Dublin v Galway, Croke Park, Saturday 17:00
Galway +6 – 11/10
The way this Galway team play is all or nothing. They go in with incredible intensity, they press all the time and they throw themselves into every challenge. There are no half measures. Every tackle, every piece of possession and every shot is treated with the same respect.
That was the way they played against Kerry and it was a similar story in their success over Kildare. What happened last Saturday evening in Salthill was Galway took their foot ever-so-slightly off the throttle.
They did not tackle with the same intensity, they did not move the ball with the same pace, and they did not dive on breaking ball as though their lives depended on it. That was because their lives didn’t depend on winning. Monaghan’s did.
Galway will be much more at home as underdogs in a knockout game where they can play on the counter attack, so expect them to stick within a very generous six-point handicap.
Racing Post pick: Galway +6 – 11/10
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Half Time Result: Galway – 16/5
If Galway are to cause an upset, a phenomenal first half performance is needed. Their style of play means they simply cannot afford to go chasing any game. A blistering start is crucial.
If they can edge ahead by two points, maybe three, it makes life very tough for their opponents as they can pack more numbers behind the ball.
Expect Galway to start with the same intensity as they did against Kerry and ask Dublin serious questions before the break.
Whether they can turn a match-winning chance into a victory is doubtful but they look overpriced to lead at half-time against a Dublin team who were very sluggish in the first half against Laois, Donegal and Tyrone already this season.
Racing Post pick: Half-time: Galway – 16/5
Tyrone v Monaghan, Croke Park, Sunday 15:30
Tyrone -1 – Evens
These two sides met in an Ulster championship showdown earlier in the summer but this is a very different Tyrone side to the one that lost out by two points on that occasion.
Mickey Harte’s troops have grown in the qualifiers, improving with each outing and playing with a steely determination that was missing in that first meeting.
Their transition from defence to attack is much slicker now and the return of Lee Brennan gives them more firepower up front. Expect Tyrone to curb the long lung-bursting runs of Karl O’Connell and shut off the supply into Conor McManus.
If they do that they are more than halfway to winning the match. Tyrone gave Dublin their biggest fright so far this summer and they should book another date with the Dubs in the All-Ireland final.
Racing Post pick: Tyrone -1 – Evens
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