GAA punting pro Keith Merchant (@kmerchant3) shares his thoughts on this weekend's action from across the Irish Sea.
Wexford v Galway | Saturday 2nd June 2018, 17:00 | Sky Sports
Saturday evening starts with a hurling double-header of GAA action on Sky Sports with the curtain-raiser featuring Wexford v Galway.
This should be a great battle as both go into this encounter unbeaten; home advantage will be a bonus here for Wexford, but I can't see past Galway.
All over the field the visitors are powerful with multiple different scorers and I would be disappointed if Galway couldn't win comfortably enough. At the end of the day, they are All-Ireland champions and have done nothing to persuade me it will be any different again come August.
The bet that I like here is Galway with a -4 handicap at a best of 11/10 with Paddy Power – I'm sure Galway can cover that spread.
Cork v Limerick | Saturday 2nd June 2018, 19:00 | Sky Sports
Saturday evening's second showdown sees Cork meet Limerick, which I expect will be a cracker.
I’ll start with Limerick here – they got off to a great start, comfortably beating last year’s All-Ireland finalists Tipperary on the opening day.
Limerick have won a lot at underage level over the past few years and I expect this to start reaping the rewards over the coming years, starting with this season.
Cork on the other side are an enigma, and range from playing outstanding one day and terribly the next.
After Sunday’s capitulation against Tipperary – when they held a nine-point lead at half-time to go on and only draw the game – one would have to be thinking that it will be hard for their players to up their game just seven days later.
My thinking is Limerick are the fresher side and will play against Cork with zero fear so I'm all over the guests. Hopefully they can prove my confidence right with a win at 6/4 with Paddy Power.
Best Bets
Wexford v Galway – Galway -4 handicap (11/10 Paddy Power)
Cork v Limerick – Limerick to win (6/4 Paddy Power)