Essendon vs Carlton AFL Round 7 betting tips – Sunday, May 2

Old rivals Essendon and Carlton take centre stage on Sunday afternoon when they battle it out at the MCG in round seven of the 2021 AFL Premiership.

The Bombers were back in the winners’ circle last weekend following an impressive victory over Collingwood in the traditional ANZAC Day blockbuster.

The Blues, on the other hand, just could not go with Brisbane over four quarters, although they put in a much improved effort than what we had seen in recent weeks.

David Teague’s men go into the games as $1.73 favourites with online bookmakers, while Essendon will look to make this a four-quarter scrap as outsiders at $2.25.

Essendon vs Carlton match preview

Despite both teams sitting at 2-4 coming into the match on Sunday, there seems to be an air of confidence about Carlton. The performance against a near full-strength Brisbane lineup last weekend showed that they will be tough to beat come Sunday.

Harry McKay led the way against the Lions with six goals, bringing his season tally to 22. Essendon have their defensive issues this season, and now with Aaron Francis (ankle) missing, an in-form McKay will be hard to stop. With a midfield consisting of Patrick Cripps, Sam Walsh and Zac Williams, the Blues look to be too strong for the undermanned Bombers.

Essendon will need Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti to bring the same form he showed on ANZAC Day, where he snapped five goals, while the likes of Darcy Parish and Zach Merrett will have to be at their accumulative best if the Dons are to stand a chance on Sunday.

EssendonBombers

• Jayden Laverde
• Mason Redman
• Matt Guelfi
• Dyson Heppell
• Jordan Ridley
• Nick Hind
• Kyle Langford
• Zach Merrett
• Nikolas Cox
• Devon Smith
• Cale Hooker
• Archie Perkins
• Jake Stringer
• Harrison Jones
• Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti
• Nick Bryan
• Darcy Parish
• Andrew McGrath
• James Stewart
• Will Snelling
• Brayden Ham
• Peter Wright
• David Zaharakis (Emg)
• Brandon Zerk-Thatcher (Emg)
• Ned Cahill (Emg)
• Patrick Ambrose (Emg)
• Coach: Ben Rutten

CarltonBlues

• Matthew Owies
• Harry McKay
• Michael Gibbons
• Lachie Fogarty
• Mitchell McGovern
• Levi Casboult
• Jack Newnes
• Sam Walsh
• David Cunningham
• Sam Docherty
• Jacob Weitering
• Luke Parks
• Adam Saad
• Liam Jones
• Lachie Plowman
• Marc Pittonet
• Patrick Cripps
• Ed Curnow
• Matthew Cottrell
• Liam Stocker
• Paddy Dow
• Eddie Betts
• Will Setterfield (Emg)
• Tom Williamson (Emg)
• Matthew Kennedy (Emg)
• Sam Petrevski-Seton (Emg)
• Coach: David Teague

Key matchup: Darcy Parish vs Sam Walsh

Darcy Parish and Sam Walsh are champions in the making, and both are going to be crucial in helping their team walk away with the four points on Sunday. Parish won the ANZAC Day Medal after gathering 42 touches and kicking two goals in a clear best-on-ground performance, while Walsh played a lone starring role in the midfield last week against Brisbane with 32 touches and a goal of his own.

Essendon vs Carlton betting predictions

Carlton to go wire-to-wire

Essendon and Carlton both head into Sunday’s game with a fair bit of outside pressure heading their way. However, if Carlton can replicate the effort they put in against Brisbane, they should be too good for this Bombers lineup over four quarters. With Essendon’s injuries down back, we expect the Carlton forward line to kick a big score and snap a two-game losing streak for the Blues.

Eddie Betts to kick 2+ goals

Eddie Betts has never been under this much scrutiny in his career, and having only kicked two goals in four games, more pressure will be mounting. He did, however, put himself in goalscoring positions last week against Brisbane on a consistent basis; he kicked 0.4 but could have easily had a field day. We expect him to build on that performance and hit the scoreboard with greater effect on Sunday. Betts has not kicked more goals against any other side than he has against Essendon (59), and the $3 on offer for him to kick two or more is hard to ignore.

Same game multi: 3 legs @ $10.25

Carlton come into this match as favourites, and we think they will be too strong for Essendon all day. If Eddie Betts can find his shooting boots, then you would think his teammates would follow him in to help sink the young Bombers.