Limerick will be without captain Declan Hannon for the All-Ireland final, with the centre-back omitted from John Kiely's matchday squad.
The Adare clubman suffered a knee injury in the Munster SHC final win over Clare, but he has not recovered in time, leading Kiely to name the same 15 that accounted for Galway in the semi-final.
Derek Lyng has named an unchanged team as Kilkenny aim to halt their rivals' drive for four straight titles, with David Blanchfield apparently winning his fitness battle.
The influential wing-back had been struggling to regain fitness after suffering a blow to his chest in the semi-final win over Clare.
Limerick's feared defensive unit will be much changed from their last three final successes, with Hannon and Sean Finn missing out, but they coped well with the challenge of Galway.
With Will O'Donoghue deputising at six and Cian Lynch moving to midfield it opens up an opportunity at centre-forward for David Reidy, who has long had to make do with an impact sub role.
While teams named in advance are subject to change, Cats fans will be hopeful Lyng starts the 15 named Friday morning.
The Kilkenny wing-back line will be vital to curbing the influence of Limerick's devastating half-forward unit, with Blanchield and Paddy Deegan named to start on either side of Richie Reid.
Tom Phelan at wing-forward will be playing in his first All-Ireland final, but Lyng will be banking on his players learning from last year's final defeat to Limerick.
He will also be planning on a big impact from his bench, with multiple All-Ireland winners such as Padraig Walsh, Walter Walsh and Richie Hogan held in reserve, along with early season sharpshooter Billy Drennan, who is working his way back to fitness.
Limerick: Nickie Quaid; Mike Casey, Dan Morrissey, Barry Nash; Diarmuid Byrnes, Will O'Donoghue, Kyle Hayes; Darragh O’Donovan, Cian Lynch; Gearoid Hegarty, David Reidy, Tom Morrissey; Aaaron Gillane, Seamus Flanagan, Peter Casey.
Subs: D McCarthy, C Boylan, R Connolly, A Costelloe, C Coughlan, A English, G Mulcahy, B Murphy, A O’Connor, C O’Neill, O O’Reilly.
Kilkenny: Eoin Murphy; Mikey Butler, Huw Lawlor, Tommy Walsh; David Blanchfield, Richie Reid, Paddy Deegan; Conor Fogarty, Adrian Mullen; Tom Phelan, Martin Keoghan, John Donnelly; Billy Ryan, TJ Reid, Eoin Cody (capt).
Subs: D Brennan, C Delaney, C Buckley, P Walsh, D Corcoran, A Murphy, C Kenny, T Clifford, W Walsh, R Hogan, B Drennan.
