It's the penultimate weekend in Division 2, with the four games taking place likely to have a big impact on the promotion and relegation shake-up.

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ALLIANZ FOOTBALL LEAGUE DIVISION 2 PREVIEWS

Saturday, March 26

Tyrone v Armagh, Healy Park, Omagh, 7pm - Live on Setanta

Just over a decade ago, this was the biggest rivalry in Gaelic football. The pairing accounted for several epics in All-Ireland finals, semi-finals and Ulster finals, and while Saturday's meeting in Omagh is a long way from those encounters, meetings between these two are never dull.

Tyrone are already promoted back to Division 1 with two rounds to play, having raced to five successive victories over Cavan, Galway, Laois, Derry and Meath. Not that Mickey Harte intends to go easy against Armagh  - "We have won five out of five and this represents a really good start to the season for us," he said this week. "While being back in Division 1 could be said to be the icing on the cake, the important thing now is to build further on our winning habit."

For Armagh, the stakes are rather high. The Orchard County prop up Division 2 with three points, and defeat this weekend would leave them on the brink of a return to the bottom tier going into the final weekend of action. They were unfortunate to only draw with Galway two weeks ago in Round 5, and that strong performance, combined with the fact that they tend to raise their game against their fiercest rivals, gives hope this weekend.

Harte is likely to freshen up his team a little bit, while Armagh's gameplan will likely centre around forward Stefan Campbell, who hit 1-9 in a stunning performance last time out against Galway.

Tyrone: Niall Morgan; Aidan McCrory, Padraig Hampsey, Cathal McCarron; Niall Sludden, Rory Brennan, Tiernan McCann; Colm Cavanagh, Mattie Donnelly; Peter Harte, Ronan O'Neill, Richard Donnelly; Darren McCurry, Sean Cavanagh, Connor McAliskey.

Subs: Michael O'Neill, Mark Bradley, Conor Clarke, Conall McCann, Hugh Pat McGeary, Kieran McGeary, Ronan McNamee, Padraig McNulty, Jonathan Monroe, Barry Tierney.

Armagh: Patrick Morrison; Andy Mallon, Charlie Vernon, Shea Heffron; Mark Shields, Ciaran McKeever, Aidan Forker; Aaron Findon, Ethan Rafferty;  Rory Grugan, Miceal McKenna, Ciaron O'Hanlon; Colm Watters, Stefan Campbell, Gavin McParland.

Subs: Matthew McNeice, Stephen Sheridan, Sean Connell, Michael Murray, Joe McElroy, Ruairi McCaughley, Stefan Forker, Niall Grimley, Tony Kernan, Niall McConville, Jemar Hall.

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Sunday, March 27

Derry v Meath, Owenbeg, 2pm

Derry are still in the hunt for promotion from the second tier and a victory in Owenbeg would leave them in with a chance going into their final round fixture against Armagh. Meath are in a relegation battle, joint bottom of the table on three points with Laois and Armagh. Defeat this weekend would leave them in the mire.

Derry's manager Damien Barton is currently serving a sideline ban, but he will no doubt have urged his players this week to end a three game winless streak. Having opened with two victories, the Oak Leafers have lost to Galway and Tyrone and drawn with Laois in their last three games, with the Laois game worrying from the point of view that Derry shipped 1-22, adding to an already grim 'scores against' tally which is the second worst in the league.

Meath have been on a downward spiral since their defeat to Fermanagh in Round 2. The Royals have picked up just one point since their opening day win over Armagh, and what has been most worrying for Mick O'Dowd has been's Meath's 'Jekyll and Hyde' tendencies, whereby they have tended to blow extremely hot and then extremely cold in matches. Relegation to Division 3 would be a bitter blow to Meath football but sadly for them, it increasingly represents the status quo - their last relegation to the third tier happened just four years ago.

Derry: T Mallon; O Duffy, C McKaigue, K McKaigue; G McKinless, B Rogers, D Heavron; N Holly, E Bradley; R Bell, C Bradley, B Heron; S Heavron, E McGuckin, SL McGoldrick.

Meath: Conor McHugh; Donal Keoghan, Conor McGill, Mickey Burke; Alan Douglas, Brian Power, Donnacha Tobin; Harry Rooney, Padraic Harnan; Eamon Wallace, Cillian O'Sullivan, James McEntee; Donal Lenihan, Andrew Tormey, Michael Newman.  

Cavan v Laois, Kingspan Breffni Park, 3pm

Terry Hyland's resurgent Cavan can take a giant leap towards Division 1 with victory at home to Laois on Sunday. Win this game, and their final round encounter against Galway - also in Rosculligan - and the Breffni Boys will be promoted. For Laois, victory would effectively secure their Division 2 status for another season.

Cavan's season has turned dramatically. At half-time in their Round 3 clash against Meath, they trailed by seven and were heading for a third defeat in a row. They came out after the break like men possessed, hitting 1-15 to Meath's 0-4, and they haven't looked back since. Wins in their last two games against Armagh and Fermanagh have given them a genuine chance at promotion, and with Gearóid McKiernan, the prodigal Seán Johnston, Killian Clarke, David Givney and Dara McVeety all purring at present, Cavan have every reason to believe they are good enough to play in the top tier in 2017.

Laois have given themselves a chance of survival with their Round 2 win over Armagh and their thrilling draw against Derry two weeks ago. Scoring is not Laois' problem - Evan O'Carroll, John O'Loughlin and Donie Kingston are just several attacking weapons that the O'Moore County possess, and the 1-22 they registered against Derry was impressive. It's at the other end that they have struggled, conceding a whopping 10-68 in five games. Given Cavan's reputation for defensive stinginess, and the fact that their forwards are currently purring, logic would have to be defied somewhat if Laois are to prevail with the points on Sunday.

Cavan: Raymond Galligan; Padraig Faulkner, Killian Clarke, Jason McLoughlin; Ciaran Brady, Conor Moynagh, Killian Brady; Tomas Corr, Liam Buchanan; Dara McVeety, Gearoid McKiernan, Martin Reilly; David Givney, Michael Argue, Sean Johnston.

Laois: (TBA)

** Galway v Fermanagh, St Jarlath's Park, Tuam, 3pm**

Galway are still firmly in the hunt for promotion to Division 1, but Kevin Walsh has seen his side's challenge falter in recent weekends, with successive draws against Meath and Armagh denting their hopes of elevation. Fermanagh have four points but Pete McGrath's side are not entirely safe. Defeat in Tuam on Sunday would leave them in dire need of points against Tyrone in their final game on April 3.

Promotion is still in Galway's own hands. If they beat Fermanagh and Cavan in their last two games, they will be promoted. However, the sense that they are still flattering to deceive lingers following underwhelming displays in their last two games against relegation-battling opponents. Despite a burgeoning list of attacking options, and the solid midfield partnership of Fiontáin Ó Curraoin and Tom Flynn, Galway still don't quite look ready to return to the top tier. 

However, their All-Ireland winning former centre-half-back John Divilly feels now is their time. "If we are to position ourselves to put more pressure on Mayo in the coming years, we have to be a Division 1 team," he said this week. "Roscommon have made that leap and survived and I feel Galway are capable of doing the same. There is an opportunity there the way results have fallen and it's up to Galway to go and take it over the next two weekends."

Fermanagh's wins over Meath and Laois have given them a strong shout for survival, but they have blown hot and cold in the second division this year, with defeats to Derry, Armagh and last time out to Cavan, leaving them far from safe. Tomás Corrigan is in the form of his life up front, and alongside Seán Quigley, he gives the Erne men a real threat in attack. However, they must do the business here or else postpone it until the final weekend against runaway leaders Tyrone.

Galway: Manus Breathnach; David Wynne, Declan Kyne, Cathal Sweeney; Liam Silke, Gary O’Donnell, Johnny Heaney; Fiontan O Curraoin, Paul Conroy; Thomas Flynn, Eddie Hoare, Gary Sice; Shane Walsh, Adrian Varley, Damien Comer.

Fermanagh: Christopher Snow; Michael Jones, Che Cullen, Niall Cassidy; James McMahon, Ryan McCluskey, Aidan Breen; Eoin Eonnelly, Damian Kelly; Barry Mulrone, Ryan Lyons, Ryan Jones; Ruairi Corrigan, Sean Quigley, Tomas Corrigan.

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