Kerry v Kildare, Austin Stack Park, Saturday 7pm
Kerry -4 – 10/11
The last few weeks have been a tale of woe for the Kingdom and there is no worse crime in Kerry than being destroyed by Dublin.
That’s exactly what happened last Sunday as they scored just 0-11 and were trounced by a dozen points. The one positive for Eamon Fitzmaurice is that he faces the worst side in the division in round six, and at home, so it appears the perfect opportunity to get back to winning ways.
Kildare have lost all five Division 1 duels and, while they should have nicked a few points along the way, their worst performance was their most recent one when suffering a seven-point loss at the hands of Mayo.
They were at home for that showdown too. A trip to Tralee is the last thing that Cian O’Neill would have wanted and it could be a long, long night for the Lilywhites – who have looked all at sea of late.
Kerry are down, but not out and they can get their campaign back on track and ease any relegation worries with a comfortable success. The hosts are strongly fancied to defy a four-point handicap at 10/11.
Racing Post pick: Kerry -4
Mayo v Tyrone, MacHale Park, Sunday 2pm
Tyrone win – 6/4
Both these sides posted wide-margin wins in round five, but the layers appear to have read so much more into Mayo’s wide-margin win over basement boys Kildare than Tyrone’s impressive dismantling of Donegal.
The Lilywhites are starting to really struggle in Division 1 and last year’s beaten All-Ireland finalists took full advantage of their vulnerability, posting a 1-19 to 1-12 success.
Tyrone produced their most eye-catching display of 2018 with Lee Brennan, Mark Bradley, Niall Sludden and Conor McAliskey helping themselves to 2-10 of the 2-13 between them.
Their attacking unit is finally starting to flourish and with Colm Cavanagh coming back to his best form, the visitors look great value at 6/4 to get the better of Mayo.
Racing Post pick: Tyrone
Limerick v Clare, Gaelic Grounds, Sunday 4pm
Limerick win – Evens
Limerick fought back impressively from an eight-point half-time deficit to All-Ireland champions Galway last week to secure promotion to Division 1A, and that showing could have them right up there with Clare on Sunday at the Gaelic Grounds.
Limerick struggled early-on and hit 11 wides before half-time. A completely different team emerged in the second half and the young full forward line of Aaron Gillane, Seamus Flanagan and man-of-the-match Barry Murphy finished with 1-12 between them as they led the Limerick charge throughout.
Clare slipped to their second defeat on the bounce, as they were beaten by three points away to Waterford, after leading by six-points inside the first-quarter. Their early season form may have caught up with them, as many of their leading lights have played a lot of hurling so early in the season.
Limerick seem to be hitting form at the right time, and the benefits of an easier run in Division 1B could be key today. Expect this to be a close match with Limerick edging it on home-soil.
Racing Post pick: Limerick
Head over to PaddyPower.com for the latest GAA odds* All odds correct at time of posting.