Marc Ó Sé is back with another exclusive Ladbrokes blog, this time previewing the Senior Football Championship round one fixtures taking place this weekend.
Marc Ó Sé blog
Senior Football Championship Predictions - Round 1
Kerry v Monaghan 3pm Fitzgerald’s Stadium Killarney
Monaghan have had their poorest year to date in a long time. Last years All-Ireland Semi-Finalists look a shell of themselves this year. It should be noted they have been severely hampered by injuries during the league and their opening championship game against Cavan.
If Monaghan can get a fully fit team and Rory Beggan home from America you can never rule them out. Kerry have also been underperforming and I felt they were only in third gear against Clare in the Munster Final. I expect a huge improvement in their performance for the opening round of the Championship especially after they lost their opening round game in Fitzgerald Stadium Killarney last year.
Mayo will be disappointed not to have beaten Galway in the Connacht Final. I feel this was a Championship that Mayo really targeted to win. That said the game itself went down to the wire and Mayo will take a lot from it.
Having home venue also sets them up well against a much-improved Cavan team who have had an excellent year so far. Paddy Lynch is an outstanding forward and caused havoc against Monaghan. If Sam Callinan can keep him quiet, I expect a home win here.
This the mouthwatering battle of the weekend with these two heavy weights going toe to toe. Padraic Joyce is finally getting his full team together and we all know the talent that Galway have when they have a full team. Galway had so many injuries in the league but to survive that and to win Connacht is some achievement.
But they have one of the inform teams in the country to come up against on Saturday night. I feel that the Derry boys will bring some bite to this game having had their egos bruised against Donegal. The middle eight battle is where this game will be won and if Galway can nullify the supply of ball to Shane McGuigan, I think it will be a home win here at 11/8.
This game is a very hard to call. We saw how difficult Kerry found it in Ennis a couple of weeks ago. Clare played at a high tempo and it took Kerry some time to be able find their rhythm. It was a far from convincing performance from the Kingdom but credit to Clare for making it a hard fought match.
I think they will do the same to Cork. Clare will have the advantage of having played Kerry only two weeks ago and are coming into this game that bit more battle hardened. I still think it’s going to be very tight and I am backing the draw at 8/1.
