We're going to see plenty of competitive games this week as in Group 1 we have Cork taking on Kerry. I see a Kerry win here but I don’t think it’s going to be easy.
Cork were impressive in their return to action after a lay off against Louth last week. Very tight at the back and hurt Louth on the counter. Kerry weren’t too impressive against Mayo and will want to bounce back after that. But with Clifford &Co up front, I think they might just have too much on board.
Mayo take on Louth in Castlebar on Sunday, and I see a Mayo victory here. It will be interesting to see how they deal with a tight defence that I assume Louth will bring to the table. It’s the one thing we have to question about Mayo, but I think they will have too much at home in Castlebar.
Then in Group 2, we have Westmeath taking on Galway. Galway have been imperious this year all throughout the league and the championship, there has been a consistency with their performances. Westmeath on the other hand had a really good performance against Armagh but just came up shy, but I see a Galway win here by a couple of points.
Tyrone take on Armagh in the game of the weekend for me. Tyrone were probably unlucky against Galway to get a man sent off early and they fought hard to stay in that game. But nothing like a game against Armagh to lift their spirits and get the juices flowing.
This will be a really tight game and a hard one to call and I think Armagh underperformed against Westmeath but they ground out the victory and that is important for them. They have been performing well all year without getting the wins so they will take a lot from that. But I’m going to tip a Tyrone victory in a very tight encounter.
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In Group 3 we have Kildare taking on Dublin in a neutral venue. It’s supposed to BE a home game for Kildare but it’s in Nowlan Park so it will be interesting to see how the Kildare boys respond after Glenn Ryan’s comments after the previous game against Dublin in Croke Park.
It will also be interesting to see how Dublin respond after a poor performance against Roscommon. It will be a similar set-up, Kildare will keep it tight at the back and Dublin will have to answer that question, can they be composed and patient and selfless in attack to create the opportunities? and I think they will do just enough.
Roscommon take on Sligo in an all-Connacht affair. I think Roscommon will have a different proposition against Sligo. Sligo will keep things tight at the back but I think Roscommon will have too much on board with the Murtaghs in flying form and their defensive structure being as compact as it is.
In the final group we have Monaghan taking on Clare. Monaghan, can they keep the performance up that they put in against Derry last week? I think it was a performance that was focused on Derry, so will they be able to convert those tactics to suit a Clare opposition?
I think they will just have enough in store and will take a lot of confidence from that, and McManus &Co might get a bit more gametime and be able to put Clare to bed.
In the final game we have Donegal and Derry, close rivals. Donegal seemed to get their act together with a five-point win against Clare. Derry on the other hand have flatlined a little bit and haven’t been able to keep the level of performances up, however, they still have great character and were still able to pull a result out against Monaghan when they weren’t at their best, similarly against Armagh, they got the result when they weren’t at their best and I think they will just squeeze a result out of this one.
So there will be some tight encounters and hopefully the excitement level is going to be higher than it was in previous rounds in what is a frenzy of football this weekend.
Paul Flynn was speaking on RTÉ Radio 1's Morning Ireland
