Former Mayo player and manager John Maughan says Aidan O'Shea should be deployed in or near the full forward line to test out potential vulnerabilities in the Dublin defence.
Maughan - who played for Mayo in the 1985 All-Ireland semi-final and led the county to finals in 1996, 1997 and 2004 - says the current Mayo side is the best the county has ever produced and he believes they are peaking at the right time.
By contrast, Dublin have enjoyed an almost leisurely route to the All-Ireland final but Maughan reckons he saw evidence in the Leinster final that the Dublin defence - untested thus far in the All-Ireland series - contains vulnerabilities.
He suggests that the domineering O'Shea is well suited to test out those vulnerabilities.
"For some reason there was a seismic shift in the Mayo team going into the replay against Roscommon. We saw this remarkable improvement. A new energy level. Great maturity, great skill and their fitness levels were hitting the sweet spot when it matters most.
"Dublin, by contrast, haven't really been tested albeit Kildare did in the Leinster championship did put it up to them. They (Dublin) conceded 1-17 in that particular game.
"There is a certain vulnerability about Dublin defensively. They're fantastic going forward. They've obviously great depth and they're playing remarkably well.
"The deployment of Aidan O'Shea is a major talking point in Mayo. I'd like to see him deployed between 11 and 14. I talked about a perceived vulnerability in the Dublin full-back line. We saw maybe an example of that vulnerability in the Leinster championship. Not since, particularly in the Tyrone game.
"But I'd like to see Aidan O'Shea deployed in the full-forward line and maybe kick in a few high balls to him to see if that vulnerability exists or not.
"If we can put the Dublin half-back line defending, put them on their heels and attack them, it'll give us a greater chance."
Even after Mayo were deemed unlucky not to beat Kerry in the drawn semi-final, Kerry retained the favourites tag and Maughan recalls various experts dismissing Mayo's chances.
He suggests the same could be happening ahead of the final.
"I sat with a number of experts before the replay against Kerry and not one of them gave Mayo a chance. And we absolutely blitzed Kerry, albeit not on the scoreboard, we only won by five. But I thought we were very comfortable throughout.
"I just think their time is right. We haven't won in 66 years. We know how long we've been starved of success. This is the best team we've ever produced in Mayo. They're hitting the sweet spot in every game. Mayo by two or three for me."
Live coverage of Dublin v Mayo in the All-Ireland SFC final (3.30pm) on The Sunday Game Live from 2.15pm on RTÉ2, with live radio commentary on Sunday Sport, RTÉ Radio 1 from 2pm.
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