MCG will play host to Friday's Round 22 AFL game between Collingwood Magpies and Geelong Cats. The game kicks off at 7:50 pm with Collingwood Magpies heading into the game as favourites with the bookmakers. Continue reading for our in-depth preview of the Collingwood Magpies vs. Geelong Cats game and give you our free tips and bets.

When: Friday August 11, 2023 at 7:50 pm

Where: MCG

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Collingwood Magpies vs Geelong Cats Odds

Collingwood Magpies vs Geelong Cats Preview

Flag favourites Collingwood suddenly look vulnerable, further proof that a fortnight in footy can sometimes be a long time.

Back-to-back losses to Carlton, and more shocklingly, Hawthorn last week, has exposed a few chinks in the Pies’ armour, areas the Cats will be hoping to exploit this week in a rematch of last year’s qualifying final.

The Cats got the job done at home last week against Port, but it was far from a convincing performance.

Missing a few Premiership stars was one excuse, but there are genuine concerns for Chris Scott when it comes to winning the clearances, and also impacting the scoreboard.

The Pies, on the other hand, simply couldn’t get their hands on the footy last week, failing to match Hawthorn through the midfield and really struggling to win the centre bounce.

Looking forward, this is a huge matchup with serious finals implications – a win for the Pies would almost ensure the minor premiership, while the Cats are still on the outside of the eight looking in.

Collingwood prevailed by 23 points when these two sides met back in March, but the Cats find themselves shorthanded this time around with Tom Hawkins still to prove his fitness, and Cam Guthrie absent with a toe injury.

The Pies have also been dealt a serious blow, with Brownlow favourite Nick Daivos ruled out for six weeks with a knee. Daicos’ overall involvement will be sorely missed, but Collingwood still has enormous depth and talent to fall back on.

Betting on this game is tough, but the Pies do represent value head-to-head.

Aside from last week, Collingwood has been a fierce tackling side all year, a big problem for a Geelong side that hasn’t been disposing of the ball that cleanly.

They suddenly look human, but maybe last week was the loss the Pies needed moving forward.

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