Sunday Ulster SFC/Down v Tyrone (Omagh, 3.0): All those rolling into Omagh tomorrow will be loaded with the promise of vintage Ulster football - hard fought, precious little breathing space, and unmercifully physical. It also promises to be desperately close and whoever emerges will know for certain their championship has begun. They'll have plenty of bruises to prove it.
For the first time in his three years as Tyrone manager Mickey Harte will have more than just a couple of question marks over the form of his team. Captain Brian Dooher has been named at wing forward but there are still concerns about the state of his ankle injury and it remains to be seen how long he'll last.
Stephen O'Neill and Owen Mulligan have recovered from hamstring injuries and are also named in attack. O'Neill's influence will be crucial. He was arguably the best forward in the country during the league, frequently producing explosive scoring runs that proved unstoppable. If he rediscovers that sort of form tomorrow Tyrone have a great chance of winning. Seán Cavanagh is also well capable of producing a match-winning performance from midfield but he'll need to deliver for the full 70 minutes, unlike some of his slightly inconsistent displays during the league.
Harte has named two debutants alongside Dooher in the half-forward line in Martin Penrose and Ryan Mellon, and they were similarly impressive during the league. Defensively, however, Tyrone did show several weaknesses during the league, and Chris Lawn's positioning at full back has raised a few eyebrows. Lawn's last start for the county was in the drawn Ulster final of 2003, when Down famously produced four goals. Lawn was dropped after that and how well he handles the scoring threat of Benny Coulter will also have a major bearing on the result.
Down's midfield combination of Dan Gordon and Alan Molloy will certainly test Tyrone, but manager Paddy O'Rourke hasn't been afraid to try out newcomers, giving Brendan McVeigh his chance in goal, taking over from the long-serving Mickey McVeigh (no relation), and he also gives debuts to Gavin Barry at left corner back and Damien Rafferty at left wing back.
Daniel Hughes has come back from injury to join the attack along with Liam Doyle, and this is clearly a Down team at full strength. Tyrone do have an extra ace up their sleeve in the form of Peter Canavan, who is named among the substitutes and is almost certain to see some action. Assuming Down press the 2003 All-Ireland champions all the way to the line, Canavan's unrivalled experience could prove the key to getting Tyrone over it first - tired and exhausted, nonetheless.
TYRONE: P McConnell; R McMenamin, C Lawn, S Sweeney; C Gormley, G Devlin, P Jordan; C Holmes, S Cavanagh; B Dooher, M Penrose, R Mellon; O Mulligan, S O'Neill, E McGinley.
DOWN: B McVeigh; M Cole, A Scullion, G Barry; B Grant, A O'Prey, D Rafferty; A Molloy, D Gordon; L Doyle, A Rogers, J Clarke; D Hughes, B Coulter, R Murtagh.
Connacht SFC, Leitrim v Sligo (Carrick-on-Shannon, 3.30)
Optimism is reasonably high in Leitrim these days after a respectable show in Division Two of the league and the signs of reinvigoration brought about by new manager Dessie Dolan. But no one is getting carried away either. In the 10 years since their Connacht glory they've won just one championship match on home soil, and that means Ireland. While beating London and New York away from home, the surprise win over Roscommon five years ago remains their only victory of note after the dramatic high of 1994.
Still, there is reason to believe they can beat Sligo. Their western rivals endured a truly torrid time in Division One, and in the end relegation was something of a relief. Just how much the higher quality of football will stand to them remains to be seen, but confidence won't be overflowing as they journey down to Carrick-on-Shannon.
Leitrim did manage to beat them in the FBD League at the start of the year, and when Sligo captain Eamonn O'Hara rated it as a "50-50 game" during the week he was right on the mark.
O'Hara is back playing after the ankle injury which cut short his league, and he continues to exert a key influence on Sligo from midfield. Some of more experienced team-mates are missing, with emerging under-21 player Adrian Marren replacing the injured Dessie Sloyan in the attack, while defender Nigel Clancy is also absent out through injury.
Dolan hasn't been slow in injecting some youth into the Leitrim panel, and gives a first championship start to 19-year-old Cathal McCrann in goal, and also Barry McWeeney at centre back. Donal Brennan is a major loss in the forward line having been ruled out with a dislocated shoulder, and talents like that aren't easily replaced in Leitrim. Sligo do have the greater range of forwards in the likes of Gerry McGowan, Mark Breheny and John McPartland and that could be the just the advantage they need to progress to a semi-final meeting with Galway.
LEITRIM: C McCrann; D Reynolds, J McKeon, M McGuinness; N Gilbane, B McWeeney, S Foley; C Carroll, G McCloskey; J Goldrick, B Prior, M Foley; J Glancy, C Regan, D Maxwell.
SLIGO: P Greene; P Naughton, N McGuire, B Philips; D Durkin, J Martyn, J Daly; S Daly, E O'Hara; B Egan, J McPartland, B Curran; A Marren, M Breheny, G McGowan.
Leinster SHC, Dublin v Laois (Nowlan Park, 3.30)
Pressure is not something normally associated with a Leinster hurling championship quarter-final, but this is a match Dublin manager Humphrey Kelleher desperately needs to win. Throughout Dublin's miserable league run the one thing that underlined Kelleher's optimism was the prospect of a well-timed peak come the championship. A win here would go some way towards quietening the prophets of doom, but more importantly, give the team the sort of morale boast that has been absent now for over a year.
Two years ago Dublin beat Laois at this stage of the championship after a replay, but there's been so much turnover in the team since then it's impossible to make any comparisons. Greg Bennett will make his debut at corner back, and there are also first championship starts for Maghnus Breathnach and Stuart Mullen in the full-forward line.
There are some experienced heads in the likes of Dave Sweeney and Stephen Hiney, although the later could be slightly curtailed by a hand injury. Ronan Fallon and Seán O'Shea reflect some of the recent changes at midfield, while their top scorer in the league, David Curtin, will lead the attack.
Laois have been playing some fine hurling in recent weeks, but are also injecting plenty of youth into the team. Patrick Mullaney, Séamus Dwyer, Brian Campion and John Rowney will all make their first championship starts, while the multi-talented midfielder James Young will be the epicentre of most attacking moves. Manager Paudie Butler has been openly confident about his team's chances of progressing but if Kelleher's enduring optimism has any value then Dublin can sneak through to the semi-final meeting with Wexford.
DUBLIN: G Maguire; G Bennett, S Perkins, G O'Meara; D Sweeney, S Daly, S Hiney; R Fallon, S O'Shea; T Moore, D Curtin, Derek O'Reilly; E Carroll, M Breathnach, S Mullen.
LAOIS: P Mullaney; B Campion, P Cuddy, M McEvoy; J Fitzpatrick, D Rooney, S Dwyer; J Young, J Walsh; J Phelan, J Rowney, L Tynan; T Fitzpatrick, M Rooney, D Culleton.
Ulster SHC, Semi-finals, Derry v Down (Casement Park, 7.0)
Down have stolen a march on their old Ulster rivals in recent years and will be marginal favourites to progress to their fourth Ulster final in five years. They haven't won an Ulster title since 1997 but are shaping up well to challenge Antrim's new-found dominance.
Last Sunday's win over London was typically facile, but it did come at a cost. Star forward Paul Braniff sustained a fractured hand and, despite being named among the substitutes, will take no further part in Down's Ulster championship campaign. Manager John Crossey has switched Gareth Johnson from full forward to centre forward to take Braniff's place, with Emmett Trainorcoming in at full forward.
Derry, however, are on something of a rise again, and just missed qualifying for the league Division Two promotion final. Youth dominates the selection of manager Seán McCloskey, but there is plenty of experience there too, including the Biggs brothers, Gary and Gregory, at midfield. Former dual star Geoffrey McGonigle still leads the attack at full forward and his girth alone makes him hard to stop, but Down have the greater spread of talent to book their place in the June 5th final.
DOWN: Graham Clarke; L Clarke, S Murray, C Coulter; Gabriel Clarke, G Savage, S Wilson; G Adair, P Monan; E Clarke, G Johnson, B McGourty; M Coulter, E Trainor, S Clarke
DERRY: K Stevenson; B McGoldrick, L Hinphey, G Brunton; C Brunton, M Conway, P O'Kane; Gary Biggs, Gregory Biggs; R Convery, R Kennedy, P Hearty; S McBride, G McGonigle, F McGuigan.
New York v Antrim (Gaelic Park, 8.0, Irish time)
Antrim's main concern going into this match will be staying awake.
Many of their players were on the road at 4am on Thursday morning to catch their flight from Dublin to New York, and will have spent most of the past two days in their hotel beds on Lexington Avenue. New York aren't expected to present anything more than a minor obstacle, and Antrim are probably more focused on the challenge they've set up against Kilkenny next weekend.
Manager Dinny Cahill has travelled out with 25 players but won't confirm his team until just before the throw-in in Gaelic Park. And he's certainly not going to chance Karl McKeegan and Paddy Richmond, who both sustained broken fingers in the recent challenge with Laois, or Conor Cunning, who is carrying a knee injury. A comfortable victory should ensure nonetheless.
Both teams have yet to be confirmed.
