Galway v Derry Prediction, Preview & Odds - All-Ireland Groups

In this post, we bring you a Galway v Derry prediction plus all the odds as we preview this opening-round game from the All-Ireland group stage.

Galway come into this one high on confidence after a flurry of late points in the Connacht Final helped them secure a memorable late comeback win against rivals Mayo.

Derry in contrast were riding high after winning the National League Division 1 in the spring but then were quickly brought back down to earth after their surprise loss to Donegal in the Ulster Championship. They will be looking to get back to winning ways in this game.

So will it be Galway or Derry that comes out on top? Find out everything you need to know heading into this match below.

How To Watch Galway v Derry

When is Galway v Derry?

Galway v Derry will throw in at 5.30 pm on Saturday, May 18th.

TV Channel

Galway v Derry will be broadcast exclusively on GAAGo.ie.

Live Stream

Both in Ireland and outside the island of Ireland Galway v Derry can be streamed on GAAGo with a subscription or by purchasing access to the game.

Where is Galway v Derry Being Played?

This match will be played in Pearse Stadium in Salthill as Galway are the designated home team for this fixture.

Galway v Derry Odds

Derry, despite being the visitors, are the favourites for this opening round All-Ireland group game at odds of 8/11.

Galway are 6/4 home underdogs while the draw after 70 minutes is 13/2.

Handicap Betting

Galway: +1 @ 11/10

Derry: -1 @ 10/11

Handicap Draw: +1 @ 15/2

In the handicap betting, Derry are 1-point favourites meaning that you can back Derry to win this game by 2 points or more at 10/11 odds.

Galway v Derry Preview

Team News

Galway Team News

Galway are yet to announce their team and panel for this game.

In their Connacht Final win against Mayo Damien Comer was immense. He was also a focal point for The Tribesmen when they beat Derry in the All-Ireland semi-finals in 2022. We can expect Galway’s attacking game plan to revolve around getting plenty of ball into Comer inside early and often. Robbie Finnerty was also menacing for Galway in the Connacht Final while Shane Walsh performed well when sprung from the bench.

Derry Team News

Derry will line out as follows for Saturday’s game:

Credit to @Doiregaa on X for the image.

There’s no shortage of talent in this Derry squad. The midfield pairing of Conor Glass and Brendan Rodgers makes for what many consider to be the best midfield in the country.

Odhran Lynch was caught out numerous times by Donegal when doing his usual outfield player impression while wearing the number 1 jersey. It will be interesting to see if Derry stick with this tactic that they’ve employed for a couple of years now of using Lynch as an extra man in attack and to press the opposition kick-outs or if they ask him to take a more traditional/conservative approach.

In the full-back line, Conor McCluskey has been a revelation this season, popping up all over the field and getting some big scores while Shane McGuigan is this team’s star forward.

Referee

Brendan Cawley will be the man in the middle for this game.

Galway’s Form

Galway’s 2024 Results

Galway 0-16 0-15 Mayo | Connacht Final | Pearse Stadium

Sligo 0-14 1-13 Galway | Connacht Semi-Final | Markievicz Park

London 0-09 5-21 Galway | Connacht Quarter-Final | McGovern Park

Kerry 0-15 1-10 Galway | National League Division 1 | Fitzgerald Stadium

Galway 0-14 0-22 Dublin | National League Division 1 | Pearse Stadium

Monaghan 0-14 3-12 Galway | National League Division 1 | St Tiernach’s Park

Galway 1-11 3-10 Derry | National League Division 1 | Pearse Stadium

Tyrone 0-12 1-10 Galway | National League Division 1 | Healy Park

Roscommon 0-09 0-09 Galway | National League Division 1 | Dr Hyde Park

Galway 0-10 2-12 Mayo | National League Division 1 | Pearse Stadium

Analysis

The mood around Galway football has completely transformed after the team’s win over rivals Mayo in the Connacht Final two weeks ago. The nature of that win, coming in dramatic comeback fashion, could be the spark that this team needed to get them back to the level they were at in 2022 when they reached the All-Ireland Final.

Prior to that provincial title, The Tribesmen were underwhelming this season as they finished towards the bottom of the Division 1 league table while barely scraping over the line against Sligo in Connacht thanks to a late goal. With that said, in large part, their poor form could be attributed to being badly bitten by the injury bug throughout the season.

The Tribesmen booked their spot in the Connacht Final thanks to a 2-point win over Sligo. In truth, they were very fortunate to advance past Sligo after an injury-time goal saved their blushes in Markievicz Park.

It was an underwhelming league campaign for Pádraig Joyce’s men too with just 5 points registered from their 7 matches. It would prove enough to keep them up but it is hardly inspiring that they lost to Kerry on the final day needing a win to guarantee safety.

We have already seen these two teams face off against each other earlier this year. Derry got the better of proceedings on that occasion as they secured a 5-point win in Pearse Stadium thanks in large part to the 3 goals they converted.

Derry’s Form

Derry’s 2024 Results

Derry 0-17 4-11 Donegal | Ulster Championship | Celtic Park

Dublin 2-21 3-18 Derry (Derry won on penalties) | National League Division 1 Final | Croke Park

Derry 2-19 1-09 Roscommon | National League Division 1 | Celtic Park

Mayo 2-13 3-15 Derry | National League Division 1 | MacHale Park

Derry 1-11 1-16 Dublin | National League Division 1 | Celtic Park

Galway 1-11 3-10 | National League Division 1 | Pearse Stadium

Derry 3-17 0-13 Monaghan | National League Division 1 | Celtic Park

Derry 1-12 0-09 Tyrone | National League Division 1 | Celtic Park

Kerry 2-08 0-15 Derry | National League Division 1 | Austin Stack Park

Analysis

Derry were the form team in the country up until they fell apart against Donegal in last month’s Ulster Championship clash. Their undoing in that game was the outfield keeper tactic which they have used to great effect for some time both in attacking in open play and in pressing opposition kick-outs. Donegal targeted the kick-out and scored 3 goals by going direct from the kick-out as Derry’s goalkeeper Lynch was not able to get back to his goal in time. A simple but deadly effective strategy that had onlookers in disbelief.

Prior to that surprise loss, Derry had beaten Dublin in Croke Park in the National League Division 1 Final. The win came on penalties as the two sides could not be separated after 90 minutes of football which included extra-time. That National League title capped off a fantastic spring for The Oak Leaf County who only lost one game in the competition, that loss coming against Dublin in the round-robin phase.

It’ll be fascinating to see how they approach this game in terms of their use of the goalkeeper on opposition kick-outs and in attacking play. Given that they were so badly exposed by Donegal you would expect them to take the learnings from that. However, if they are to go for a more conservative approach on the opposition kick-out that could then have a knock-on effect on the rest of their gameplan.

Galway v Derry Prediction

Prediction: Galway 1-12 Derry 2-13

I am predicting that Derry will win this game by 3 points.

These two teams are coming into this game from very different places. Galway are riding high after a memorable Connacht Final win against Mayo. Derry, on the other hand, were embarrassed by Donegal at home in the Ulster Championship.

I think that extended break for Derry will serve them well and I expect to see them burst out of the traps in this one and build up an early lead which they won’t relinquish.

Best Bet: Derry HT-FT @ 13/8

*Prices are subject to fluctuation.

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