This weekend should provide an exciting couple of days of action at Croke. As we enter the All-Ireland series, there is plenty of intrigue as to how the coming weeks will play out.
Sunday's fixtures look especially enticing. Kerry and Mayo are two teams with plenty of pedigree, although the former will enter the game as strong favourites. The meeting between Armagh and Galway later that afternoon is probably the most difficult of the quarter-finals to predict, with two exciting teams in strong form set to face off at GAA headquarters.
Kieran McGeeney's men will certainly fancy themselves to get the job done, having easily dispatched of Tyrone and Donegal in the last two rounds of the qualifiers. However, they will face a side who themselves were massively impressive during their run to a Connacht title.
Peter Canavan on how Armagh can hurt Galway
It is sure to be a very tight contest, although Peter Canavan has identified one area where Armagh should target in order to come out on top
Speaking to Sky Sports, the Tyrone legend said that the Ulster side must focus on minimising the influence of Shane Walsh and Damien Comer in the Galway forward line.
This will be a fascinating contest.
There has been a resurgence in Armagh, and there's a really good vibe in the county at the minute. They have now backed up big performances, so there's an air of confidence.
So much will come down to Armagh's ability to curtail Galway's twin threat up front of Shane Walsh and Damien Comer. Both of them, their potential has never been in doubt.
These two men this summer appear to be playing as well as they have ever played. And if the Orchard County can curtail their influence, they have a brilliant chance of winning this game.
What I liked about Armagh is they didn't panic. Once Donegal took the lead, they stuck at it. They got scores from so many aspects of their play, from pushing up on kick-outs, from their own kick-outs, they have set plays with balls going over the top, and they have runners that can come forward from deep, and that includes their goalkeeper.
They have varied their game-plan, there is a kicking element to it, they have a strong running game, and now they appear to be at a stage where there's great belief in how they're playing.
I don't think they'll be overly anxious about Galway's blanket defence, which against both Mayo and Roscommon, the opposition were able to get lots of shots away and penetrate their defence.
So the fact that Kieran McGeeney's side have been playing the competitive games recently, I think it's a distinct advantage to them. And I expect Armagh to win a very competitive game.
Both teams possess the firepower to hurt the opposition in this game, meaning the result could be decided by who is tighter at the back.
It will certainly be a fascinating contest.
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