Offaly v Dublin

A win for Offaly over their Leinster rivals is quite simply essential if the Faithful County are to have any realistic hope of retaining their top flight status.

Joe Dooley’s men had an extremely tough start to their campaign, with away days at Cork and Kilkenny.

The Midlanders produced two worthy performances but it was no surprise that they came through those games without a point.

And even though Dublin overcame Tipperary a fortnight ago, Dooley and his men will still feel that this is a game they can win, despite the Dubs’ better recent record in all competitions.

The hosts will be boosted by the return of veterans Ger Oakley and David Franks to their squad, but attacker Brendan Murphy is still struggling with a slipped disc in his back.

While Offaly’s season has been steady, but unsuccessful, Dublin have experienced a peak and a trough already. They were very disappointing down in Waterford where they shipped four goals in a heavy defeat, but they consigned that performance to history with an excellent nine-point win over All-Ireland finalists Tipperary a fortnight ago.

It was Tipp’s first league outing of the year, but that didn’t take away from the Metropolitans’ display, which was full of passion and character.

But the victory over the Premier men will count for little unless it is built on in Tullamore. There’s no reason to think it won’t be.

Verdict: Dublin