Gaelic football predictions and GAA tips: Roscommon can prove their class

Free GAA football tips, best bets and match previews for this weekend's All-Ireland qualifier action.

Best bets

Roscommon -4
2pts Evs general

Over 1.5 Roscommon goals
2pts 13-8 BoyleSports

Under 19.5 Mayo points
2pts BoyleSports, Paddy Power

Limerick to lead at half-time
1pt 11-4 Paddy Power

Over 32.5 points in Donegal v Armagh
4pts 5-6 Paddy Power

Roscommon v Clare

Sky Sports Arena, 3.45pm Saturday

As long as they are over their Connacht final defeat to Galway, Roscommon ought to have little difficultly in disposing of a limited Clare side at Croke Park.

While Anthony Cunningham's charges were no doubt disappointed with the way the provincial campaign ended, they didn't crumble in the closing stages and a late goal reduced the deficit to just three points and they scored 2-16 in the process.

They got 0-23 in their victory over Sligo earlier in the campaign and it is hard to envisage Clare coping with their firepower.

The sides drew 0-9 apiece when they met in the league but this should be a different type of contest given the location. Croke Park will be better suited to Roscommon, who should win with something to spare.

Kildare v Mayo

Sky Sports Arena, 6pm Saturday

Mayo have scored just 16 points in both their championship outings this year, yet you can get evens about James Horan's charges scoring 19 or fewer against Kildare. That is too tempting to resist.

Far too much has been read into Kildare's dismal defensive display against Dublin. Dessie Farrell and his management team ruthlessly exposed deficiencies in their full-back line and hit five first half goals to end the game as a contest.

Mayo don't have the same pace or power up front and Glenn Ryan will surely deploy more cover for his full-back line. There has been a major emphasis on not giving away goal chances in the Kildare camp since their Dublin drubbing and their meeting with Mayo could be lower scoring than expected.

Kildare's average concession in the league was 15 points and Dublin managed only 12 points against them, while Kerry scored 1-10. Indeed it was the lowest total the Kingdom reached in any of their eight league outings.

The Mayo attack didn't impress against Monaghan and reaching 20 points looks beyond them.

Cork v Limerick

RTE, 1.30pm Sunday

There might not be as much between Cork and Limerick as the betting suggests and the underdogs look decent value at 11-4 to lead at half-time.

They were in front at the halfway mark of their Division 3 league loss to Louth and did their best work in the opening 20 minutes of their heavy Munster final defeat to Kerry too.

Cork got the job done against a defensive Louth side last weekend but this could be in the melting pot for quite a while and 11-4 looks a big price about Limerick going in at the break in front.

Armagh v Donegal

RTE, 4pm Sunday

Donegal and Armagh renew rivalry in the most appetising of the four football qualifiers this weekend and the total points market catches the eye.

You can back over 32.5 points at 5-6 with Paddy Power, while the same wager with Boylesports is 4-7. That is quite a difference of opinion.

When the sides met in the Ulster championship there were 31 points scored, 1-16 to 0-12, but Armagh missed some goal chances and were as unclinical as they have ever been under Kieran McGeeney. Donegal should have had at least one more goal as Michael Langan blazed over the bar in the closing stages.

There were 38 points in Donegal's Ulster semi-final win over Cavan and, despite both sides setting up incredibly defensively in the provincial final, there were still 30 points scored by Donegal and Derry in the first 70 minutes.

Armagh set up very differently to Derry and Donegal will get a chance to come out of their shell.

McGeeney's men scored 2-15 against Dublin and 2-14 against Tyrone in the league, while Donegal have the forwards to do damage on the scoreboard if they get more space than was the case in the defeat to Derry.

The weather forecast is good so conditions should be ripe for scores. It could take 20 points to post a winning score in this one so investing in over 32.5 points looks a shrewd play.

Meetings between Ulster teams in the championship this season have averaged 35 points.

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