Mayo's Fiona McHale believes that Dublin’s physical defence gives them a slight edge over Cork in this weekend’s All-Ireland football final but she expects a very tight encounter.
Dublin are chasing their fourth consecutive All-Ireland crown against the team they dethroned to kick off their period of dominance.
The Dubs lost three consecutive finals to Cork ahead of their 2017 victory and McHale does not see much between the two teams this time around.
"[Cork] are probably showing the better form coming into this game," the former Green and Red star said on Morning Ireland.
"Both teams have had three games leading into this and out of those three games, Dublin conceded six goals overall. They came through three very tough games with Waterford and Donegal in particular, the Armagh in the semi-final.
"Then you have Cork. They looked to cruise through their games and then in the semi-final they overcame quite a good Galway team.
"The top two teams have got to the final. Cork have shown the better form but I really think there’s the potential in Dublin for a better performance this weekend.
"Dublin can mark Cork’s main players in attack, Doireann O'Sullivan, Ciara O’Sullivan and Saoirse Noonan. I’m not sure on the flipside that Cork have the defence to mark the six Dublin forwards.
"I’m going to have to tip Dublin just to win, but I think it’s going to be a very tight game and I do think Cork still have potential to win it."
Follow the All-Ireland senior football final between Dublin and Cork with our live blog on RTÉ Sport Online and the RTÉ News app (from 3pm Sunday) or listen to live commentary on RTÉ Radio 1. Highlights on The Sunday Game (9.30 pm RTÉ2).
