GAA fanatic Keith Merchant (@kmerchant3) shares his thoughts on Saturday's two football fixtures from the All Ireland Championship.
Mayo v Cork | Saturday 17:00 | Sky Sports
Saturday evening starts with a football double-header of GAA action on Sky Sports with a curtain-raiser featuring Mayo v Cork.
I’m going to make this short and sweet – I expect Mayo to do the business, and even though they have been stuttering through their campaign, I would be very disappointed if they couldn't dispose of a Cork outfit that hasn’t really progressed in recent years.
Mayo have plenty of scorers, as seen in previous games, and if their main man Cillian O'Connor can keep motoring like the Ferrari of GAA he is, I expect both the two bets I like here to come in.
The first selection is the aforementioned O'Connor to score a point from play in both halves at 6/5 (Paddy Power); if Mayo are going to win, he will be very much involved.
The second bet I like is Mayo to score Over 20.5 Points (1/1 Paddy Power) which includes goals (worth three points) – Mayo managed 47 points in their last two outings.
Donegal v Galway | Saturday 19:00 | Sky Sports
Saturday’s evening game sees Donegal meet Galway, which to be honest is fraught with danger.
Donegal were given a lesson from Tyrone in the Ulster championship and since then have scraped past Longford and Meath, two bang average teams.
Such performances won’t inspire but in Galway’s case, they went into their Connaught final as hot favourites and were beaten comfortably by Roscommon on the day; they tend to blow hot and cold a little too often.
I personally think Donegal have the better team and with the blend of youth being given a chance this year, added to the two hard fought wins, will do them a world of good in terms of confidence and belief.
This feisty Donegal can also call upon the likes of Michael Murphy and Ryan McHugh for example, so I would be disappointed if they couldn't get past a Galway side that are struggling to get over a bitter final defeat by Roscommon.
My fancy here is Donegal to win and the -1 on the handicap at 1/1 (Ladbrokes) is more than fair.
Best Bets
Mayo v Cork – Cillian O'Connor to score a point from play in both halves (6/5 Paddy Power)
Mayo v Cork – Mayo to score Over 20.5 Points (1/1 Paddy Power)
Donegal v Galway – Donegal -1 handicap (1/1 Ladbrokes)
