Saturday

All-Ireland SFC

Donegal v Tyrone, Ballybofey, 7pm (Live, GAA+) – Donegal beat Armagh by a late score in extra time to retain the Ulster title. In the semi-final, Armagh beat Tyrone with the last kick of the match. That’s how little separates the teams on paper. Jim McGuinness has had Tyrone’s number so far in both of his periods of management but against that, this weekend’s counterpart is not Mickey Harte nor Brian Dooher and Feargal Logan but Malachy O’Rourke, who twice led Monaghan to Ulster final victories over Donegal.

Tyrone didn’t deserve to be as close to Armagh as they were but they very nearly won and O’Rourke has had four weeks with the team since then and is bound to have devised a plan for this. They are also strengthened by the return of Mattie Donnelly and Conor Meyler, which raises their ceiling. The Ulster champions though are able to recall a valuable player of their own, as Eoin Bán Gallagher returns from injury. They were very impressive in the provincial final, leading for a great deal of the match and inspired by Michael Murphy’s renaissance as an intercounty player. They are not as prone as Armagh to tune out of matches and look likely to make their proven assets of relentlessness and focus count. Verdict: Donegal

Armagh v Derry, Athletic Grounds, 5pm – This fixture last year was a horror show for Derry and they will be mindful not to revisit it but already they have improved on last year’s championship by being less catastrophically undone by Donegal. This is their first match since then, as opposed to 12 months ago when they had added a comprehensive defeat by Galway to their CV before taking on Armagh.

Derry have had a dispiriting year to date. Relegation followed a campaign in which late scores in a couple of matches cost them dearly. They were generally competitive and can be so again here. The All-Ireland champions have to internalise another Ulster final defeat but they have been beaten in 70 minutes just once in the past three years of championship fixtures. Rian O’Neill, who was prominent in last year’s thumping, continues his return to play protocols and isn’t named in this weekend’s match panel. Verdict: Armagh

Louth v Monaghan, St Conleth’s Park, 4.45pm (Live, GAA+) – A certain amount of disgruntlement in Monaghan about the venue for this given that they have been providing a home from home for Louth in Inniskeen while their new grounds are developed, but the Leinster champions have opted for Newbridge as their preferred location. They were well beaten by Monaghan in the league and the counties drew in last year’s championship.

It will be a function of how successfully Louth can park their great success from a fortnight ago. Their calm demeanour when behind and in protecting the lead in the closing minutes spoke volumes for their confidence. Monaghan however were highly competitive against Donegal and as a bonus, welcome back Killian Lavelle from injury. The highest scoring team in the league, they will be confident of getting scores. Verdict: Monaghan

Meath v Cork, Páirc Tailteann, 3pm – An old rivalry from the 1980s and ‘90s is rebooted. Both had epic provincial semi-finals, Meath to lower the curtain on Dublin’s perennial dominance and Cork by taking Kerry to extra time and coming within fractions of winning or forcing penalties.

Leinster final disappointment has intervened for Meath but on a more positive note, Jordan Morris is back. Home advantage might be worth something but Cork have a more settled look around centrefield and although Brian Hurley is not fit, they have enough up front to win. Verdict: Cork