RTÉ GAA analyst Eamonn Fitzmaurice reckons Kerry will be relatively content to wind up on 10 points at the end of Division 1, while allowing Derry and Dublin to progress to the league decider.
Kerry still have an outside chance of making a league final, though that would likely entail Dublin failing to beat an already safe Tyrone in Croke Park.
Technically, they could overhaul Derry if all three sides finished the league with five wins from seven, though that would require a big score differential swing (+16) in the final round of games.
Their league campaign was blighted by a sobering 10-point loss to Dublin at Croke Park in a performance Jack O'Connor subsequently branded "unacceptable", though they have recovered with reasonably comfortable wins over Tyrone and Roscommon in the last two rounds.
"I expect Kerry to win to be honest," says Fitzmaurice. "It's been a strange enough league for Kerry. They could end up on 10 points. Probably not overly happy with where they're at.
"We're seeing flashes every weekend. At the same time, the group will probably figure there's more in them.
"Like I said, if they win and end up on 10 points, that's a very positive league. A lot of time, that'll get you to a league final. But some of the lads will feel they've another gear or two to go."
O'Connor, who guided Kerry to a league and championship double in 2022, had sounded relatively unenthusiastic about the prospect of a league final appearance earlier in the league.
Kerry are bound for a training camp in the Portuguese resort of Quinta do Lago next week, from which they return on the eve of the league final.
"If you're playing Jack in a game of golf or a game of cards or a quiz, he wants to win," says Fitzmaurice.
"So, Jack saying he's happy on six. He might have been saying it publicly or he might be trying to convince himself. But when it comes down to it, the competitive instincts are there.
"The only complication for them is they're going over to Quinta do Lago next week. I think they're due back on the Saturday prior to the league final.
"Logistically, does it affect your camp and the focus of the camp?
"If they got to 10 points and Derry and Dublin both win and end up in the league final, they'll be happy enough with that outcome."
The game in Killarney has potential implications for the relegation battle, with visitors Galway not entirely free of trouble, though it would need a surprise Roscommon victory in Derry to sink them.
The match is nominally a repeat of the 2022 All-Ireland final but Padraic Joyce's side have been so ravaged by injury this spring the line-up will bear only a passing resemblance to that team.
"With Galway, you're measuring them with half a squad missing. I know all squads have had injury issues. But Galway have been particularly severely affected in terms of the calibre of the players they're missing. Of the All-Stars they got in 2022, I think John Daly is the only one of them that's actually playing.
"If they manage to stay in Division 1, it'll have been a great achievement for them. And even though the mood music around Galway isn't overly positive at the moment, depending on who they got back and when, they could very well have a big say later on in the year. At the moment, it's a big challenge for them."
For Galway to fall through the trapdoor, it would take a Roscommon win away to table-toppers Derry. And outside of the Ulster champions picking an entire second string, Fitzmaurice doesn't see it happening.
"The only caveat is if Derry put out their second XV. Not just that they rotated and brought in five or six players.
"Even if they lose, it'll take a huge leap of circumstances for them not to be in the league final. That's the only caveat. If that was to happen, just from a cohesion point of view, you would give Roscommon a chance.
"But once Derry have anything from 50 to 60% of their team out there, you'd expect them to win."
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