The RTÉ cameras head to Tralee this weekend for the clash of Kerry and Mayo on Saturday night and Ciarán Whelan believes the home side can edge the Allianz Division 1 encounter despite suffering defeats in their last two matches against Kevin McStay's side.
Mayo inflicted a 2-14 to 1-10 defeat on the Kingdom in Castlebar 12 months ago, wrapping up the victory by half-time.
They followed up that victory with a 1-19 to 0-17 win in Killarney in an All-Ireland SFC round-robin tie in May, ending Kerry's 39-match unbeaten home run in the Championship in the process.
Reflecting on those performances and looking ahead to what lies in store this time around, Whelan said on the RTÉ GAA Podcast: "You look back to last year and Kerry went up as All-Ireland champions, back off a holiday, and landed into Castlebar and they got their wings clipped fairly aggressively. Mayo absolutely destroyed them.
"I was down in Kerry for the group game and Mayo did a job on Kerry.
"Mayo seem to like playing Kerry under Kevin McStay. I don't know whether it's the way Kerry set up that suits Mayo's game plan.
"I'd say Mayo coming away the last night against Dublin were really happy to get out with two points after playing at 50-60%, compared to the first half the previous week against Galway where I thought they were excellent and looked really sharp.
"I thought they were really poor against Dublin at times, particularly in the first quarter and the third quarter.
"They got out with the win and you can't beat that in league football, to come away with plenty to work on, picking up the two points that are so valuable in the league.
"It puts them in a really nice position going down to Kerry and it's a free shot to a certain degree.
"They'll probably learn from the Dublin game. Their kicking game didn't work against Dublin at all.
"Dublin dropped someone into the pocket. Their running game, when Paddy Durcan got going, he made a massive difference.
"Their kicking game might work against Kerry because Kerry might leave the gaps, but they'll certainly know how Kerry set up and last year in that league game they were able to find pockets in the full-back line and similarly in the Championship game, they beat the press."
Whelan has concerns over weaknesses in the Kerry defence, which Mayo have proven adept at exploiting.
"I still think there's question marks about them defensively. I don't mean just at the start of the league. I mean even in the context of last year's All-Ireland final," he added.
"I think they miss an awful lot of tackles and they're easily got at and I think Mayo could expose that."
If the Kerry defence is suspect, it's counteracted by a high-octane attack, one that has welcomed back the Clifford brothers.
"They probably back themselves," Whelan admitted. "They have the forwards and they can strike the balance because they have the quality up top, but I think they're there to be got at defensively.
"I don't know, there's a lack of steel, a lack of physicality. Sometimes I think they're too nice as a defensive unit."
Despite his doubts, Whelan tipped Kerry to edge the encounter. Two wins on the bounce for Mayo leaves them top of the table alongside Derry, while Kerry's appetite for two points could be greater after their one-point loss to the Oak Leafers in their league opener.
Kerry boss Jack O'Connor will also be eager to avoid Mayo becoming a bogey team for his charges, according to Whelan, with the ramifications that could have come the Championship.
"Kerry will target this game because Jack O'Connor will think 'last year we were a soft touch in the Championship and they really put us on the back foot and knocked a bit of momentum out of Kerry' and he'll want to lay down a psychological marker.
"The need for Mayo and those two points may not be there. I'd lean with home advantage. I think Kerry will do enough, particularly with the Cliffords back."
Watch Kerry v Mayo in the Allianz Football League on Saturday from 7.20pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player, follow a live blog on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app and listen to updates on Saturday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1
Watch highlights on Allianz League Sunday on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player from 9.30pm, follow a live blog every Sunday afternoon on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app and listen to live updates on Sunday Sport
