Kilkenny v Tipperary, Nowlan Park, Sunday 2pm
Kilkenny (-1) – 10/11
Kilkenny welcome Tipperary to Nowlan Park on Sunday afternoon on the back of their first win in their 2018 League campaign on the road to Waterford seven days ago. Tipperary for their part, ended Wexford’s unbeaten run under the lights at Semple Stadium last week.
The long-awaited comeback of TJ Reid seems to have ignited The Cats, as the 2015 Hurler Of The Year hit Waterford for 1-11, with wing-forward Martin Keoghan also pitching in with an ultra-impressive five points from play.
Tipp, on the other hand, already without Seamus Callan and John ‘Bubbles’ O’Dwyer, must also contend with the loss of sharpshooters Jason Forde and John McGrath, who both miss out due to Fitzgibbon Cup final duty in Mallow on Saturday.
Kilkenny will be less impacted by the Fitzgibbon Cup, and this game will have been in Brian Cody’s mind for a long time. Expect The Cats to come out with their claws sharpened for this challenge.
Racing Post pick: Kilkenny -1
Monaghan v Tyrone, Castleblayney, Saturday 7pm
Tyrone (-1) – 7/5
Despite blasting from the traps in the McKenna Cup with some big wins, Tyrone have taken time to warm to 2018.
The Red Hands were quite fortunate to escape from Newbridge with maximum points as Kildare missed some crucial frees in the closing stages, which would have got them over the line. Tyrone also lost the McKenna Cup decider to Donegal last weekend, but Mickey Harte welcomes back Colm Cavanagh for the trip to Castleblayney and he makes this outfit tick.
When these sides met in the League last year, Tyrone ran out comfortable 0-14 to 0-10 winners and there is not enough evidence to suggest they have regressed enough for that result to be reversed.
Kerry were incredibly poor for most of last weekend’s showdown with Monaghan and it might be foolish to read too much into that surprise victory for the Farney Army.
Racing Post pick: Tyrone -1
Mayo v Dublin, MacHale Park, Saturday 7pm
No Goalscorer – 13/2
A successful spring for Mayo would now be to retain their Division 1 status. Disappointing defeats to Galway and Kerry have ended any prospect of reaching the League decider and the last thing they will want is another drubbing at the hands of Dublin. If they’re adventurous it could end in disaster, so expect Stephen Rochford to err on the side of caution.
We fully expect Mayo to pack huge numbers behind the ball and play on the counter attack. The last time Dublin travelled to Castlebar it was an incredibly dour battle.
It was very low-scoring and ended 0-9 to 0-7 in favour of Dublin. It could be a similar scoreline this time to on a wet, miserable night on a heavy pitch under floodlights.
Mayo have failed to score a goal against Dublin in their last three League meetings so that makes the 13/2 available on a repeat of that very appetising indeed.
Racing Post pick: No Goalscorer
Head over to PaddyPower.com for the latest GAA odds* All odds correct at time of posting.