Roscommon v Cork

Roscommon selector Declan Hoare hit the nail on the head when he described this fixture as 'the team everybody wanted against the team nobody wanted'.

Roscommon may be Connacht champions, but the fact that the beat Sligo, and not Mayo or Galway, means that they will not seriously rated by most observers.

The Rossies' provincial success has been built on sterling work in their underage structures, which brought an All-Ireland Minor title in 2006 and a Connacht Under-21 crown this year.

But despite lifting the Nestor Cup a fortnight ago, Fergal O'Donnell's men really need to follow it up with a decent showing against Cork to prove it wasn't a flash in the pan and that they can be a force to be reckoned with in the coming years.

The word from the camp is that they didn't get carried away with the win over the Yeatsmen and were back into training pretty quickly afterwards. This shows that they have ambition and dedication to match the undoubted talent in their ranks.

Cork needed extra-time to overcome Limerick at the Gaelic Grounds last week, and that may raise concerns that fatigue will become a factor sooner or later for the Rebels.

Manager Conor Counihan was perturbed by his side's inability to close the game out in normal time as his charges allowed the Treatymen score 1-02 in the dying embers to force another 20 minutes.

He should also be concerned that Limerick could have built up a sizeable lead in the first ten minutes had they not been denied a stonewall penalty and Seanie Buckley's shot had gone in rather than crashing off the crossbar.

Counihan has opted to start the same XV as began the game last Saturday. But given the amount of football they've played already this summer, the players that come off the bench could prove just as important, especially if it turns out to be a close game.

Former Roscommon manager Tommy Carr has predicted that Cork will canter to victory by at least eight points. The Rebels have never been beaten in an All-Ireland quarter-final, but they are unlikely to have it as easy as Carr suggests, particularly if they concede enough scoreable frees for Donie Shine to pop over.

Verdict: Cork