GAA Football Betting Tips: 3 Bets For This Weekend’s Action
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Now that we have finally reached the knockout stages of the competition, betting sites are taking an even greater interest in this year’s All-Ireland senior football championship.
Following the conclusion of the Sam Maguire Cup group stages last weekend, reigning champions Armagh, Monaghan, Tyrone and surprise package Meath have safely advanced to the quarter-final stages of the All-Ireland SFC.
Their last-eight encounters are set to take place on the weekend of June 28/29, but this weekend will determine who joins them at this phase of the championship.
Eight Teams Still Fighting For Quarter-Final Spots
After defeat to Meath saw them finish second in Group Two of the All-Ireland series, Kerry will take on Cavan in the first of two preliminary quarter-finals on Saturday.
The other fixture is the meeting of Dublin and Cork at Croke Park, fresh from their respective victories over Derry and Roscommon last weekend.
On Sunday, Galway will hope to build on their much-needed group stage win against Armagh when they face a vastly improving Down.
Completing the weekend’s action will be the clash of provincial champions Donegal and Louth at Ballybofey – their first meeting since last year’s All-Ireland quarter-final showdown.
Thanks in no small part to the new rules introduced to Gaelic football in 2025, this is proving to be one of the most exciting championships for a number of years.
It isn’t easy to pick out three tips for this weekend, but we have included below what we believe to be some of the best markets available for the preliminary quarter-finals.
Dublin And Cork Set For Another Duel
This Saturday evening, Dublin and Cork will face off for the 18th time in the All-Ireland senior football championship.
When the sides last met in the race for the Sam Maguire Cup back in June 2022, Dublin recorded a convincing 0-21 to 0-10 quarter-final win over their Leeside counterparts at Croke Park.
Four of the Dublin players who started that victory have since brought their inter-county careers to an end, and there are others who have also slipped away from the limelight in the past three years.
Cork have recorded some impressive triumphs during that period, but have also displayed a level of inconsistency that has prevented them from becoming serious challengers for All-Ireland honours.
The Leesiders can cause problems for Dublin this weekend, but their opponents are expected to win.
Yet, whereas the Sky Blues were capable of winning these types of games with a degree of comfort in the recent past, the three wins they have mustered to date in this year’s championship have been by a combined margin of 12 points.
It is also a little under three weeks since Dublin lost to defending All-Ireland champions Armagh in Croke Park.
Dublin should still come out on top, and the 15/4 that BoyleSports is offering on them winning the game by between four and six points could prove to be a good bet.
GAA Football Betting Tip 1: Dublin To Win By 4-6 Points – 15/4 With BoyleSports
Down Vs Galway Could Be High-Scoring Affair
A major feature of last weekend’s action – and of the championship thus far – was how high-scoring so many games were.
From the 16 teams that took to the field across Saturday and Sunday, 10 of them recorded a cumulative tally of 20 points or more.
The aforementioned new rules for Gaelic football have helped significantly in this regard, with two-pointers now becoming the norm in competitive encounters, as Armagh goalkeeper Ethan Rafferty and Derry attacker Shane McGuigan displayed in their group stage games last weekend.
A high-octane affair could well be in store in Newry on Sunday with home team Down coming into the game off the back of ending the All-Ireland group stages as top scorers with an outstanding haul of 4-78 from just three games.
Galway weren’t quite as prolific in their triumvirate of Group Four encounters, but they registered a handsome total of 8-50 nonetheless.
Quite often, the expectation is that the first half of games can be quite cagey affairs before the play inevitably opens up on the resumption.
Yet it is just as likely in the current climate that both halves can be every bit as exciting, with no sign of let-up from two teams who are desperately seeking victories.
With this in mind, it might be worth looking into the 10/1 that Betway is offering on the first and second half this weekend producing an equal amount of scores.
GAA Football Betting Tip 2: Highest Scoring Half Tie – 10/1 With Betway
Provincial Winners Donegal And Louth Set To Face Off
After narrowly winning their final group games last weekend, Donegal and Louth will hope to maintain their momentum this Sunday at 4pm.
Seen as one of the favourites for the All-Ireland championship for much of the year, Donegal find themselves in the preliminary quarter-finals as a result of losing their opening game of the All-Ireland SFC Group One to Tyrone.
For their part, Louth were understandably on cloud nine in the aftermath of winning their first Leinster senior football championship title in 68 years.
They subsequently suffered back-to-back group stage defeats against Monaghan and Down before eventually beating Clare at O’Moore Park in Portlaoise last Sunday.
It was a relief for Ger Brennan to see his troops booking their spot in the knockout rounds of the Sam Maguire Cup.
Defeating Donegal might be a bridge too far, but it is reasonable to expect that the Wee County will be doing their utmost to leave a mark on this weekend’s game.
Therefore, the 13/2 that betting apps are offering on Louth to lead at half-time, before ultimately being turned over by Donegal, could be worth exploring.
GAA Football Betting Tip 3: HT/FT Louth/Donegal – 13/2 With BoyleSports