SFC Qualifier Round Two Wexford v Offaly Today, Wexford Park, 6.15: There is little between them but the smart money is on Offaly to prevail this evening.

Wexford have proven their worth in Division One this year but Offaly, under the guidance of their quietly-efficient manager Gerry Fahy, have looked more convincing in the championship and, lest we forget, picked up the Division Two crown.

Both sides fell to the gathering wave of Westmeath earlier this summer but both also managed to find a way past Kildare, Offaly in a much more convincing fashion.

It must be said, however, that Wexford have improved markedly this year. For starters, they are no longer a one-trick pony as forwards like Redmond Barry and most recently Darren Browne have relieved some of the pressure from the shoulders of Mattie Forde.

But still, especially at this stage of the campaign, they will look to Forde for inspiration. He's the type of player who always delivers, even on an off-day. Against Westmeath, John Keane did a commendable man-marking job but Forde still posted 0-8, four points coming from play.

Fahy has indicated he will not change his selection policy to counteract this threat. However, it will not matter one iota either way if Offaly can produce the kind of purple patch they produced when putting Kildare to the sword.

They will look to the likes of Ciarán McManus and Neville Coughlan to ensure they progress into the third round of the qualifiers, where a chance for redemption against Derry can be gained.

Their only absentee from the last day out is Thomas Deehan and he is duly replaced by Clara club-mate John Reynolds.

For Wexford, corner back Colm Morris returns from suspension and Browne starts at centre forward John Hudson and full forward Darren Foran drop down to the bench.

So, Offaly to prevail, although it cannot be denied that Gaelic games in general are on a high in Wexford of late and if a decent crowd shows up at Wexford Park they could be inspired to keep the momentum going for a couple of more weeks.

WEXFORD: J Cooper; C Morris, P Wallace, N Murphy; D Breen, D Murphy, L O'Brien; W Carley, P Colfer; R Barry, P Forde, D Fogarty; J Lawlor, D Browne, M Forde.

OFFALY: P Kelly; S Sullivan, C Evans, S Brady; B Mooney, C Daly, K Slattery; M Daly, J Grennan; N McNamee, P Kelleghan, C McManus; J Coughlan, N Coughlan, J Reynolds.