The restoration of the Dublin senior football side reaches another level when they take on Cork in what promises to be an electrifying Division One league final.

Make no mistake about it Dublin need this win a lot more than their opponents. However, the result in my eyes is irrelevant. Pat Gilroy will be overjoyed with the spring campaign as he has established a playing platform that produces results. They are hard to break down, aggressive in the tackle and show an honesty that was missing for many years. They will be feared in the championship, no matter today’s result.

A close encounter with Cork is expected and like all the games this weekend, it’s a matter of opinion or a toss of a coin with regards the winners.

One slight worry for the Dubs is their reliance on goals in every game to date. They will dry up. Against Cork this year it was the ‘majors’ that swung the game in their favour.

This will be close and a tentative vote is given to a Cork win at 6/5.

In Division Two I find it somewhat surprising that Donegal have been installed as favourites. Yes, they will have learned from their defeat the last day but I believe the form of Laois stands up better over the spring.

Justin McNulty’s men beat Donegal, Meath, and trounced Derry in Celtic Park which is good form despite people saying Derry had an ‘off day’. Take a Laois win at 11/8 in what should be another nail biter.

A Cork and Laois double works out at a tasty 9/2.

Those of you seeking a swelled betting budget for Cheltenham should look no further as a bumper day of both hurling and football takes place on Sunday.

In Division One of the NFL, Kerry look a good bet to cover the -5 spread at 10/11. Galway have been awful to date and their defence looks there for the taking, particularly if the ‘Gooch’ and Kieran Donaghy find form.

Mayo remain a strong outfit on their home patch and it’s always tough taking them on in Castlebar. Armagh have been competitive in all their outings, yet lacked the killer touch needed in the final quarter of each game.

This will be close but Mayo should have too much to spare and back them to win by 1-3 points at 11/4 and 4-6 points at 7/2.

Dublin will take to the road for the second time in the league and should keep their 100% record when taking on Monaghan. To be honest, Monaghan have surprised me to date and have competed superbly in every game, including the long trip to Cork.

However, Dublin are the bet at 8/15 and for some value take the 10/1 on offer for Diarmuid Connelly scoring the first goal of the match.

There could be goals galore in Navan today and grab the 3/1 on offer for over 2.5 goals between Meath and Donegal. Especially when you consider Michael Murphy and Joe Sheridan occupy the full-forward spots for their respective teams.

Derry will be keen to return to winning ways in the league and the 8/11 on offer represents decent value away to Sligo. Meanwhile, the game of the day takes place in Newbridge between Kildare and Laois, with all the signs pointing to a tight encounter. 15/2 on offer for a draw looks the best option here.

Looking down the leagues Wicklow jumps out at 4/5 at home to Longford, as does the 1/2 about Louth continuing their 100% record at home to Offaly. Finally on the football front Fermanagh look a wee bit overpriced at 7/4 away to Roscommon. This should be close and at those odds you should get a good run for your money.

In hurling only a few tips this week catch my eye. Cork have been excellent so far this campaign and I would be surprised if they don’t keep that run going against Waterford at odds of 4/5, which represents terrific value.

Kilkenny travel to Galway and the best you can get on the Cats is a price around 1/2 or 4/7. However if you combine Tipperary and Limerick (two walkovers) in a treble, you will get a price of around 4/5.

Both codes once again on offer today with some mouth watering contests, including the clash of hurling giants Kilkenny and Cork.

Three games take place in Division One of the National Football League and Kerry look a good bet to get their first points of the campaign in Castlebar. The Kingdom are boosted by the return of both Eoin Brosnan and Colm Cooper, and will be all guns blazing for a win.

Mayo struggled in their first game and Kerry should bypass the -1 handicap at odds of evens.

Monaghan were written off by many, including myself, in their opening win against Galway. I’m still yet to be convinced and although local games against Armagh are always tight, I fancy the Orchard men to prevail in Crossmaglen. Take Armagh to cover -1 handicap and maybe a small punt on a win by 4-6 points at 4/1.

I’m expecting a high scoring game in Newry between Down and Galway with over 28.5 total points at 8/11 with Ladbrokes the recommendation.

In Division Two, one team that look a little overpriced is Derry at 7/4 away to Kildare. The Ulstermen are strong in the league and will be brimming with confidence after their opening round win over Tyrone.

Sligo and Antrim represent potential banana skins for both Meath and Laois respectively today. The underdogs can be underrated at times, especially Sligo, but Meath are a terrific team when playing in Pairc Taillteann and look an excellent bet -2 at 10/11.

Antrim were poor against Kildare and could suffer another defeat on the road. Small bets on Laois winning by 4-6 points at 7/2 and 7-9 points at 6/1 is the recommendation.

Looking down the leagues, Roscommon look capable of defying the -5 handicap at evens on their home patch against Carlow. While on paper Limerick are a lot better than Waterford and they look an outstanding bet at 5/6 with Paddy Power -2.

Where better to start on the hurling front than the clash of Kilkenny and Cork. The Rebels will be keen to test themselves against the Cats in their backyard and the addition of Eoin Cadogan is a major boost. However, I was very impressed by Brian Cody’s men last week, especially in the second half when they seriously upped their performance.

Cork could come out all guns blazing and a small bet on Cork-Kilkenny in the half time-full time market at 5/1 is worth an interest. But everything looks pointed towards another Kilkenny win.

We could be way off the mark with our final selections but it may be worth a little saver on Antrim pulling off a shock win at home to Clare at 11/4. Meanwhile, Offaly welcome Galway to Tullamore and John McIntyre’s men could be in for a tough outing.

Take Offaly at +4 on the handicap at 5/6 and a small punt on Joe Dooley’s side winning by 1-3 points at 11/2.

A number of short-priced favourites occupy the GAA betting conundrum on Sunday, and with this in mind it’s worth taking a closer look at the handicaps on offer.

Galway will be without a host of stars for their opening match in Division One including Joe Canning. And had the Portumna man been listed at full-forward then the handicap betting would surely have been two or maybe three points higher.

Absentees will have an effect but they still have star quality in Ger Farragher and Iarla Tannian. Although Wexford will be boosted by the return of their Oulart The Ballagh contingent, doubts remain about their current form after a disappointing Walsh Cup campaign.

Galway look the safer option and should cover the -5 spread with Ladbrokes at evens.

Cork could be a team to keep an eye on this year. Denis Walsh has a solid and young group of players that will be much the better for last year’s championship run.

Some Rebel fans may be expecting better, but they appear a team going the right way by trying to blend youth and experience.

They put in a good performance in the final of the Waterford Crystal Cup and will be looking to turn Páirc Uí Chaoimh into a fortress. Offaly have a number of injury worries and it may be too early in the season to trust Joe Dooley’s men. Take the Rebels -6 at 5/6 with Ladbrokes.

Dublin hurlers will not have fond memories of their last trek to Waterford. On that occasion they suffered a humiliating 13 point defeat and they will be chomping at the bit to banish that memory today. For me Waterford are somewhat of a risky prospect at 1/2 considering their list of high profile absentees.

If Dublin are to win, it will be by the minimum of margins and they are 4/1 to triumph by 1-3 points.

Clare may be a more settled outfit at this time of year but the 6/4 on offer about Limerick represents good value. This should be a close contest with O’Grady recalling some of the big name players that decided against playing in 2010 and they could lead the Treaty men to an opening round win.

Carlow look good at 1/2 away to Down while Laois should have enough firepower to cover the -5 spread with Paddy Power at evens against Westmeath.

Two matches take place in Division Four of the national football league with Wicklow travelling to Leitrim and Carlow hosting Fermanagh. Wicklow have an excellent forward division and they look the bet at 8/13, especially considering Leitrim struggled past a 13 man Clare outfit last weekend.

Carlow and Fermanagh could be a close contest and a small bet on a draw at 15/2 is the call.

Unlike previous years when the National Football League opened under the glare of Croke Park lights with thousands in attendance, this year the powers that be chose to set the NFL off with a lot less fanfare. Fixtures such as Kerry vs Dublin and Derry vs Tyrone could have been harnessed to create a sense of occasion, but overall there was no grand opening, so to speak.

The same certainly could not be said of the hurling. This Saturday night the undisputed big two counties in the game at the moment go head to head in a game that should get any small ball enthusiast salivating at the prospect. Last year Kilkenny and Tipperary went head to head in both the National Hurling League final and the All Ireland final, and in both instances supporters were treated to a humdinger of a match, with Kilkenny winning out both times. A large crowd is likely to make the trek to Tom Semple’s field in the hope of similarly competitive action this weekend, with TV cameras also on hand.

The forgotten match between these two counties last year was their meeting in Nowlan Park in the round robin stages of the league towards the end of March when Kilkenny laid down a marker with a 5-17 to 1-12 hammering. The nett result of these three results is that Kilkenny will feel that whether the game is close or not, whether they lead or trail coming into the closing stages, they should have the upper hand – and for that reason, this Saturday night’s fixture is a lot more meaningful to Tipperary than it is to Kilkenny. Of course Brian Cody would never admit it, but deep down the James Stephens man knows that a loss or two in the league tends to knock the complacency out of his players and that there is no danger of his side ever feeling inferior to Tipperary, so a win is not really as important.

For Liam Sheedy, he knows that the longer his team go without beating Kilkenny, the more of a mental block it will become to ever do so. His team have done a lot of great work to get to the stage that they’re at, nipping at the heels of the greatest team that has ever played the game, but if they don’t take out Kilkenny soon, it will all be to no avail. Nobody remembers second best, least of all in a county with a tradition like theirs. Tipperary also know more than most how psychological factors can take hold and become genuine stumbling blocks. Tipp spent many years hurling really well in Munster before crumbling in Croke Park and it took a pathetic performance from Limerick last summer to allow them to shake that monkey off their backs and the last thing they need is another simian passenger mounting their shoulders.

Of course there is a world of difference between needing to win and being able to, but on that level too, this game seems primed for a Tipperary success. Many of Kilkenny’s frontline hurlers didn’t see any Walsh Cup action, while the absence of the Ballyhale contingent will be an issue for them as well. Home support and a greater degree of familiarity with floodlit hurling should be of huge benefit to Tipp this weekend and even allowing for a couple of absentees, greater hunger and a good level of home support should push them over the line.

A 3pt bet on Tipperary to beat Kilkenny at even money is recommended for Saturday night’s fixture.

Preseason form is rarely given too much credence at the best of times, but a Walsh Cup where Kilkenny lose to both Offaly and Laois is unlikely to be regarded as anything other than a meaningless knockaround by most observers. Suffice it to say that this columnist, a long suffering Offaly man, didn’t feel the need to celebrate Offaly’s win over the Cats to any great degree and it’s probably reasonable to assume that over in Laois it’s the opening rounds of the league, where Kildare, and more importantly Clare, visit Portlaoise in rounds one and two that will be occupying Niall Rigney’s thoughts.

There is no doubt that the Kilkenny team to play Tipperary in Semple Stadium will be wholly different from the unfamiliar group who took the field against the two midland counties, but nonetheless it’s unreasonable to expect any team, even one as good as this Kilkenny side, to slip back into the groove without having played a lot hurling together so far.

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For every county in Ireland bar Kilkenny, the national football league gets underway this weekend and the viewing public are set to get their first snapshot of how various teams are likely to fare in 2010. While many counties will continue to experiment to a certain degree in the league, the difference in intensity between this weekend and the preseason competitions is sure to be noticeable as teams look to get their season off to a decent start and take the pressure off the latter stages of the competition. For now we’re going to look at the games in division one and two, with the lower divisions to follow later.

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