Joe Brolly believes Down could capitalise on a Monaghan slump and Armagh can sting Kildare if they find a little more composure in this evening's All-Ireland SFC Round 4B qualifiers.
Down stunned the Farney County in the Ulster SFC semi-final back in June with a pumped-up display that carved out a 1-14 to 0-15 victory.
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They clash again in Croke Park today with a place in the All-Ireland quarters up for grabs, and Brolly believes Malachy O'Rourke's men are flagging.
"It's a very interesting game," Brolly told RTÉ Radio 1's Saturday Sport.
"Down are very spunky; Monaghan are searching for revenge and revenge is a good motivation, but Monaghan have slumped dramatically since the league. I just wonder have they trained too much?
"Has that team been on the road for too long now? The same voice, the same hard, grinding work. So I think it's a very even contest."
In the second match of a double-header at HQ, Armagh square up to Kildare, who impressed in their defeat to Leinster final loss to Dublin.
Brolly feels the Lilywhites are a team on the rise, but isn't writing off the Orchard men - despite their occasional over-exuberance and "machismo".
"Kildare have the potential to be a really top-class team. We saw that against the Dubs. The number of times they broke through the Dubs... they didn't take a number of chances.
"I've watched Armagh quite a few times this year. It seems to me that they are not too far away.
"Here's their issues: One, they're overly aggressive. They're fouling rashly.
"There's no reason they should be doing that because I know that Kieran McGeeney spends a lot of time on tackling. It's a particular bugbear of his; not fouling. So there's a machismo he needs to calm down. The team is too excited.
"Secondly, whenever you see Armagh playing you're reminded of greyhounds being let out by their owners in the park. They just run around hyperactively. They need to calm down a bit.
"They've a devastating inside forward line if they use it properly.
"The Kildare-Armagh game could be very, very close and a very entertaining game. I think they're two of the most entertaining teams in the game at the moment."
Down v Monaghan (5pm) and Armagh v Kildare (7pm) will be live on RTÉ Radio 1's Saturday Sport with a live blog on RTÉ Sport Online and the News Now App. Highlights of all the weekend's GAA action on The Sunday Game from 9.30pm on RTÉ2.
Kerry v Galway (2pm) and Roscommon v Mayo (4pm) will be live on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Radio 1's Sunday Sport with a live blog on RTÉ Sport Online and the News Now App. Highlights of all the weekend's GAA action on The Sunday Game from 9.30pm on RTÉ2.
