Monaghan vs Louth Prediction: Preview & Odds - All Ireland Group 4 Round 2 Football

🏆 Monaghan vs Louth All Ireland Group 4 Round 2 Championship Prediction

I fully expect this to be a tight encounter Sunday but I am tipping Louth to come out of Clones with the victory and another 2 points in the bag. Louth are full of confidence right now and Monaghan are at the opposite end of that spectrum having tasted defeat eight times in a row. In their two championship matches this season they were defeated convincingly by Kerry on a scoreline of 1-11 to 0-24, and in the Ulster preliminary Quarter Final, they suffered a shock defeat to Cavan on a scoreline of 3-12 to 1-12. This will be no doubt a tight game with both teams defending in numbers and it will be whichever team is better equipped at breaking down the other that will determine who comes out of this game victorious.

On both teams there are quality forwards with Sam Mulroy of Louth being one of the most in-form forwards in the country scoring a total of 3-23 this championship season, and Conor McManus of Monaghan one of the all-time great forwards. It could be an interesting battle between those two to see who can potentially win the game for their side. I believe this battle will be won by Sam Mulroy. As mentioned he is one of the in-form players with 3-23 in this year's championship which is the second most in the country behind Ryan O’Donoghue of Mayo who has 1-33. The match will be close but the quality of Mulroy will get Louth the victory.

💯 Monaghan vs Louth All Ireland Group 4 Round 2 Championship Odds

There is not much separating the GAA football betting site odds for Sunday’s clash between Ulster side Monaghan and Leinster side Louth. Monaghan come into the game as slight favourites in the bookies even after their humbling 10-point defeat to Kerry two weeks ago. This could be due to them having home advantage this weekend and Monaghan will need their crowd to be right behind them as they are on a run of eight straight defeats with their last victory coming against Dublin all the way back at the start of the league in the last weekend of January.

Monaghan’s reputation may also be why they are slightly favoured by the bookies, being a team over the last few years who have always been at the business end of the championship, whereas this is not the case with this Louth side, although they are improving year on year. Louth saw off a poor Meath side with ease last weekend scoring 3-10 to Meath’s 0-9, and this will be a huge confidence boost for not only the Louth players but also the Louth supporters, as this was their first championship victory over Meath since 1975. As a result of this, I would suspect a large Louth following in Clones and this could negate any home advantage that Monaghan will have.

🏅Monaghan vs Louth: Match Winner

Here's what the top bookmakers have to say:

Result
Monaghan to Win	1.90	1.80	1.80	1.91	1.78
Louth to Win	2.28	2.38	2.35	2.20	2.28
Draw	7.00	7.50	8.00	7.50	8.00

✔️ Monaghan vs Louth - Betting Tips

• Tip 1: Louth to Win: Louth go into this game as slight underdogs which is very surprising when you consider the form of both teams. Louth have four wins in their last five, with that one defeat at the hands of Dublin in the Leinster Final being a moral victory as they kept the All-Ireland champions to a 4-point margin.
  
  Monaghan on the other hand come into this game with no form at all. They have tasted defeat eight times in a row and you would have to go deep into the GAA archives to find out when last that happened to Monaghan. They tasted victory in the first round of the league, shocking Dublin on a scoreline of 3-9 to 1-14. It was believed that this would only be the start for Monaghan and that they would use that victory as a boost for the rest of their league campaign then in the Ulster Championship and eventually the All-Ireland Championship but this did not materialise.
  
  In fact the opposite happened to Monaghan. They tasted defeat in their next six league games to Kerry, Derry, Roscommon, Galway, Tyrone, and Mayo. Louth have been on an upward trajectory for a number of years now, gaining back-to-back promotions from Division 4 and Division 3 under Mickey Harte in 2021 and 2022 before maintaining their Division 2 status in 2023 and reaching the Leinster Final.
  
  This year new manager Ger Brennan has continued this upward trajectory and Louth look like a stronger team than before, nearly shocking Dublin in the Leinster Final this year in their eventual 4 point defeat. Louth will be confident and I expect them to go to Clones and get a narrow win. 888 sports price of 2.38 for this eventuality are the best around.

• Tip 2: Sam Mulroy to score a goal anytime: Sam Mulroy is in blistering form this year continuing on from his form the last number of years, which has turned him into one of the best forwards in the country. He is a prolific free taker, opting to take these frees from the ground but he is also very prominent in scoring from play and also popping up with a goal for his side.
  
  He has scored an amazing 3-23 in this year’s championship with two of those goals coming from the penalty spot and one coming from play. The one goal from play came last week in Louth’s dominant win versus Meath where they scored 3-10 to Meath’s 0-9. Mulroy started the goal fest that had Louth scoring three in the space of 13 minutes with Mulroy’s goal in the 12th minute, putting Louth into a lead they would not relinquish for the rest of the game.
  
  He is often the talisman for Louth, and he showed this last week with his 1-6 being critical to Louth’s victory but his most important score was his goal. That goal set Louth up for victory and there is no doubt that Mulroy will be full of confidence. There is a very good chance he will follow up last week's goal with another in Clones on Sunday and odds of 3.10 should not be passed up on this eventuality.

• Tip 3: Louth margin of victory - 1 to 3 points: This tip is a more risky one than that of just backing Louth to win. If you want improved odds take a look at the potential margin of this victory. This should be a close game as both sides will look to keep it tight and not give much space away so scores could be at a minimum. Monaghan need a victory in this one but will also be focused on not tasting defeat as this will leave them with it all to do in their final group game vs Meath in two weeks time. This could lead to Monaghan being cagey and trying to rely on McManus to get them the scores to win them the game.
  
  Louth too will play tight and compact as this is their usual game plan, but they should play with more freedom than Monaghan due to their victory versus Meath leaving them in a perfect situation to qualify for the next phase in this year's All-Ireland Championship. I believe Louth will have enough quality to break down and defeat Monaghan but it will be a tight victory if it is to be one. BoyleSports are offering a margin of victory between 1 to 3 points at odds of 4.33. It is likely that if Louth are to win it will be by one of these margins.

1️⃣ Monaghan Update

Monaghan have no injury concerns.

2️⃣ Louth Update

Louth also have no injury concerns.

👕 Monaghan vs Louth - Potential Lineups

✒️ Jack Guing – Expert Tipster

I am Jack Guing, a 23-year-old hailing from County Offaly in Ireland. I hold a bachelor’s degree in English and History from Maynooth University and a master’s degree in Sports Performance from the University of Limerick. I am a keen sports fan with an avid interest in GAA, soccer, and golf. My passion for performance analysis in sport offers a data-driven style to deliver informative predictions.