Marc Ó Sé previews this weekend’s All-Ireland group matches
Published:
It’s week two of the All-Ireland group stage and Ladbrokes ambassador Marc Ó Sé picks out his best bets from all four matches in the opening round.
I think it is time to nail my colours to the mast and predict an All-Ireland winner, although after Mayo defeated Kerry it makes it that bit more challenging.
Realistically I see six teams who can beat each other on a given day, namely the provincial winners Kerry, Derry, Galway, and Dublin, along with Mayo and Armagh. However, with the players Padraic Joyce has brought into the Galway mix this year, I fancy them to lift the Sam Maguire for the first time since 2001.
Louth v Cork (Sat, 15.00)
Louth will need to show huge character to bounce back from their Leinster final defeat. They matched the Dubs for the first 15 minutes but did not protect their defensive players. As a result, Mickey Harte will keep things really tight at the back and hope that players like Sam Mulroy and Ciaran Downey can get the scores up front.
All-Ireland Series
Rd 1Louth v Cork
Pairc Tailteann, Navan
Saturday 27th May 2023
3pmGame is ALL-TICKET. Purchase at https://t.co/N6tUmhBmce@OfficialBSM_1 l @statsports pic.twitter.com/SrEMMc191u
— Louth GAA (@louthgaa) May 22, 2023
Cork will be very disappointed by the Clare defeat and can count themselves lucky to be playing in the All-Ireland series. They will really have to go up a few gears if they are to beat Louth, but they showed against Dublin they can up their game against bigger teams, so I am going to back Louth to win at 7/4.
Armagh v Westmeath (Sat, 16.45)
Westmeath earned automatic promotion into the All-Ireland series having won the Tailteann Cup last year, but they will struggle against Armagh and will probably finish bottom of the group. Armagh are simply playing at a much higher level than Westmeath, and Kieran McGeeney and his troops can count themselves very unlucky not to have won the Ulster Final. Armagh for the win and Rian O’Neill for the first goal when the odds are updated.
Derry v Monaghan (Sat, 19.00)
Derry have gone about their business with great efficiency and look the real deal this year. They will also take great confidence from winning back-to-back Ulster titles. They completely ruled the roost against Monaghan when these sides met a couple of weeks ago and played with great energy to beat them by 1-21 to 2-10. Derry got the match-ups and tactics bang on that day. Monaghan don’t have the personnel up front to beat Derry, who should win this game.
Dublin v Roscommon (Sun, 16.00)
Roscommon will have to look at the Kildare template of going after the Dubs if they are to get one over them on Sunday. Kildare really pushed up on the Dubs a couple of weeks ago and had a real chance against them going down the stretch in that game. Roscommon have players that can hurt any opposition on their day so for the Rossies to get a win here a lot will have to go right for them.
Another busy week of action ahead for our inter-county teams 👕
➡️ https://t.co/qBsQSKQZBX#UpTheDubs pic.twitter.com/zIkOCVaqZp
— Dublin GAA (@DubGAAOfficial) May 23, 2023
Dublin, on the other hand, have been going up and down through the gears depending on the opposition and have been shadow boxing in the Leinster Championship. They will certainly have to step up in the coming weeks and that will start here. This game will be a tighter affair but I still expect the Dubs to come through. I also fancy Con O’Callaghan for first goal.
All odds and markets correct as of date of publication
