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Mayo v Kerry: Preview, Team News and live score updates

Mayo v Kerry throws in at 7.15pm on Saturday in MacHale Park. We have a preview of the games, as well as team news and betting. If you can’t make the game follow our live score updates.

Click here for LIVE GAA SCORE UPDATES 

Preview

Mayo need a win here in my opinion as they are currently looking at relegation along with Meath. In fact Mayo are one of the favourites for relegation. James Horan’s side have 2 losses, 1 win and 1 draw from four games played. Their final two games come against Galway and Tyrone so they will at least need 2 wins in my opinion for the three remaining games.

They narrowly beat Meath 1-09 to 2-05 in their only win but they will need big improvement if they are to beat Kerry on Saturday. James Horan was somewhat disappointed after the defeat to Mayo but speaking to the Irish Daily Star he said, We are looking at winning games, we are looking at playing well and we haven’t played well yet and we want to try and get a good performance,”. He continued, “You have to move on straight away and try and fix a few things and play next Saturday night.” Players like Lee Keegan, Aidan O’Shea, Kevin McLoughlin and Darren Coen will all look to have big games.

Kerry come into the game in mid table. A win here would certainly boost their chances of reaching a league final. Peter Keane’s side have won 2, lost 1 and drawn 1 from their four games. They beat Meath last weekend 1-19 to 2-13. The draw came against Dublin in the opening round 1-19 each. Speaking to the Irish Daily Star after the win over Meath last weekend Keane said, It was a struggle. We went up to Navan last year in the Super 8s and we struggled enough against them,”. Keane will look to players like David Clifford, Tommy Walsh and Sean O’Shea in attack.

Team News

Team have yet to be announced.

Mayo: TBA

Kerry: TBA

Betting 

Kerry are 4/7 to win this game. Mayo are 7/4. For me it’s a game Mayo have to win and they won fear Kerry. However, Kerry have a greater scoring threat and that pips the tie in their favour by 2 or 3 points. Mayo v Kerry is live on eir sport. However, if you can’t make the game be sure to follow our up to date live gaa scores match tracker.

Tyrone v Dublin, Preview, Team News and live score updates

Tyrone v Dublin takes place on Saturday night at 7.15pm in Omagh. We have a preview, team news and betting information below. If you can’t be there at the game be sure to follow our live score updates.

Click here for LIVE GAA SCORE UPDATES 

Preview

Mickey Harte’s Tyrone come into this game on the back of a poor performance against Galway last weeked. However, they were completely outplayed and hammered 2-25 to 0-12 by Padraig Joyces side. They could find themselves in a relegation battle if they lose this game against Dublin here as well. Tyrone have won 2 games and lost 2 games in the division so far. They have beaten Kerry and Meath. Mickey Harte will look to players like Darren McCurry, Tiernan McCann and Niall Sludden. They will be without talisman Cathal McShane who is facing up to five months out with an ankle injury.

Dublin sit in second place in the league table at present. They come into the game unbeaten. They have 2 wins and 2 draws. What I have certainly witnessed is Dublin play to the end, they never know when they are beaten. This is a sign of good champions. They had to make comebacks against Monaghan and Donegal but they always found a way. They have experience players now like Brian Fenton, Ciaran Kilkenny and Paul Mannion. These will be key players in the Dublin attack once again. Dessie Farrell speaking after the win over Donegal said the slow start to games needs to be addressed he said to RTE Sport, “We had a poor start again tonight and that something we’ll definitely be looking at. We will look at it during the week and have a discussion about it. Over the longer term it needs to be addressed.”

Team News

Tyrone: TBA

Dublin (Allianz FL Division 1 v Tyrone): Evan Comerford; Michael Fitzsimons, Philip McMahon, David Byrne; Eoin Murchan, John Small, Cillian O’Shea; Brian Fenton, James McCarthy; Brian Howard, Sean Bugler, Niall Scully; Paul Mannion, Ciaran Kilkenny, Dean Rock.

Betting

Dublin are the favourites to win at 4/11, while Tyrone are 11/4. For me I think it will be a close game but Dublin will shade by 2 or 3 points in the end. Tyrone v Dublin is live on Eir Sport. If you can’t watch it though follow our live match tracker.

Meath v Galway: Preview, Team News and live score updates

Meath v Galway takes place on Sunday at 2.30pm in Pairc Tailteann in Navan. We have a preview of the game, team news and betting. If you can’t make the game be sure to follow our live match tracker below.

Click here for LIVE GAA SCORE UPDATES 

Preview 

Meath are staring down the barrel of relegation and a win here will be needed to have any chance of staying in the top flight in 2021. They will face Dublin and Monaghan in their final two games and will likely need to win those as well. Andy McEntee’s charges have been unlucky in some games. They lost narrowly to Mayo 1-09 to 2-05, while last weekend they put up a brave performance against Kerry only losing by a goal, 1-19 to 2-13.

They have good players in their ranks like Donal Keogan, Bryan Menton and Cillian O’Sullivan. Speaking to GAA.ie about the game Keogan said, If the result goes your way there that weekend, you can look forward to the next weekend. Potentially four points might do it, six points probably will do it. You’ve three games left, there’s six points on offer there, so obviously it starts with Galway this weekend. It’s a big game.”

Galway come into this game on the back of an impressive 19 point win over Tyrone last weekend. Padraig Joyces charges sit top of the table having won three games and lost one game. A win here will likely secure a place in the final in my opinion. Galway will have games against Mayo and Dublin to come. Galway have quality players like Shane Walsh, Liam Silke and Damien Comer will be key once more for the Westerners.

Team News 

Meath: TBA

Galway (Allianz FL Division 1 v Meath): Conor Gleeson; Sean Kelly, Sean Mulkerrin, Johnny Heaney; Liam Silke, John Daly, Cillian McDaid; Ronan Steede, Tom Flynn; Eamonn Brannigan, Damien Comer, Michael Daly; Martin Farragher, Shane Walsh, Adrian Varley.

Betting

Galway are 2/5 favourites to win this, while Meath are priced at odds of 5/2. For me it’s a Galway win. The emphatic win over Tyrone shows where this Galway side are at present in terms of confidence. Galway -3 at 11/10 has to be bet. There is no live coverage of Meath v Galway so be sure to follow our live gaa score updates.

Hazard to miss rest of season

Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane has said that Belgian international and current Real Madrid midfielder Eden Hazard may miss the rest of the season.

The news comes after the central midfielder suffered yet another ankle injury in Madrid’s surprise La Liga defeat to Levante in La Liga last weekend. Hazard moved to Los Blancos from Chelsea last summer for 89 million pounds. However, he has only played to games since November and his season now looks in doubt following this injury. In fact Hazard has only recovered from an ankle injury which kept him out of the side. It is thought the injury picked up against Levante is to the same ankle. Real will host Manchester City on Wednesday in a crucial last 16 clash in the Champions League. It is an important week for Madrid, as they face Barcelona in La Liga this coming Sunday.

Speaking about Hazard’s injury at a press conference ahead of the game with Manchester City, Zidane said, He (Hazard) loves playing football and while I can’t tell you what is in his eyes, I can see he is not happy”. The former French midfielder continued, “I do not know if he will have to go through an operation. It is not my area and I don’t know if his season is over, but I hope not”. Zidane would not comment on whether the injury was handled correctly first time around. He said he wasn’t the right person to say what should or shouldn’t have been done. Furthermore, he said, “We are not happy about Hazard’s injury, it comes at a bad moment. He wanted to play and help us but now he is out again, which is sad of course”.

In relation to the game Zidane claimed that Guardiola is a better coach, he said “He has shown that over the years, at Barca, Bayern and now City. That’s my opinion. Some people can think other coaches are better but for me, he is the best”. He continued, “But it is Madrid against City, not Zidane against Guardiola. It will be a great game. We always want to play games like this and we will do our best to come away with a good result.” Real v Manchester City takes place at 8pm on Wednesday evening at the Bernabeu, the return leg takes place at the Etihad on March 17th.

5 changes Ireland need to make for Italy game

So Ireland suffered a devastating loss to old foes England on Sunday at Twickenham. England winning 24-12 in the end. Let’s take a look at the top 5 changes that need to happen ahead of Italy coming to the Aviva. However, the game may come under threat due to the coronavirus. 

In truth it was a dreadful first half for Andy Farrell’s men. They conceded two poor tries albeit from two very bad mistakes from Johnny Sexton and Jacob Stockdale. If you take them to mistakes out of it Ireland weren’t far behind England in terms of the scoreboard. However, England outmuscled an overpowered Ireland for much of the game.

  1. Cooney to replace Murray – For me John Cooney simply has to be given a chance against Italy. Ireland will beat Italy that is a given but we are looking for a big performance here and of course a bonus point. Murray opted to box kick a lot in the loss to England. Whether that was a tactic or not I am not so sure. Cooney has to be given a chance from the start here.

2. Caelan Dorris to replace Van Der Flier – Van Der Flier had a poor enough game against England like many of the forwards so Dorris simply has to come in. He made a couple of good carriers when introduced off the bench against England.

3. Ronan Kelleher to replace Rob Herring – Kelleher should certainly start against the Italians. He has strong ball carrying abilities and of course has an impressive try scoring record with Leinster. Has to be given a chance from the start.

4. Chris Farrell to replace Bundee Aki – Farrell has yet to be given any game time. However, he has been in the squad. We all know what he is capable of. A strong runner with the ball and should be given a chance.

5 Keith Earls to replace Jacob Stockdale – Stockdale has been out of form in my opinion, Earls has been out injured but could force his way back into the side. He should also be given a chance against Italy.

Ulster v Benetton postponed following coronavirus

Ulster v Benetton set to be played this weekend is postponed following the outbreak of the coronavirus. Zebre’s game with Ospreys is also postponed as Italian authorities try to battle with the outbreak.

RTE Sport report that their is also restrictions on public gatherings and sporting events. These are the Italian regions of Lombardy, Emilia Romagna and Veneto. The women’s Six Nations meeting between Scotland and Italy was postponed as were four Seria A League games. Pro 14 rugby said they will remain in contact with Italian rugby authorities. They said on their website, “To ensure the safety of our players and spectators PRO14 Rugby fully supports the preventative measures taken in Italy and will adhere to the directives from the World Health Organisation (WHO) and local authorities,”.They stated that the current restrictions will remain in place till March 1st.

The Ireland v Italy game is also under threat. Six Nations released a statement saying that everything’s been monitored closely and they are in constant contact with FIR and all other rugby unions. Simon Harris Minister for Health also expressed his concern about the virus and what it could to do some events. Speaking to RTE News he said “The rugby game is something that needs considerable consideration”. “There will be some big decisions that have to be made in the coming days including mass gatherings.

As of now the IRFU have stated that the games will go ahead as planned. However, the union said it will follow government advice on the matter. It wouldn’t be the first time a Six Nations game was called off though. In 2001 Ireland’s Six Nations meeting with England was postponed due to the outbreak of foot and mouth. The game was eventually played the following October.

Munster squad update ahead of Scarlets game

Munster rugby have issued a squad update ahead of their Pro 14 game with the Scarlets on Saturday at 5pm in Thomond Park.

There is no Six Nations action this weekend so Andy Farrell has released both Jack O’Donoghue and Chris Farrell for this game back to the province. Shane Daly and Niall Scannell have undergone scans following last Friday’s game with Zebre. The outcome of these is expected in the coming days. Scannell came off after 20 minutes with a leg injury.  Daly was withdrawn from the starting XV following tightness in his hip.

In further injury news Craig Casey who went off in the win over Zebre in the second half had an x-ray on his hand but no fracture was sustained. He in fact trained with Munster on Monday. Munster rugby also report that Joey Carbery is still nursing his wrist injury. However, he also seen an ankle specialist last week who advised further surgery was required.

Players that are continuing their rehab from injury include: Jean Kleyn (neck), Rhys Marshall (knee), Joey Carbery (wrist/ankle), Tadhg Beirne (ankle), Brian Scott (foot), Tyler Bleyendaal (neck).

There were 12 Munster players in action in the AIL for their clubs over the weekend. Munster academy players featured in the Cork derby between Cork Con and UCC on Friday.  Alex McHenry and Jonathan Wren helped Cork Con to a 16-12 victory over UCC. John Hodnett and James French lined for UCC

Four Academy players helped Garryowen to a 32-13 victory away at Clontarf. Ben Healy kicked 12 points in the victory. Jack Stafford, Diarmuid Barron and Paddy Kelly also lining out for Garryowen. Senior prop Ciaran Parker made his second appearance on his return from injury for Shannon in their 50-10 victory over Naas.  Eoghan Clarke also played a part.

Munster v Scarlets takes place at 5pm on Saturday.

Zidane and Madrid face do-or-die week of football

Returning to Real Madrid as both one of the clubs greatest players and managers, Zinedine Zidane’s 2nd tenure with Los Blancos was supposed to be very different.

Having been hampered with the meddling hands of the club’s upper hierarchy (namely Florentino Perez) in his initial tenure, a failed Julen Lopetegui experiment seemed to have gifted Zidane a free reign of the clubs development and transfer affairs.

Things however have not quite gone to plan for the World Cup winner.

Hampered by the ghosts of his three consecutive Champions League triumphs, not to mention the departing Cristiano Ronaldo, Zidane has struggled in moulding the team in his image.

Whilst the club sit just 2 points behind rivals Barcelona in La Liga, a recent drop in form and continued fireworks with club president Perez may see ‘Zizou’ seek employment elsewhere come the season end if reports are to be believed.

It was just at the beginning of the month the club was celebrating a hard fought Atletico Madrid in the league. Talisman Karim Benzema scoring the only goal of the game, helping the side stretch their La Liga lead to to six points. The club were in the quarter-finals of the Copa del Rey to boot.

Recent defeats against Real Sociedad and Levante however have shown alarming cracks in the clubs season. Added to that, Eden Hazard is now likely to miss the remaining campaign after viewers winced watching the former Chelsea man fractured his ankle watching the weekends football live stream against Levante.

This week Real face both Manchester City in the Champions League and Barcelona in La Liga. Whilst the side undoubtedly has the talent and leadership to bounce back, the club are clearly lacking confidence.

A problem since club legend Ronaldo’s departure, finding the back of the net has been a continuing problem for Zidane. Hardly known for scintillating football during his tenure, the Frenchman has leaned heavily on fellow countryman Benzema to fill the void.

Recently the forwards goals have dried up. An overall haul of 2 goals in his last 12 matches reflects badly on the side, it doesn’t seem that under studies Luka Jovic and Eder Militao are going to chip in any time soon either. 

No doubt Zidane understands his sides issues. Unable to trust in attacking options such as Vinicius Junior and Gareth Bale, Madrid will likely opt to strangle both City and Barca with a restrictive defensive style.

As unimaginative it will seem to supporters, few will back the club to go toe-to-toe with some of Europe’s best attacking talent this week. A 1st leg against City will be damage limitation, the following La Liga match against their nearest rivals is an undeniable must win.

At least they can be comforted by the fact that Barcelona face their own internal struggles. They can only hope Lionel Messi is down-trodden about the whole Abidal affair, the rest of us know he’s quite likely to show the world why you can’t keep a good man down.

Cheltenham Betting Tips

Cheltenham Festival is fast approaching, with it beginning on Tuesday 10th March 2020 and ends on Friday 13th March 2020. That means that it is time to win some money! You can find a lot of offers for Cheltenham Festival 2020 over at BettingOnline where they have prepared a complete preview.

They have put together some of the best horse racing tips and strategies specific to the Cheltenham Festival, so that you can enjoy betting on Cheltenham for the days it is on! It would be a shame to go in with no tips or ideas on whom to bet on and then having spent your budget on the first day, we want to be able to go the whole length, from the first race to the very last.

We have been in search for the best tips for Cheltenham, doing research and discussing with tipsters to see which horses there are to help us take the bookies’ money. There are a lot of different things to take into consideration when betting on a horse, which makes it so difficult. It is not just the odds to look at, but also the diet, the weight, the recent form, the way it jumps and more.

There are on average around 7 races per day, starting from 1:30pm through to 5:30pm. This gives you plenty of time to place some bets and if you see some that you don’t fancy wagering on, there are always more. Especially if you don’t win off one race, it’s onto the next.

Here are the top 5 favourite horses for Cheltenham:

  • Defi Du Seuil
  • Harry Senior
  • Aspire Tower
  • Paisley Park
  • Notebook

Here are the top 5 Jockeys for Cheltenham:

  • Jonjo O’Neill
  • Barry Geraghty
  • Brian Hughes
  • Harry Skelton
  • Rachel Blackmore

The bookmakers do not want to favourite to win, hence why they are such low odds sometimes, the favourite is what most people will try and bet on as they are the most likely to win on paper. If you bet on one favourite on its own, the odds won’t be too great, so it is recommended to bet in an accumulator bet, where the odds are much higher whilst still being able to stake low.

The only issue with favourite betting, aside from it not being a guaranteed win is that some bookies try and trick customers, by labelling a horse a favourite, when it is not a favourite in actual fact and is not likely to win, this way players will back it and have a high chance of losing.

Be careful when betting and refer back to previous events in order to sustain some knowledge on which horse to back. Only bet when the odds are in your favour as well, don’t go wasting money on bets offering low returns on something that in actual fact is a risk. If you want the best prices, then it is usually a good idea to bet early. Betting early is when the bookies offer some god odds. Refer to other tipsters to see what they are backing, but don’t think that their opinions are guaranteed wins.

Clare reach knockout stages with Kilkenny draw

Kilkenny 1-19 Clare 3-13

Clare have reached the knockout stages of the Allianz League after they drew with Kilkenny at Nowlan Park. Brian Lohan’s charges have yet to be beaten in the league and will now have a league quarter-final at the very least.

Clare in truth probably should have won the game given the 17 wides they amassed. Billy Ryan and Colin Guilfoyle traded early scores. Kilkenny took the lead when young hurler of the year Adrian Mullen pointe on 3 minutes. However, Clare had a goal at the other end in a matter of minute. Tony Kelly sent a long delivery from way inside his own half down to Shane O’Donnell, the Eire Og man gathered and finished past Darren Brennan.  Kilkenny were back on level terms after John Donnelly and Mullen floated over points. Alan Murphy had the Cats ahead 0-8 to 1-3 with 18 minutes played. Clare knocked over five scores in the next 15 minutes. One of these scores was a goal courtesy of Ryan Taylor on 23 minutes. Clare ahead 2-05 to 0-08. Richie Leahy and Alan Murphy (free) left the scores 2-07 to 0-10 at the break.

Ger Aylward had a Kilkenny goal on 48 minutes. That same player registered a point to go with scores from Donnelly and Alan Murphy. Kilkenny led by 1-16 to 2-09 with an hour played. Tony Kelly and Diarmuid Ryan scored sublime points, before O’Donnell popped up with his second goal on 69 minutes. The score was 3-12 to 1-17. Walter Walsh pointed to level matters. However, Clare then took the lead once more when substitute Aaron Cunningham pointed , however Alan Murphy ensured that Kilkenny would come out of the game with a share of the spoils.

Kilkenny – D Brennan; Conor Browne, H Lawlor, C Wallace; C Delaney, P Deegan, D Mullen (0-1); C Buckley, A Murphy (0-7f); A Mullen (0-2), J Donnelly (0-2), R Leahy (0-1); B Ryan (0-1), R Hogan (0-1), W Walsh (0-2). Subs: G Aylward (1-1) for A Mullen, T Walsh for C Browne, B Sheehan for R Hogan, E Cody (0-1) for B Ryan.

Clare – D Tuohy; L Corry, P O’Connor, J Browne; S O’Halloran, C Cleary A McCarthy; D McInerney, T Kelly (0-7, 4f); D Reidy (0-1), J Conlon (0-1), D McMahon; R Taylor (1-0), S O’Donnell (2-1), C Guilfoyle (0-1). Subs: A Shanahan for J Conlon, D Ryan (0-1) for C Guilfoyle, A Cunningham (0-1) for D Reidy, P Collins for R Taylor, S Morey for D McMahon.

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