FIXTURES
SATURDAY
Division 1
Dublin v Roscommon, Croke Park, 5pm
Derry v Monaghan, Celtic Park, 5pm
Kerry v Mayo, Austin Stack Park, 7.30pm
Division 2
Donegal v Fermanagh, O'Donnell Park, 2pm
Cork v Cavan, Páirc Uí Chaoimh, 4pm
Division 4
Waterford v Longford, SETU Arena Carrigonore, 4pm
Laois v Carlow, Laois Hire O'Moore Park, 6pm
SUNDAY
Division 1
Tyrone v Galway, Healy Park, 1.45pm
Division 2
Meath v Louth, Páirc Tailteann, 2pm
Kildare v Armagh, Netwatch Cullen Park, 3.45pm
Division 3
Antrim v Down, Corrigan Park, 2pm
Limerick v Sligo, Rathkeale, 2pm
Offaly v Clare, Glenisk O'Connor Park, 2pm
Wicklow v Westmeath, Aughrim, 2pm
Division 4
London v Tipperary, Ruislip, 1pm
Leitrim v Wexford, Avantmoney Páirc Sean MacDiarmada, 2pm
ONLINE
Live blogs each day on RTÉ Sport Online and RTÉ News app.
RADIO
Live commentaries and updates on RTÉ Radio 1's Saturday Sport and Sunday Sport.
TV
Live coverage of Kerry v Mayo on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player from 7.20pm on Saturday evening. Dublin-Roscommon will be broadcast live on TG4 and GAAGO (Saturday, 5pm throw-in).
The Division 2 clash between Donegal v Fermanagh (2pm) will be available on GAAGO and the BBC iPlayer (for those with access).
On Sunday, TG4 will broadcast a live double header, Tyrone v Galway from Healy Park (1.45 throw-in) and Kildare-Armgh from Netwatch Cullen Park (3.45 throw-in). Both games are also screened on GAAGO.
Meath v Louth will be available live on GAAGO, with deferred coverage being shown on TG4 later in the afternoon.
Highlights and reaction to all the weekend's action on Allianz League Sunday, RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player, 9.30pm.
WEATHER
Saturday: A largely dry start in the east tomorrow but rain will spread countrywide through the morning and early afternoon. Quite breezy as well with moderate to fresh southerly winds, stronger near coasts. The rain will turn heavy in places but will ease off from the west later in the day as winds moderate. Highest temperatures of 11 to 14 degrees.
Sunday: Further rain or showers in parts to begin, but a drier day overall with scattered showers becoming isolated. After a cloudy start, spells of sunshine will gradually develop. Highest temperatures of 11 to 14 degrees in light to moderate westerly winds. For more, visit met.ie.
Div 1: Kerry-Mayo Mark 7,000
The primetime clash in Division 1 sees Kerry host Mayo under lights in Tralee.
Lee Keegan gave an entertaining account this week of a few previous league meetings at Austin Stack Park, a venue at which Mayo have enjoyed a reasonable degree of success, winning there three times in succession in 2015, 2017 and 2019.
Keegan's own most vivid memory of Austin Stack Park was back in 2012, when as a young colt he wound up marking a wily Paul Galvin in the second half, and proceeded to pick up two yellow cards within 12 minutes of the restart. In fairness, he still characterised it as an education, even if the lesson turned out to be unexpectedly brief. Mayo, in any case, wound up getting their revenge in the league semi-final seven days later.
On their last televised visit to Tralee on a dark, rain-sodden evening in 2022, Kerry held off the visitors by a point.
News emerged from Kerry on Monday that Micheál Burns, who featured as a sub in the past two All-Ireland finals, was withdrawing from the panel, Jack O'Connor confirming that the Crokes player wasn't happy with his game time and that he had concluded that "the reward isn't worth the effort."
Otherwise, Kerry look in rude health following their breezy demolition of Monaghan in Clones. Seanie O'Shea, deployed at full-forward and retained there even after David Clifford's introduction, clipped over 0-05 from play in a stylish performance. The Cliffords themselves fell into a tidy groove upon their introduction, David picking up a yellow almost immediately (the patented 'McClean yellow'), but going on to slip home 1-01 after the break.
Kevin McStay looked entirely chuffed in the aftermath of Mayo's somewhat fortuitous victory over Dublin in Round 2, applauding his players doggedness and mentality for hanging in a game where they were crouched in a defensive pose for long stretches.
The 2023 league champions have the comfort blanket four points from four and their need for a result may not be as acute, according to Ciaran Whelan.
"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," Whelan said on the RTÉ GAA podcast.
"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."
Division 1 table
As it stands, Dublin are the only point-less outfit in Division 1, though they could as easily have four.
The Dubs no longer mow down all comers no matter what time of year, as they did at the height of the Jim Gavin era. As the average age ticks upwards, they've become more selective about when to push the accelarator.
Dessie Farrell has already presided over one relegation - an unthinkable notion when he took the job. Still, they're a bit long in the tooth to be panicking now and one presumes, even based on performances to date, they'll pick up a couple of wins before long.
They host Roscommon in Croke Park, a match-up which may provoke a shudder from the purists, who had to endure the interminable six-minute passing medley from the Rossies - most of which took place in their own half - in last year's round-robin game in HQ.
Davy Burke, as is his wont, sounded extremely bullish ahead of this year's League but Roscommon have been weakened by the absence of Ciaran Murtagh, who is taking a year out.
Still, the Rossies aren't shy of forward options. Daire Cregg scored 0-09 (four from play) for UCD in their Sigerson Cup final defeat this week, a game which Ben O'Carroll missed through injury.
The only top tier game on Sunday sees Tyrone host Galway in Omagh. Brian Dooher is now sole manager for the time being, as Feargal Logan recuperates from his illness.
The hosts were tipped for relegation by many at the outset, though a win here would leave them on four points from three games and set fair for survival.
The opening victory over Roscommon, achieved in spite of Conn Kilpatrick's contentious sending off, underlined Darragh Canavan's increasing centrality to Tyrone's attack, the full-forward landing 0-06 from play. He was in electric form for Ulster University as they won the Sigerson Cup this week, notching 0-05 from play, while brother Ruairí scored 0-04.
Galway's scratchy and unimpressive start to the league is caveated by the absence of so many of their A-list players - Shane Walsh joined Damien Comer, Sean Kelly and Cillian McDaid on the injury list for the torrid 0-09 apiece draw in Hyde Park.
2022 Footballer of the Year nominee McDaid will miss the entire league, though there are hopes Kelly and Comer should be back soon. Whether that's this weekend remains to be seen. Their forward line, in particular, looked very light in Roscommon, reliant on Rob Finnerty and last year's U20 star Cillian Ó Curraoin. Another defeat here and they'll have just one point from three matches, with games against Kerry, Dublin and Derry still to come.
Monaghan, after shocking the pundit class again in Round 1, crashed to earth a fortnight ago. Vinny Corey's side have a stiff task against a hugely confident and in-form Derry side, who under Mickey Harte, are bluntly targeting national honours in spring and later on.
Div 2: Situation getting urgent for Cork and Kildare
Kildare have been berated by all and sundry, most notably their county board chairman, following another dismal start to the league, which leaves them in a perilous position heading into this three-game block.
There was a similar storm of criticism following a 13-point home loss to Cork a year ago, which left them with zero points from four. They dug themselves out of that hole last year, after a miraculous comeback win in Ennis and dominant victory over neighbours Meath - the latter of which had decisive implications as regards the Tailteann Cup.
This year, with no home games due to reconstruction work at Newbridge, and a series of nominally tougher matches coming down the track, things are looking considerably dicier.
They 'host' Armagh in Carlow this Sunday. Kieran McGeeney's side, installed as pre-competition favourites, did little to justify that tag against Louth in week one but were emphatically superior against Meath two weeks ago.
Meath and Louth do face each other in Navan on Sunday. Colm O'Rourke's side are assured of their Sam Maguire slot this summer, though whether they'll secure a Division 2 spot for 2025 is more doubtful. A late Eoghan Frayne equaliser averted defeat - and an Ulster clean sweep - in Round 1 but they were badly out of their depth against Armagh.
Louth, under Ger Brennan, are entitled to be buoyant following their rousing win over Cork. Based on the form of the opening two weekends, the visitors will surely fancy their chances.
The day before, Letterkenny hosts the early Saturday afternoon clash between Donegal and Fermanagh.
Kieran Donnelly's side, who flopped in the Tailteann Cup last summer, and were automatically tipped for a return to Division 3, have made a quick start, collecting three out of four points against the under-performing Leinster duo of Meath and Kildare.
Division 2 table
This weekend represents a considerable step-up. Jim McGuinness said he was going to use the early part of the year to try and establish a suitable gameplan for this crop of Donegal players, and they've varied things impressively in the opening couple of weeks.
After pinning Cork back relentlessly in Round 1 in Ballybofey, they adopted a cagier and more measured approach away to Cavan, squeezing out with a one-point win. An unknown quantity before the league, they've assumed favourite status since.
Later on Saturday, Cork host Cavan in a vital game in Páirc Uí Chaoimh.
After their encouraging championship showing in 2023, Cork might have been expected to mount a promotion charge this year. But their immediate concern now is survival following away losses in Donegal and Louth.
Cavan, under new boss Raymond Galligan, are looking upwards after their win in Kildare, and they were unlucky not to snaffle a point against Donegal.
A defeat here and John Cleary's side are in extreme bother, especially given they sit on the same side of the Munster draw as Kerry.
Div 3: Battle for top spot in north-east
Four Sunday games in Division 3, all throwing in simultaneously. A top of the table clash in Corrigan Park, where Antrim host Down, both sides having collected maximum points so far.
At the outset, Conor Laverty's side were widely expected to cruise through their third tier and they've made fairly light work of things so far, disposing of both Wicklow and Limerick. While the opposition has been questionable, there are some hints that Down are building up a head of steam under their Kilcoo supremo. They should have escaped Division 3 in 2023 and certainly should in 2024.
Antrim will represent their biggest hurdle yet, Andy McEntee's side having just pipped Offaly last time out.
Elsewhere in the division, Wicklow will be without their manager on the line, Oisín McConville having received a ban - and an ear-wigging from both his wife and mother - for verbally abusing referee Kieran Eannatta after their loss to Sligo.
Unbeaten Westmeath are the visitors to Aughrim. Dessie Dolan's outfit mounted a massive final quarter surge to overhaul Clare at the death last time out.
Division 3 table
Offaly, with two losses from two, are seeking their first win at home to Mark Fitzgerald's Clare.
Limerick, who've shipped a couple of pastings against both Antrim and Down, are at home to Sligo
Div 4: Unbeaten Laois and Carlow collide
Top of the table clash in Portlaoise where the SDLP's most well-travelled MLA is still in situ for the visit of neighbours Carlow,
Laois have a habit of gleefully trampling on Carlow's dreams whenever the latter raise a gallop, and they've firmly established themselves as favourites for the fourth tier after a difficult 2023 league.
Andy Moran's Leitrim also boast a maximum four points, albeit having played two of the poorest sides in the division in Waterford and London. John Hegarty's Wexford are the visitors this weekend.
Division 4 table
Longford travel to the South East Technological University Arena to face Waterford with both sides on zero points. The back-to-back O'Byrne Cup champions have, as with last year, failed to carry their pre-season form into the actual season, losing to Laois and Tipperary in the opening weekends. They should, however, have enough to dispose of Waterford.
Early on Sunday, Tipp travel to Ruislip, seeking to back up their encouraging victory in the midlands a fortnight ago.
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
