This Sunday sees Kerry and Clare meet in the final of the 2023 Munster Senior Football Championship. Kerry are the defending champions and the red hot favorites. They will be looking for a staggering 84th title when the two sides meet. Can Clare stop them? Let’s take a closer look with our Gaelic Football betting picks.
- What; Munster Senior (Gaelic) Football Championship
- Who; Kerry vs Clare
- Where; LIT Gaelic Grounds, Limerick, Munster, Ireland
- When; Sunday, May 7th, 2023
- Time; 11 am ET
Understanding Gaelic Football
The Gaelic games aren’t always the easiest to understand. Gaelic football is a sort of cross between Rugby and Australian Rules football, with players using a round (soccer style) ball, but able to pick it up and run with it.
Matches are won by the team with the most points. A goal is worth three points, with a kick above the goal between the posts (called a point) worth one point.
To help you further understand the points scoring system, in last year’s final, Kerry defeated Limerick to win their 83rd Munster title. The points breakdown was Kerry 1-28 (31 points), Limerick 0-8 (8 points). The 1 in the Kerry score was for a goal (worth three points), with the other 28 made up of points.
Kerry vs Clare Betting
In the match betting to win the 2023 Munster GAA Football Championship, the top sportsbooks aren’t giving Clare much of a chance of upsetting the Kerrymen. Bovada makes Kerry their -6600 favorites to win on the three-way moneyline. Clare are +1600, with the draw at +2200.
This all tells us that it’s not a question of if Kerry can win, but how much they’re going to win by. In other words, is Kerry going to cover the spread?
On the two-way handicap betting, the spread is set at 12.5, with both over and under set at -115. While in the three-way handicap betting the spread is set at 12. Kerry (-12) are -115, Clare (+12) are +105, with the draw at +1200.
| 2023 Munster Championship Winner Betting |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kerry | -6600 | -6600 | -6600 |
| Draw | +2200 | +2200 | +2200 |
| Clare | +1600 | +1600 | +1600 |
This match will have extra-time if required. And as is the case in Gaelic Football, there will be a replay if the title can’t be decided after the additional period.
The two finalists have already qualified for the group stages of the 2023 All-Ireland Championship. This All-Ireland is the premier Gaelic Football tournament in the country. And it’s Kerry who are the favorites to win the All-Ireland at +175. Dublin are second in the betting at +240, with Galway next at +600. For the record, Clare are +25000 to win the competition.
Route to the Final
Clare started their run to the final at the quarter-finals stage. Here they won a tight encounter against Cork 0-14 to 0-13. Cork were 8-3 up at one stage, but Colm Collins’ team stormed back to win the match by one point.
https://twitter.com/Gaa_editz/status/1645083441648508933
The win over Cork was both symbolic and confidence boosting. Cork are the second most successful side in the Province with 37 Championship titles. Last season they got to the semi-final stage, one round further than Clare. So the victory can’t be underestimated.
The win set up a semi-final against Limerick, which was also a tight match that finished 0-15 to 1-15. Ultimately the match was decided by a goal from Keelan Sexton, which was the only difference between the two sides.
As for Kerry, they entered the competition at the semi-final stage. Here they defeated Tipperary 0-25 to 0-5, which wasn’t any kind of challenge.
In truth, the competition for Kerry is non-existent. Twelve months ago it was a similar story. Kerry defeated Limerick 1-28 to 0-8 in the final. Limerick defeated Tipperary 2-10 to 0-10 in the semi-final, while Kerry knocked Cork out in the other semi-final 0-23 to 0-11, which was arguably the most competitive match of the whole year.
Our Pick
You probably won’t need to use any sports betting strategies to call the winner of this match. Kerry are going to win, it’s just a case of by how many. If you are planning a bet on the moneyline, you will need deep pockets with Kerry at -6600. That is unless you’re backing Clare to win, or the draw, in the hope of a major upset.
But the chances of that happening look extremely slim. The records show that Kerry are the superior side in this province. They have 83 titles to the two won by Clare. Kerry have won the past nine championships, the last time they didn’t win was in 2012. Back then, Cork won the championship, beating Clare in the final.
Had Clare been contesting finals over the past couple of years, we could perhaps make a case for them. But the facts are, they haven’t been. The last time they won this championship was in 1992, and the last time they made it this far was when they lost in 2012. Since 2012, Kerry have won every final. And we are picking them to win this final as well.
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