North Melbourne v Carlton betting tips & prediction; AFL Rd 8 preview

CARLTON will go into Saturday’s clash against North Melbourne in the unfamiliar position as favourite, but can the Blues repel the pressure and notch up their fourth win of the 2020 season? Welcome to our Carlton v North Melbourne betting tips and winner prediction for their game being played at the Gabba.

The Blues were left heartbroken last Sunday after the mercurial Robbie Gray potted a goal after the siren to deny them their first victory over the Power since 2016, but when the dust settled coach David Teague would have been proud of his young team’s effort against the ladder leaders.

North Melbourne appear to be on a different trajectory than the improving Blues, with the Roos smarting after they were whipped by 54 points, with injuries unable to be an excuse given the Tigers were well and truly decimated. The Roos have now slumped to second bottom after seven rounds and appear headed for a full rebuild.

AFL bookmakers are seeing this match in a similar light, installing Carlton at $1.45 to defeat North Melbourne, who are as long as $2.80 with some betting sites. The line at Unibet.com.au has been set at 12.5 for this clash, which looks about right given the contrasting form lines.

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The Blues, who are celebrating skipper Sam Docherty’s 100th game, will go into the clash unchanged after the promising showing against the Power, with Matthew Cottrell, Callum Moore, Sam Philp and Josh Honey the emergencies.

The Kangaroos have suffered another blow with tough skipper Jack Ziebell, who reinjured a hamstring in the opening quarter of the Richmond loss, being forced to the sidelines. Fellow midfielder Aiden Bonar is also out injured, while forward Mason Wood and ex-Magpie Marley Williams have been dropped.

Cameron Zurhaar, Jed Anderson, Luke Davies-Uniacke and Nick Larkey come into the Roos line-up.

Below we have highlighted our free North Melbourne v Carlton tips and winner prediction for their round 8 AFL clash from the Gabba, starting at 1.05pm on Saturday.

Kangaroos v Blues odds & fixture

North Melbourne v Carlton betting tips

Our AFL betting expert has scoured the odds for some value and found several value Roos v Blues betting tips for Saturday’s game.

North Melbourne v Carlton prediction 25/7/2020

We think it’s too early in the resurgence of Carlton for them to be priced this short, against a team that desperately needs a win to get the increasingly volatile monkey off their back. That is why we will be steering clear of betting on the outright winner of this one, with the Roos potentially a trap for Patrick Cripps’ men. While we think the Blues midfield will be too strong for a North Melbourne team missing Ben Cunnington and Ziebell, there is just not enough value in either head-to-head or line betting for us to be tempted. Our final North Melbourne v Carlton prediction? Carlton by nine points.

Kangaroos vs Blues lowdown