It's a fascinating weekend of gaelic football, with every county involved in a fixture, be it in the Tailteann Cup or the Sam Maguire round-robin.
Marc Ó Sé previews the weekend's Sam Maguire round robin fixtures below.
Cork v Kerry: Pairc Uí Chaoimh (Sat, 15.00)
In recent weeks, we have seen the heavyweights beaten and getting draws. Today sees Kerry take on Cork but after they lost their opening round fixture to Mayo, the Rebel County will really fancy their chances here. They kicked an impressive 1-19 against Louth but what impressed me more was that they had 10 different players on the scoresheet. Kerry will have to up their efforts big time against Cork as their performance against Mayo simply will not do. Seanie O’Shea and the Kerry midfield will have to up their performances and if they do that, I can see them getting over the line.
Kildare v Dublin: Nowlan Park (Sat, 17.00)
This has all the ingredients for yet another epic battle like their first encounter in Croke Park. That day, Kildare will have been disappointed they didn’t get something from that game. All four teams in this group have a point each so its anyone’s guess who will be the team to lose out. Kildare will also be frustrated not to have beaten Sligo and that for me is the big problem with them. I find that they can up their performance for the big teams but fail to take control of the so-called weaker teams. The Dubs will have some stern words with themselves after the Roscommon game, so I expect them to go hard and win this game.
Tyrone v Armagh: Healy Park (Sat, 19.00)
This is the tie of the weekend. I have said from the get-go that this is the group of death. Tyrone will be disappointed not to have taken some points from Galway but Con Kilpatrick is back playing great football. Armagh’s style of play is a worry for me. They are not pushing up on their men and instead sitting really deep trying to catch teams on the counter-attack. I worry that if they don’t change this style of play, they will be caught out – and I think Tyrone will beat them this weekend.
Mayo v Louth: McHale Park (Sun, 14.00)
Mayo looked really good against Kerry in round one. What struck me most was how everyone was talking about how poor Kerry played but I heard very little about how good Mayo were. They were awesome! Their athleticism caught my eye. Kerry couldn’t get a hand on their runners and it was the very thing that won the game for Mayo. Louth have impressed me this year and have made great progress under Mickey Harte. Sam Mulroy impresses me every time he takes to the field but I just don’t see them getting the better of Mayo in Castlebar. I also fancy Ryan O’ Donoghue for first goal.
Monaghan v Clare: Clones (Sun, 14.00)
Monaghan were excellent last weekend against Derry. Vinny Corey’s team really answered the critics and Monaghan will really fancy themselves to top this group. Clare will be disappointed not to have beaten Donegal in Ennis when you consider how poor Donegal have been this year. So, for me, with a home venue and Monaghan back with that fighting spirit, they will win.
Roscommon v Sligo: Dr Hyde Park (Sun, 15.00)
All these games are about the momentum you bring from the previous game and both of these teams will be pumped after last weekend. Sligo drew against a much-fancied Kildare team and the Rossies drew against Dublin at Croke Park, so this promises to be a right battle. However, I have been very impressed by Roscommon this year and I fancy them to win this.
Donegal v Derry: Ballybofey (Sun, 16.00)
Donegal really performed last weekend against Clare away from home and that was a very important win. It should give them confidence going into this weekend’s game against Derry. Derry were held against Monaghan and they won’t be happy with that, especially after their huge win against them in the Ulster Championship in April. I think that Derry will rise again and just get over the line here.
