By Séamus Leonard
Galway will entertain Kilkenny in Salthill on Sunday, with the hosts needing a win to keep their hopes of a place in the Division 1 final alive.
The Tribesmen had an excellent start to the season by recording wins over Wexford and Offaly.
However their 100% record went to the wall when they were overturned by Cork last weekend.
Not that manager John McIntyre will be getting overly worried by the three-point loss.
His side have been without a number of their top players so far this year, and reports suggest that full-forward Joe Canning may miss the entire league campaign due to a foot injury.
McIntyre would obviously love to have his ace attacker available as soon as possible, but Canning has had a hectic schedule since he emerged on the inter-county scene in 2008 and may benefit from his enforced lay-off.
Cyril Donnellan impressed after coming on at Páirc Uí Chaoimh, but is set to miss out this time through injury.
His absence will be off-set by the return of Iarla Tannian to the squad.
Kilkenny have not set the world alight yet in 2011, but three wins from three games is good going and the Cats will hope it lays the groundwork that will enable them reclaim the Liam McCarthy Cup.
Brian Cody’s charges were decidedly indifferent during last year’s league, and the Kilkenny boss may have felt he could not afford to allow such lethargy creep into their set-up again.
A win on Sunday would leave the Cats in an excellent position to reach the league decider, though they are likely to have to improve on last Sunday’s performance against Wexford if that is to happen.
Along with Offaly, the Slaneysiders have been the whipping boys of Division 1 so far, but yet they finished just five points worse off than their illustrious opponents and could even have taken something from the game had Kilkenny goalkeeper PJ Ryan not been in such inspired form.
Still the visitors will be brimming with confidence after recent victories, and they are most difficult to stop in such circumstances.
Verdict: Kilkenny
