Essendon vs. Western Bulldogs Predictions – AFL Round 20 2025

We have Essendon vs. Western Bulldogs predictions for AFL action on Friday July 25 at 7:20pm at Marvel Stadium.

The Bombers aren’t firing, which prompted bookmakers to open the Western Bulldogs as $1.04 favourites.

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Essendon vs. Western Bulldogs Predictions

Best Bet

Western Bulldogs -52.5 @ $1.90

Covering a –52.5 spread isn’t easy, but it appears as though Essendon has given up all hope of giving its fans something to cheer about in 2025.

The Bombers are playing awfully, and considering the score was 127-36 when they met in May, we can’t put our hard-earned money on Essendon. It was beaten by 91 points in that thrashing by the Bulldogs, so the –52.5 line doesn’t look all too big now.

With the Bulldogs losing their last two and falling out of a top eight spot, they’re desperate for a big win. They lost to Adelaide and Brisbane in close games, so they will enjoy facing a much easier team, and it should result in a one-sided victory on Friday night.

Same Game Multi

Western Bulldogs -52.5, Sam Darcy 3+ Goals, Aaron Naughton 3+ Goals, Total Match Points Under 178.5 @ $11.50

Under 178.5 is featured in our AFL same game multi picks, and most of the scoring should come from the Bulldogs. They scored 127 points in the first meeting, and we expect them to be around the same number this week.

Essendon is unlikely to put many points on the board after scoring just 37 points against Richmond two weeks ago and 56 last week.

Many of the points should come from Sam Darcy and Aaron Naughton. They combined for only three goals last week against Brisbane, but they won’t lack opportunities to score against Essendon. Back them both to have 3+ goals to boost SGM odds.

Best Value Bet

Western Bulldogs –12.5 First Quarter @ $1.90

It should be a big opening quarter for the Bulldogs, and we’re surprised by the –12.5 line.

Bookmakers are giving Essendon some respect that it will show up early before being overrun late, but the Bulldogs start well, and they could have a 28-6 lead at the end of the first quarter.

We would have been happy to take a much higher line, so include it as a value bet.

Daryl Curnow

About Daryl Curnow

After graduating from the University of Auckland (BA - English), Daryl was thrown into the world of sports and horse racing journalism. Having worked as a racing journalist for two years, he decided to move into the online world of horse racing and sports writing. After years of honing his craft, Daryl became a professional punter in 2009 - with a focus on horse racing, NRL, AFL, NBA, Rugby, NFL, and US college sports. Daryl's tips have been featured on various websites around the world before joining the GoBet team. When he's not working, Daryl tries to avoid making bogeys on the golf course.

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