Marc Ó Sé blog: 'Donegal are big favourites here'

Marc Ó Sé is back with another exclusive Ladbrokes blog, this time previewing the Senior Football Championship round three fixtures taking place on June 15 and 16.

Donegal will be very disappointed to have lost their first match under Jim McGuinness two weeks ago and will need to dust themselves down quickly if they are to beat Clare. Mick Fitzgerald’s men have made great strides but I don’t see Donegal getting caught on the hop twice. They’re big favourites here and should cover the 9-point handicap at evens.

Cork have put themselves right back in the mix having after overcoming Donegal last time out. They certainly won’t fear Tyrone but I feel this game could go down to the wire. Cork’s running game may trouble Tyrone but if they can get quick ball to their deadly dangerous inside line, they may just have enough for Cork. Tyrone to win by the minimal margin at 4/7.

Cavan and Roscommon will be fighting for Sam Maguire survival so that will make this game very interesting. I witnessed both teams take on Dublin and I felt Roscommon put up a far better challenge than Cavan. That, coupled with the absence of Cavan’s star forward Paddy Lynch, indicates to me that the Rossies will get over the line here. 

Derry v Westmeath will be a mouthwatering battle. Westmeath will smell blood after Derry lost to both Galway and Armagh. Everyone expects Mickey Harte’s men to recover for this game and win, but I am not so sure that’s how this game will flow. I expect Westmeath to throw the kitchen sink at Derry and I think there could be a huge upset on the cards here. I will back Dessie Dolan’s men to beat Derry at 9/2.

Armagh and Galway have recovered really well after contrasting setbacks. Armagh once again suffered a penalty shootout defeat, while Galway had to deal with an injury crisis. Now their seasons are back on track and this promises to be a great game. This game will be so close but ff Armagh play with the attacking style that they used against Derry, I feel they will win this match at 11/10.

Monaghan and Meath are fighting for their lives here. Both Vinny Corey and Colm O’Rourke will be disappointed at where their teams are at. Their fight for survival will bring out the best in both sides. From what I have seen, I think Monaghan have a slight edge simply because of their experience in big games last year.

We know exactly what way Louth are going to set up against Kerry following their impressive display in the Leinster Final last month. Expect The Wee County to play with a compact defence, where David Clifford and co will have little time on the ball. Clifford kicked 2-4 against them in this fixture last year so he will come in for some heat on Sunday. I still believe that Kerry will have the tools to beat the Louth defence and they are big favourites to do just that. 

Mayo pushed hard for this game to be taken out of Croke Park. The Dubs now make the trip to Dr Hyde Park which will make this contest more interesting. However, there is only one winner for me and that’s the Dubs. Brian Fenton has been in sensational form all year and with Con O’Callaghan and Paul Mannion up front I think they will have too much for Mayo.

View the latest GAA odds

All odds and markets are correct as of the date of publication.