Galway vs Derry Preview
The GAA Championship is underway with some juicy ties ahead. Galway will host Derry at Pearse Stadium on Saturday, May, 18 at 5.30 pm. This promises to be an exciting clash between two of the best football teams in the country.
Galway upset the odds to beat Mayo and earn their 50th Connacht Title. Meanwhile, many GAA experts think Derry has the best chance of defeating Dublin in this year’s championship. The Tribesmen enter this game as underdogs again, but they won’t mind. They’ve proven everybody wrong before and will fancy their chances. But they’re facing a wounded beast in Derry with a chip on their shoulder.
Galway vs Derry Key Stats and Head-to-Head
Betting on GAA games is always thrilling because anything can happen. We saw this last week when London shocked Offaly in the Tailteann Cup. Galway pulled off their surprise when they defeated Mayo to win the Nestor Cup by a single point.
They scored 16 points against their rivals to seal another championship title. The Tribesmen showed incredible fighting spirit because they were two points down on the cusp of injury time. But they kept going and secured provincial bragging rights. Mayo will be fuming because they led by two points at half-time. They were ahead for most of this game but allowed it to slip away. Galway goalkeeper Conor Gleeson secured the win in the fifth minute of injury time. He kicked the ball between the posts from 50 yards and sealed hero status.
Derry’s last game saw them suffer a crushing defeat to Donegal. Nobody saw this capitulation coming. Mickey Harte will be desperate to prove that this was a one-off. The Allianz Division I champions were the favourites for the Ulster Championship and already defeated Dublin this year. But everything went wrong against Jim McGuinness’ team.
The Oak Leaf County came into this game as reigning Ulster champions. But they shipped four goals against Donegal. Three of the goals came from route one football. Donegal goalkeeper Shaun Patton launched the ball long and caught the Derry backline sleeping. It was simple but very effective, and Derry found themselves incapable of stopping it.
Ultimately, the game finished 4-11 to 1-17. The only positive for Derry is that they could put more points on the board than their rivals. But they can’t concede goals that way because every team in the Championship knows their weakness. Mickey Harte will have worked hard to deal with this issue.
The Tribesmen play a unique brand of football to Donegal, so it shouldn’t be an issue. Derry played Galway as recently as February 2024 in the league. The Oak Leaf County travelled south to play the Tribesmen in Salthill. They put Galway to the sword in an emphatic 3-10 to 1-11 win. Eoin McEvoy’s early goal gave Galway a mountain to climb. Derry led throughout the entire game, although it wasn’t always comfortable.
They went into half-time two points ahead, 1-7 to 1-5. However, Galway couldn’t stop a Derry blitz after the break. Shane McGuigan and Paul Cassidy scored the game’s decisive goals. These proved too much for Galway to overcome.
Conor Glass had a brilliant game with two excellent points from play. However, Derry also had their goalkeeper to thank. Ryan Scullion made an outstanding save from Niall Daly to prevent Galway from scoring a goal. It’s moments of quality like these that decide championships.
This was an impressive victory and a good reason Derry is the favourite. However, this was just a league game. Everybody knows that the All-Ireland GAA Championship is a different beast.
Galway vs Derry Predictions
Predicted Score: Galway 1-12 Derry 0-18
Derry enters this game as a slight favourite, despite their loss against the Tír Chonaill men. They’re desperate to prove that this was just a blip. Derry has only lost twice in 2024 so far. Our GAA prediction is for Derry to beat Galway by three points.
Derry’s starting 15 has a brilliant combination of experience and youth. The likes of Lachlan Murray and Diarmuid Baker are enjoying outstanding campaigns. They’ve settled in the Derry panel and become increasingly influential. Meanwhile, stalwarts like Conor Glass and Brendan Rogers have the skill and grit to go deep into this competition. Most teams couldn’t lose a player of the quality of Padraig McGrogan after he tore his cruciate. But Derry had a ready-made replacement in All-Star Gareth McKinless. Their depth is frightening.
Mickey Harte deserves immense credit for this. He rotated the Derry panel throughout their league campaign and blooded new players. The three-time All-Ireland Champion remains as passionate as ever. He’s desperate to win another Sam Maguire and has the experience. One of the game’s big questions will be if Odhran Lynch will wander upfield like he did against Donegal. Jim McGunness’ side exposed the Derry goalkeeper several times. They gave Galway a potential template to cause the Oak Leaf County damage.
The good news for Galway is that Damian Comer is hitting form at the right time. Comer has endured injuries over the past couple of seasons and took time to hit his stride. He caused chaos for the Mayo back line and can give Derry problems, too.
Don’t forget about Shane Walsh. Walsh has a solid scoring record for the Tribesmen in 2024. He missed the Mayo game with an injury. Comer and Walsh were instrumental in their run to the All-Ireland Final in 2022. They have only completed two games together since then. It will be huge for Padraic Joyce if he can get them on the field against Derry. The stats prove Galway is a different beast when they have their two best players.
Galway’s players have also proven themselves in high-pressure situations. Goalkeeper Conor Gleeson proved this with his game-winning point against Mayo. Derry knows they must take the Tribesmen seriously because they’re dangerous despite their flaws.
Derry should win this high-stakes match, but there are no guarantees. It wouldn’t shock us if Galway achieved another underdog victory. Betting on GAA is fun because nobody is certain about what will happen. Live betting is a great option for this game. Galway’s home advantage and dynamic forwards can make life difficult for Derry. If they take a surprise first-half lead, it may be worth betting on Derry to win the second half.
Galway vs Derry Betting Tips
Our online betting site identifies Derry as 4/5 favourites against Galway. This means a successful €10 stake would make an €8 profit. Betting on Galway is tempting because of their never-say-die attitude and home advantage. The Tribesmen are 7/5 underdogs. The same stake would see returns of €14.
It’s always worth looking at other markets and prop bets when betting on the GAA Championship. The winning margin offers some excellent opportunities. It’s 11/4 for Derry to win by one to three points. This correlates with our predicted score with a potential profit of €27.50.
First goals and points are also great markets. Bet on Derry to score the game’s first point at 4/5. They’re also favourites for scoring the game’s last point with the same odds. Galway is available at 10/11 for both bets. This shows how close this game should be because there’s almost nothing between them.
Gaelic football is a game of two halves. Our betting site has Derry at 5/6 to lead Galway into the break. A €10 would see an €8.33 profit. The same stake on Galway would net returns of €23.75 at 11/8. Goals make a tremendous difference in Gaelic football games. Mickey Harte will hope that his forwards have more influence against Galway than they did against Donegal. Lachlan Murray and Shane McGuigan are clinical for Derry. They’re worth considering if you want to bet on the first goalscorer.
Galway’s forwards provided some electric moments in the Connacht Senior Football Championship. Damian Comer will lead the line for the Tribesmen. It’s an enormous boost to have him back fit and in form.
Remember to take advantage of Novibet’s welcome bonus after you register. Use our bonus to wager on a range of sports with less risk. How about betting on Derry to win the All-Ireland Championship? They’re currently third-favourites behind Dublin and Kerry at 6/1. A winning €10 bet would see a massive €60 profit. Galway fans may gamble on their team to win the Sam Maguire. They could make €100 at 10/1.
