubs in 70 minutes, a price that undervalues their championship form over the last three years. 

The Tribesmen have played 16 championship matches since 2022 and they have only lost two of those - by a single point to Mayo in last year's preliminary quarter-final and the 2022 All-Ireland final to Kerry, when they were level after 66 minutes. 

Despite being plagued by injuries all year, Galway still managed to maintain their Division 1 status in the league, claim another Connacht title and beat Derry and Monaghan on the way to the last eight. They outplayed Armagh too, but conceded a late equaliser and the game finished all square. Their form is rock solid. 

If Galway can get Shane Walsh, Damien Comer and Robert Finnerty all on the pitch at the same time, something which has proved the most arduous of tasks all year, they have a big chance of beating Dublin. All three have been named on the starting team too, so hopefully there are no late changes. 

Those three have the potential to damage Dublin's full-back line in the same way that Ryan O'Donoghue did a fortnight ago when Mayo should have beaten the All-Ireland champions. 

Dublin's best performance of 2024 by a mile was their dazzling dismantling of Kerry in the fourth round of the league in February. That was the night everything clicked for the Dubs - they scored 3-18 and won by ten. 

But they haven't impressed that much of late, especially against Mayo and Roscommon in the All-Ireland series, and there were lethargic for long periods in the Leinster final against Louth too. They are not invincible. 

Much will depend on what Galway team starts, but if Walsh and Comer are in the line-up, the Tribesmen could catch Dublin on the hop. They are huge around the middle third of the pitch where Paul Conroy, Matthew Tierney, John Maher and Cillian McDaid are all likely to frustrate the Dubs in the air. It is the sort of challenge the champions haven't faced in the championship so far and Stephen Cluxton's kick-outs will need to be pinpoint to win possession cleanly. 

This Galway team are All-Ireland contenders and now might be the time they prove it to everyone. 

Donegal vs Louth

RTE1, 1.15pm Sunday 

Donegal took their time to shrug off Louth in the league and it was only a sloppy Jeaic Mac Ceallabhuí goal, which should have been stopped, that put daylight between the sides. 

It was 0-12 to 0-10 at the time when a long, hopeful delivery from Daire Ó Baoill somehow ended up in the back of the net and that put them five clear. It finished 1-17 to 0-15, but that was harsh on Louth. 

That was played in Ballyshannon too, so perhaps this quarter-final showdown won't be as straightforward as the betting would suggest. 

The bet that appeals is for Donegal to score 18 points or fewer at 6-4. 

Louth coughed up only 1-8 to Cork last weekend and they held Meath to 0-9 and Kildare to 0-13 earlier in the campaign. They look assured at the back and have a system that works. 

Dublin and Kerry have exposed their limitation  but Donegal might not find their rearguard unit as easy to break down and this could be a low-scoring, dour struggle in which 0-14 or 0-15 might be good enough to get over the line. 

Derry vs Kerry

RTE 1, 3.15pm Sunday

Derry have resurrected their season with a penalty shootout success over Mayo but the end looks nigh for the league champions. It is hard to see how they can nullify Kerry's attack and last year's All-Ireland finalists are fancied to beat a three-point handicap with something to spare. 

There was more work ethic about Derry last weekend, for sure, and they got into Mayo faces, but this is still the same Derry team who conceded four goals to Donegal, three to Armagh, two to Galway and one to Mayo, so it is hard to see them keeping a clean sheet. 

Jack O'Connor is in the enviable position of being able to peak his troops for this time of year. They can cruise through Munster and the All-Ireland series and time their run. You get the impression they are ready to explode and Derry could be on the receiving end of a big beating. 

After going so long without getting any goals in the championship, Kerry have now scored four in their last two games against Meath and Louth and they should continue that theme . Get on the Kingdom to score at least two. 

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