Preview: Weekend's All-Ireland SFC action

Saturday, June 27

All-Ireland SFC quarter-finals

Cork v Mayo, Croke Park, 4pm - GAA+

Cork are boosted by the return from suspension of Colm O’Callaghan who teams up in midfield again with Ian Maguire with Sean Walsh dropping to the bench.

Another positive for John Cleary’s team is the return of David Buckley to match-day panel. Sean Brady is also included in the subs with Tomás O’Mahony, Darragh Clifford, and Cathail O’Mahony dropping down to the Stand By Players list.

Mayo make one change to the team that beat Meath last weekend with Stephen Coen coming into the team in place of the injured Paddy Durcan. Fergal Boland and Rory Brickenden make the subs bench with the injured Diarmuid O’Connor dropping out of the match-day 26.

The big question ahead of this match is what sort of Mayo team will turn up? They’ve been quite inconsistent this year, both from match to match and also within games.

Last weekend’s win over Meath was a case in point. They were very poor in the first half and lucky to be only nine points down five minutes into the second-half.

They rallied very impressively from there to dominate the rest of the game and win the match in stirring fashion against opponents reduced to 14 men, but it’s unlikely another curate’s egg of a performance will be enough to get the job done here.

Cork come to town full of confidence after a brilliant victory over Donegal two weeks ago, and they should be fresher than a Mayo team that will be playing a third match in as many weeks.

Steven Sherlock was the main man in that win over Donegal, kicking nine points, but if Cork are to win here then they can’t afford Mark Cronin and Chris Óg Jones to draw blanks like they did against Donegal.

The Cork midfield partnership of Maguire and O’Callaghan is possibly the best in the game right now, and if they’re on song they have the ability to give their team a winning platform in the middle third.

CORK: Patrick Doyle; Maurice Shanley, Daniel O'Mahony, Seán Meehan; Brian O'Driscoll, Tommy Walsh, Luke Fahy; Ian Maguire, Colm O'Callaghan; Paul Walsh, Dara Sheedy, Seán McDonnell; Mark Cronin, Chris Óg Jones, Steven Sherlock. Subs: Micheál Aodh Martin, Jacob O'Driscoll, Seán Brady, Rory Maguire, Seán Walsh, David Buckley, Conor Cahalane, Eoghan McSweeney, Ruairi Deane, Conor Corbett, Brian Hurley. Stand By Players: Tomas O'Mahony, Darragh Clifford, Cathail O'Mahony, Paddy O'Driscoll

MAYO: Jack Livingstone; Jack Coyne, Donnacha McHugh, Eoin McGreal; Sam Callinan, David McBrien, Enda Hession; Bob Touhy, Jack Carney; Stephen Coen, Conor Loftus, Jordan Flynn; Darragh Beirne, Ryan O'Donoghue, Kobe McDonald. Subs: Rob Hennelly, Diarmuid Duffy, John McMonagle, Rory Brickenden, Conal Dawson, Aidan O'Shea, Matthew Ruane, Paul Towey, Fergal Boland, Tommy Conroy, Cian McHale. Stand By Players: Seamus Howard, James Carr, Liam Golden, Hugh O Loughlin

Kerry v Tyrone, Croke Park, 6.15pm - GAA+

Both Kerry and Tyrone have named unchanged teams for Saturday’s All-Ireland SFC quarter-final.

That means Kerry have elected to hold Seán O’Shea and Gavin White in reserve on a very strong looking subs bench again.

There’s one change to the match-day panel with Micheál Burns returning to the 26 after the suspension that kept him out of Rounds 2 and 3. Tomás Kennedy drops down to the Stand By Players list.

There’s also the notable inclusion of a fit again Tom O’Sullivan on the Stand By Players list. It’ll be interesting to see if he makes the jump to the match-day panel by the time the game comes around.

Tyrone supporters were surely hoping that Darragh Canavan would be in a position to play a bigger part in this match after coming on as a substitute against Mayo two weeks ago, but he isn’t even named in the Stand By Players list as he was for that game.

The extra week’s preparation is definitely an advantage for Tyrone, but based on what we’ve seen from both teams thus far in the championship it’s hard to look beyond a Kerry victory.

If they break even in the battle for possession in the middle third of the pitch then the superior scoring power provided by David Clifford, Dylan Geaney, and Paul Geaney should make them too hot to handle for Tyrone.

And even if it is a match of fine margins you’d fancy a Kerry bench that includes players like O’Shea, White, Burns, Tony Brosnan, and Keith Evans to make a decisive impact.

KERRY: Shane Murphy; Paul Murphy, Jason Foley, Dylan Casey; Brian Ó Beaglaoich, Mike Breen, Graham O'Sullivan; Mark O'Shea, Seán O'Brien; Joe O'Connor, Paudie Clifford, Diarmuid O'Connor; David Clifford, Paul Geaney, Dylan Geaney. Subs: Shane Ryan, Evan Looney, Tony Brosnan, Keith Evans, Cillian Trant, Armin Heinrich, Gavin White, Tadhg Morley, Killian Spillane, Seán O'Shea, Micheál Burns. Stand By Players: Seán Broderick, Tomás Kennedy, Tom O'Sullivan, Charlie Keating

TYRONE: Niall Morgan; Cormac Quinn, Peter Teague, Joey Clarke; Michael McKernan, Niall Devlin, Kieran McGeary; Brian Kennedy, Conn Kilpatrick; Seanie O'Donnell, Ronan Cassidy, Ciaran Daly; Eoin McElholm, Mattie Donnelly, Ethan Jordan. Subs: Oisin O'Kane, Michael Rafferty, Aidan Clarke, Frank Burns, Ben Cullen, Ruairi McHugh, Oisin McCann, Conor O'Neill, Ciaran Bogue, Lorcan McGarrity, Darren McCurry. Stand By Players: Matthew Og McGleenan, Peter McCaughey, Conor Owens, Noah Grimes

Sunday, June 28

All-Ireland SFC quarter-finals

Louth v Monaghan, Croke Park, 1.45pm - RTÉ

Both Louth and Monaghan have named unchanged teams for Sunday’s All-Ireland SFC quarter-final.

That’s good news for Monaghan supporters in particular because Karl Gallagher was forced off in the first half of their victory over Westmeath and Rory Beggan was subbed out later in the game.

Louth make one positional switch with Paul Matthews named at midfield alongside Sean Callaghan and James Maguire shifted to wing-forward.

There are also two changes on the Wee County bench with fit again duo Padraic Tinnelly and Kieran Keenan both included in the match-day 26.

It’s a very difficult game to call. Both teams bring a lot of momentum into it and combine well-organised defences with a big spread of scorers in attack.

Louth tend to be a bit more clinical than a Monaghan team who don’t always convert as many of the chances they create that they should.

That combined with the fact they’ve had two weeks to prepare for this match compared to a Monaghan side playing three games on the bounce could give the Wee County a small edge in what will surely be a game of very fine margins.

LOUTH: Niall Mc Donnell; Emmet Carolan, Donal McKenny, Daire Nally; Conal McKeever, Dara McDonnell, Craig Lennon; Paul Matthews, Sean Callaghan; James Maguire, Sam Mulroy, Conor Grimes; Kieran McArdle, Ciaran Downey, Ryan Burns. Subs: Tiarnan Markey, Ciaran Byrne, Tommy Durnin, Conor Early, Leonard Grey, Ciaran Keenan, Conall McCaul, Conor Mac Criosta Tadgh Mcdonnell, Padric Tinnelly, Anthony Williams. Stand By Players: Sean Reynolds, Conor Branigan, Cormac Mc Keown

MONAGHAN: Rory Beggan; Ryan Wylie, Killian Lavelle, Dylan Byrne; Dessie Ward, Ryan O'Toole, Conor McCarthy; Mícheál McCarville, Karl Gallagher, Aaron Carey; Mícheál Bannigan, Stephen O'Hanlon, Jack McCarron. Subs: Andrew Woods, Stephen Mooney, Kian Mulligan, Fionan Carolan, Robbie Hanratty, Cameron Dowd, Oisin McGorman, Ryan McAnespie, Darragh McElearney, Thomas Hughes, Max Maguire, David Garland, Tom Doherty. Stand By Players: Luke McKenna, Shane Hanratty, Darragh Treanor, Ryan Mohan.

Dublin v Galway, Croke Park, 4pm - RTÉ

Dublin have been given a big boost by the inclusion of Con O’Callaghan in their starging XV for Sunday’s clash with Galway.

There had been concerns after he’d limped off in extra-time in Dublin’s victory over Donegal with what seemed like a hamstring injury, but he’s been passed fit to play.

The news isn’t so positive about Nathan Doran who suffered a suspected Achilles injury against Donegal. He’s not named in the panel and is replaced in the Dublin defence by Eoin Kennedy.

Galway make one change to the team that defeated Westmeath in Round 2A with Shane McGrath coming into the attack in place of Fionn McDonagh who is named in the subs.

There had been hopes that Matthew Thompson would be fit enough to play some part in this game but he hasn’t been named in the panel or Stand By list.

You’d wonder how much their extra-time victory over Donegal will have taken out of this Dublin team. It was a very hot day and their players were out on their feet by the end of the game.

A Dublin team with confidence and momentum in Croke Park again is a dangerous animal and if their experienced attack gets a decent supply of ball they can do the same sort of damage they did against Donegal.

But Galway’s big men like Sean Kelly, Paul Conroy, John Maher, Cein Darcy, Cillian McDaid, and Matthew Tierney have the ability to dominate the skies and give their team a greater share of possession.

If that scenario comes to pass then a Dublin defence that’s still not quite the finished article might find players like Robert Finnerty and Shane Walsh hard to handle.

If it’s a game of fine margins, then Damien Comer is the likeliest man on both benches to come on and make a decisive impact.

DUBLIN: Evan Comerford; Seán MacMahon, Eoin Kennedy, David Byrne; Lee Gannon, Theo Clancy, Charlie McMorrow; Peadar Ó Cofaigh Byrne, Brian Howard; Colm Basquel, Con O'Callaghan, Niall Scully; Paddy Small, Ciaran Kilkenny, Cormac Costello. Subs: Hugh O'Sullivan, Tom Lahiff, Liam Smith, Greg McEneaney, Cian Murphy, Seán Guiden, Josh Bannon, Ross McGarry, Alex Gavin, Seán Bugler, Tim Deering. Stand By Players: Páidí White, Luke Breathnach, Jack Lundy, Ethan Dunne

GALWAY: Connor Gleeson; Jack Glynn, Cian Hernon, Liam Silke; Dylan McHugh, John Daly, Sean Kelly; Paul Conroy, John Maher; Cein Darcy, Shane McGrath, Cillian McDaid; Robert Finnerty, Matthew Tierney, Shane Walsh. Subs: Conor Flaherty, Brian Cogger, Séan Mulkerrin, Johnny McGrath, Kieran Molloy, Fionn McDonagh, Daniel Ó Flaherty, Finnian Ó Laoi, Jack Mullen, Damien Comer, Liam Ó Conghaile. Stand By Players: Mikey Mulryan, Oisin McDonagh, Colm Costello, Patrick Egan.