Allianz Hurling League
Saturday 18 March
Division 3A (all 2pm)
Louth v Mayo, Protection & Prosperity Louth GAA Training Centre Darver
Monaghan v Roscommon, Inniskeen
Armagh v Fermanagh, Middletown
Division 3B (both 2pm)
Leitrim v Longford, Avant Money Páirc Seán Mac Diarmada
Lancashire v Warwickshire, Páirc na hÉireann
Sunday 19 March
Division 1 Group A (all 1.45pm)
Clare v Cork, Cusack Park
Limerick v Wexford, TUS Gaelic Grounds
Westmeath v Galway, Cusack Park
Division 1 Group B (all 1.45pm)
Antrim v Tipperary, Corrigan Park
Dublin v Laois, Parnell Park,
Waterford v Kilkenny, UPMC Nowlan Park
Division 2A (all 1pm)
Carlow v Derry, Netwatch Cullen Park
Kerry v Down, Austin Stack Park
Offaly v Kildare, O'Connor Park
Division 2B (all 1pm)
Donegal v Tyrone, O'Donnell Park, Letterkenny
London v Meath, McGovern Park, London
Sligo v Wicklow, Markievicz Park
ONLINE
Live blogs each day on RTÉ Sport Online and the RTÉ News app.
RADIO
Live updates on RTÉ Radio 1's Sunday and Saturday Sport and RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta's Spórt an Lae.
TV
Sunday's meeting of Kilkenny and Waterford will be live on the TG4 app and GAAGO.
Highlights and reaction to all the weekend's action on Allianz League Sunday, RTÉ2 and the RTÉ Player, from 9.30pm.
WEATHER
Saturday: Wet weather clearing north-eastwards on Saturday, to be followed by sunny intervals with a high of 10 degrees.
Sunday: Cloudy to start, with rain extending nationwide from the south-west. Slightly warmer than Saturday with highs of 12 degrees on the cards.
For a detailed forecast visit met.ie.
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Semi final spot within All-Ireland champions' grasp
We've reached the final week of the regular competition, with semi-final spots now up for decision across all the divisions of the Allianz Hurling League.
What we know already in Division 1, Group A is that Cork's late smash and grab against Wexford last weekend means that the Rebels are into the last four from 1A.
The only county that can catch them is Limerick, who Cork beat in week one. Thus, owing to the head to head rule, Pat Ryan's side are guaranteed top spot, regardless of the weekend's results, and will therefore play the county that ends up second in 1B in the semis.
The same is true for Tipperary in 1B. The Premier County's 100% record means they can only be caught by Kilkenny, who they beat in week two, so they're going to top the group. Thus, they will play the team which comes second in 1A.
Who is likely to fill the remaining two semi places in the top tier? Well, Limerick, if they want to keep progress in their own hands, just need to avoid defeat against Wexford at TUS Gaelic Grounds.
If they were to lose, then they have something of a trump card to play, in that they beat both Galway and Clare earlier in the campaign, and will thus finish ahead of either if just one of them was to win on Sunday.
Were all three counties to finish on six points - Limerick losing, Clare beating Cork, and Galway overcoming Westmeath - then it would come down to scoring difference.
In that case the Banner would hold the upper hand as they head into Sunday's action with a scoring difference of +36, ahead of Limerick +22 and Galway +4.
Kilkenny flying the flag for Leinster (again)
In 1B it's a straight shootout between Waterford and Kilkenny for second place. The Cats hold the whip hand, and merely need to avoid defeat at Nowlan Park to set up a semi-final showdown with old foes Cork.
Waterford have to win to continue the defence of their league title, and prevent any side competing in the Leinster Championship from making the last four.
At the other end of both tables, we know that Laois and Westmeath will meet in the relegation play-off next weekend.
The only side the O'Moore men can catch in 1B is Antrim, but they lost out to the Saffrons in their meeting last week. While Westmeath can catch Wexford, but the Yellowbellies beat them in week two. As such, the head-to-head rule means the bottom two in each group with a game to play.
For the other counties in the top two divisions - namely Antrim, Dublin and Wexford - there is nothing to play for. Even by the standards of the league, you might see managers Darren Gleeson, Micheál Donoghue and Darragh Egan experimenting and giving certain players a chance to impress before the Leinster Championship begins in five weeks.
Potential semi-final line-ups:
Cork v Kilkenny/Waterford
Tipperary v Limerick/Clare/Galway
Plenty to play for outside the top tier
In the other divisions, there are still some places to be decided.
Kildare have performed very impressively with a 100% record from their four games. The same is true for Offaly, with the counties set to clash at O'Connor Park. The Lillies have the better scoring difference, so the Faithful need a victory to avoid having to play a semi-final next week against Kerry.
The men from the Kingdom are already guaranteed third spot - and the semi place that goes with it - because they beat Carlow, the only county that can catch them, in week two.
In the battle to avoid relegation, Derry, Down and Carlow are in the mix. The Barrowsiders can only go down if the two Ulster teams win - a draw against the Oak Leaf county at Netwatch Cullen Park would be enough.
If both Down and Derry were beaten then scoring difference would come into things. The Mourne Men are currently 19 points better off in that regard.
If only one of Down or Derry wins, then they will be safe with the side that fails to pick up the two points on offer going down.
Potential semi-final line-up:
Kildare/Offaly v Kerry
Division 2B is similarly open. What we know at this stage is that Meath are into the final, with their victory against Wicklow in week one ensuring that the Garden County can't catch them this weekend.
Wicklow are guaranteed a semi-final place owing to the fact that Tyrone and Donegal meet at Letterkenny. The Red Hand have a better scoring difference than their hosts, so they merely need to avoid defeat to set up a clash with Wicklow next weekend. Donegal can only progress with a victory.
Rather than straight relegation from 2B, a play-off will be played between the counties that finish in the bottom two. We already know that will be Sligo and London. The Exiles can join either Donegal or Tyrone on four points, if there is to a loser at Letterkenny, but they have already lost to both counties and therefore can't over take them in the table.
Potential semi-final line-up:
Wicklow v Tyrone/Donegal
We head into the final week in 3A with Monaghan top of the pile, but their surprise defeat to Mayo last week means there's a chance they might end up missing out on a place in the knockout stages.
First and foremost, a win or a draw for the Farney against Roscommon and they're through to the final, but a defeat leaves them open to finish anywhere in the top four. Were Roscommon to beat Monaghan, Louth to beat Mayo and Armagh to beat Fermanagh, then four counties would end up on six points and scoring difference would come into it.
Things get very complicated after that with five counties still in the hunt for a top three finish. So here goes...
If the Rossies win, they're guaranteed a top three place. Were they to lose or draw, then they could finish anywhere from second to a very unlikely last place. For them to be relegated they'd have to ship an absolute drubbing against Monaghan, while Mayo and Fermanagh would have to secure narrow victories over Louth and Armagh respectively.
Louth should make the semi-final with a win on Saturday, but it isn't a guarantee if Roscommon and Armagh were also to win. A draw leaves them opening to being caught by any one of the three counties below them.
Armagh should make the semi-final with a win on Saturday, but it isn't a guarantee if Roscommon and Louth were also to win. A draw leaves them opening to being caught by any one of the two counties below them.
For Fermanagh and Mayo to have a hope of a place in the semi final, they both need to win and hope results go their way, particularly a Monaghan victory over Roscommon. Were both to win and finish on five points, and Monaghan to beat Roscommon, then both could also make the semis.
If they both won, and Roscommon got a draw, then all three would be on five points and scoring difference would come into things. If they both won and Roscommon won, then it would go to head to head between the pair, thus seeing the Ernesiders into the semi.
In terms of avoiding the drop, Fermanagh need to match Mayo's result and they're safe. The Green and Red realistically need to win and hope other results go their way, or they'll be facing the drop.
In Division 3A the bottom team is relegated without a play-off.
Potential semi-final line-up:
Monaghan/Roscommon/Louth/Armagh/Fermanagh v Monaghan/Roscommon/Louth/Armagh/Fermanagh/Mayo
Things are slightly simpler in the bottom Divison.
Cavan, who've already played their four matches, are guaranteed top spot, having beaten Longford and Leitirm, who clash on Saturday, earlier in the competition.
That duo will meet again in the semi-final next week. Lancashire, who play Warwickshire, can't catch either owing to their losses against them earlier in the competition.
Semi-final line-up:
Longford v Leitrim
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