Kerry v Mayo
It's a pity that Mayo have to play the following week against Sligo but both teams will be looking forward to the challenge of Croke Park and facing one another.
The new rules really suit both of them. It allows Mayo to play that high-energy, high-octane, high-press game that creates space for their forwards. Matthew Ruane at midfield has been phenomenal over the last number of weeks kicking points and Ryan O'Donoghue has been so sharp inside. Enda Hession, coming from deep, is playing a really critical role for them in this league campaign and keeping him injury free has been a positive.
On the flip of that with additional space, there is no better team to exploit that than Kerry. They are now absolutely finding their feet and kicked 5-45 [last two games] with no two-pointers and spreading the scores across the Geaneys and Cliffords. Paudie Clifford has been playing that key role as a link player.
Diarmuid O'Connor missing in the middle of the field is a loss but I just feel that Kerry this weekend are going to have too much for Mayo especially with Mayo having one eye on their championship game with Sligo the following week.
Verdict: Kerry
Monaghan v Roscommon
The Division 2 game is very interesting. Roscommon and Monaghan faced each other already, with Roscommon winning it by five points. No one doubts the quality of footballers that Roscommon have, especially in the forward line.
The Murtaghs are back in great form and Daire Cregg is back playing some serious football. Enda Smith at midfield or in that half-forward line is that dominant figure at kicking scores. Roscommon are really relishing the new rules and were early adapters of it. You do bank those wins when you beat a team and are playing them in a final a couple of weeks later and Roscommon will be trading off this weekend.
I must say I have been super impressed by Monaghan and the job Gabriel Bannigan has done there. They are building a team with pace and energy and have got defenders that can shut down forwards, the likes of Wylie, Duffy and O'Toole.
In offence, Stephen O'Hanlon has been excellent and Micheál Bannigan at centre-forward has been playing that playmaker role really, really well, chipping in with scores. It's a tight one to call but I have a sneaky suspicion that Monaghan will come up here with a bit about them and cause a slight upset, if you can call it a slight upset. I think Monaghan can steal this one but it will be a tight game and a high-scoring game.
Verdict: Monaghan
Kildare v Offaly
This will be an interesting one. The job done by Mickey Harte in Offaly has been remarkable and I'm not sure Mickey gets the credit he deserves with all his teams he's been involved with. He won the league last year with Derry, the job he did with Louth and now getting Offaly to this final.
Offaly beat Kildare when they played each other recently and that won't be forgotten. It was a game where Dylan Hyland scored 1-09. It was Offaly's best performance where they played with energy, played with pace and played attacking football. Many people think Mickey Harte is a manager who sets his teams up to defend but he's mixing it with great attacking play with the Offaly team at the moment.
And equally Brian Flanaghan has done a great job with Kildare. He's got some serious forwards in Alex Beirne; Kevin Feeley operating inside and Callum Bolton in midfield is putting in a really good shift. It's going to be a really tight game but I'm going to give this one to Mickey Harte. He knows how to win games at Croke Park and he might pip this one.
Verdict: Offaly
Wexford v Limerick
Wexford are the only team across the league who went unbeaten and are playing some really nice football. They have beaten Limerick in the league campaign already and John Hegarty is doing a fine job there. They are making the most out of the space and Páraic Hughes the last day kicked five points against Longford from the half-forward line, so he will be one to watch at the weekend.
As for Limerick, everybody has been talking about James Naughton. He scored 4-12 last weekend (against Waterford), with 4-03 coming from play. I'm not sure I've ever heard of that kind of scoring, especially at inter-county level where you have defenders of a serious standard.
That's a phenomenal return and we'll be looking forward to see how he will get on in the open spaces of Croke Park. Jimmy Lee has done an excellent job, so the Treaty will be looking forward to going to Croke Park and not be the hurling team for a change. I think it will be hard for Limerick to overturn the defeat in the regulation game and I go with Wexford to come out on top.
Verdict: Wexford
Paul Flynn was speaking on RTÉ Radio 1's Morning Ireland
Follow the Allianz Football League finals on Saturday and Sunday on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app. Watch Allianz League Sunday from 9.30pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Listen to updates on RTÉ Radio 1
