By Michael Mulvihill of TW Media

A slight losing weekend last week, but little harm was done as we continue in profit for the year – +5.28points, 40.62% ROI.

This weekend is busy with three games in Leinster on Saturday and two crackers in Munster on Sunday. Enjoy!

Saturday, May 14th

Dublin v Kilkenny

Parnell Park, Dublin

7pm

Key Stats

• Dublin have beaten Kilkenny just once in the last 79 years of championship hurling (2013)
• Kilkenny are the highest scorers in the 2022 championship to date – 104 points in three games (34.7 points per game)

Selections

1pt – Ronan Hayes Over 2.5 points – 6/4 Boylesports

1pt – Danny Sutcliffe Over 1.5 points – Evens Paddy Power

It’s exactly ten weeks since Brian Cody’s Kilkenny side last made the trip to Parnell Park, a day in which they easily brushed aside Dublin with a thirteen-point victory. They’ll be looking to continue that dominance on Saturday evening. Cody was left reeling after the last-minute defeat to Galway two weeks ago, but although beaten, they showed tremendous resilience, as always, and coped well with the loss of TJ Reid at half-time. Billy Ryan and Eoin Cody, his full-forward line colleagues, stepped up to hit 2-2 between them, while Adrian Mullen is a huge asset around the midfield.

Dublin, albeit unconvincingly, have won their opening three games, and their win over Wexford showed they have the class to compete with the top teams. Donal Burke has been in incredible form this season, but Mattie Kenny must get more out of the rest of the forward line if they are to beat Kilkenny. Ronan Hayes and Danny Sutcliffe can be top-class forwards but aren’t getting on the scoresheet often enough. A key asset for Dublin however is their solid defence conceding just 23 points against Wexford, with Eoghan O’Donnell consistently proving himself as one of the top defenders right now. Full-forward Hayes was tipped a few weeks ago against Wexford and narrowly missed out on collecting the three points required, and while he may not have hit top form yet this season, things might click for him in front of his home crowd. Elsewhere, Danny Sutcliffe was impressive for Dublin against Wexford, and although not getting on the scoresheet, he was a standout for me. Sutcliffe can knock over a few points if given some space.

Sunday, May 15th

Waterford v Cork

Walsh Park, Waterford

2pm

Key Stats

• Waterford and Cork met in this year’s Allianz League Final, with Waterford winning comprehensively by 4-20 to 1-23
• Waterford’s Stephen Bennett was the highest scorer in this year’s league, scoring 8-51 across the five games he played (average of 15 points per game)

Selections

2pts – Waterford -4 – 11/10 Paddy Power

Boylesports have a special of Waterford to win by 5 more at 11/8, which is advised but won’t be tipped as not everyone has access to these markets

3pts – Double Result Waterford/Waterford – ⅚ Paddy Power

Cork’s dismal 2022 championship campaign should continue on Sunday afternoon as they travel to Walsh Park to a Waterford side looking to get their journey back on track. Many expected a strong reply from Cork against Clare following their opening-round loss to Limerick, but that failed to materialise, only showing glimpses of passion when the game was already over. It’s hard to see what will change in a few short weeks.

Liam Cahill issued a rallying call to Waterford fans earlier this week following a poor turnout against Limerick, but a Walsh Park sellout is on the cards, and his side will be keen to put on a show.

Although Waterford were within touching distance of Limerick in the last few minutes, that didn’t tell the full story, with late goals bringing them back into the tie. Nevertheless, the Gaelic Grounds has become a cauldron, and they lost little in that defeat. Waterford were touted as the next best to Limerick before the championship which hasn’t changed despite that result. They have arguably the strongest panel in Ireland, and the three-week break after that defeat was necessary, after their long league campaign. Conversely, Cork’s problems run far deeper than what a two-week break can fix. Their defence continues to have huge question marks over them, and while Sean O’Donoghue may be able to hold Dessie Hutchinson, Waterford have five other quality forwards to pick up the slack. In attack, Cork offer little and continue to rely on Patrick Horgan for scores, and they will struggle against the Waterford defence that kept them to 1-14 from play in the league final. Similarly, Waterford’s physicality should dominate the middle third and puck outs as Limerick did against Cork in the opening round. A comfortable Waterford win is expected to book their place in the top three.

Sunday, May 15th

Clare v Limerick

Cusack Park, Clare

4pm

Key Stats

• Limerick have the highest average number of scorers per game in this year’s championship at 10.67
• Clare hit three goals against Tipperary in their first outing but failed to raise a green flag against Cork
• There has been just one draw in the 59 previous championship meetings of Clare and Limerick, which occurred in 1970

Selections:

2pts – Under 53.5 Total Points – ⅚ PP

The clash of the weekend sees Limerick make the short trip to Ennis to face a Clare side going places in 2022. As discussed in the ‘Championship Top Scorer’ analysis, Brian Lohan’s side are dark horses in this year’s championship and they will have earmarked Sunday as a chance to test themselves against the top dogs in their backyard.

Clare’s impressive outings against Tipperary and Cork have put them in a prime position in Munster and will even have them eyeing up a Munster final spot with two games remaining. However, the loss of Ian Galvin due to suspension is a major setback with himself and Peter Duggan causing defences huge problems in the opening rounds. The way Clare setup can cause Limerick difficulties and the middle third is likely to be a crucial battle zone. Both teams like to draw players out the field to leave space for the full-forward lines to operate, so whoever wins this sector is likely to come out on top. Both forward lines have significant scoring power when given space and it will be interesting to see who is set with the task of marshalling the inform Aaron Gillane. Gillane was sent-off when these teams met in the league, with himself and Conor Cleary clashing, and he was in the spotlight again last week for a challenge on Ronan Maher. The return of Seamus Flanagan at full-forward is likely to take some pressure off him in terms of creating score chances as Kyle Hayes now moves to center forward. Space however will be at a premium in Cusack Park and for that reason it is expected to be a tight, low-scoring affair. 52.73 points is the average total points per game in this championship but that’s unlikely to be exceeded in a tight venue and ferocious battle.

As mentioned in previous previews, the other games – Laois v Galway and Westmeath v Wexford – wouldn’t be of interest from a betting perspective due to the short prices and large handicaps.