Waterford have made an encouraging Allianz Hurling League start under Liam Cahill.
Allianz Hurling League Division One Group A
Sunday March 1
Galway v Cork, Pearse Stadium, 2pm
Limerick v Westmeath, LIT Gaelic Grounds, 2pm
Tipperary v Waterford, Semple Stadium, 2pm
By Cian O'Connell
The race to claim a berth in the knockout stages remains interesting.
Limerick and Waterford have both set a decent standard in this group so far accumulating three wins each.
On Sunday afternoon at the LIT Gaelic Grounds John Kiely's outfit will be expected to maintain their winning run when hosting Westmeath.
Kyle Hayes and Darragh O'Donovan's industry was instrumental when overcoming Cork at Pairc Ui Chaoimh.
The enduring excellence of Patrickswell duo Cian Lynch and Aaron Gillane offered further encouraging evidence for the holders.
Westmeath have lost all four matches in the top tier so far, but the midlanders were satisfied with a couple of defiant displays.
Semple Stadium provides the backdrop for what promises to be an interesting encounter between Tipperary and Waterford.
Liam Cahill has made a positive early impact with Waterford, who edged out Galway at Walsh Park last weekend.
Prolific Cork forward Patrick Horgan.
That success was satisfying for Waterford, who have performed smartly in the opening rounds.
Cahill has also integrated a string of new players into the Waterford panel and momentum appears to be gathering.
Waterford, though, know another demanding assignment awaits in Thurles.
Few are better placed than Cahill to assess the talent and quality of an emerging Tipperary crop who won All Ireland Under 21 and 20 titles under his guidance.
Some of those players are being afforded opportunities by Liam Sheedy and Tipp's upcoming tussles with Waterford and Galway will be revealing.
In the west Galway face Cork at Pearse Stadium with the two counties intent on responding following defeats in their previous fixtures.
Shane O'Neill and Kieran Kingston are both striving to bolster their panels ahead of the summer.
Defeats to Limerick and Waterford ensure Galway must chalk up wins over Cork and Tipperary to have a chance of reaching the quarter-final stage.
Cork, with Patrick Horgan continuing his prolific form, need to register a triumph and hope results elsewhere are kind too if they are to advance.
GALWAY (v Cork): James Skehill; Darren Morrissey, Gearoid McInerney, Seán Loftus; Pádraic Mannion, Shane Cooney, Fintan Burke; Cathal Mannion, Adrian Tuohey; Niall Burke, Joe Canning, Seán Bleahene; Brian Concannon, Conor Whelan, Conor Cooney.
CORK (v Galway): Anthony Nash; Niall O'Leary, Eoin Cadogan, Colm Spillane; Bill Cooper, Robert Downey, Sean O'Leary-Hayes; Mark Coleman, Darragh Fitzgibbon; Robbie O'Flynn, Seamus Harnedy, Aidan Walsh; Conor Lehane, Shane Kingston, Patrick Horgan.
TIPPERARY (v Waterford): Brian Hogan; Cathal Barrett, Ronan Maher, Brian McGrath; Alan Flynn, Barry Heffernan, Pádraic Maher; Noel McGrath, Michael Breen; Jason Forde, John McGrath, Niall O'Meara; Willie Connors, Séamus Callanan, Dillon Quirke.
WATERFORD (v Tipperary): Stephen O'Keeffe; Shane Fives, Conor Prunty, Shane McNulty; Shane Ryan, Austin Gleeson, Kevin Moran; Jamie Barron, Conor Gleeson; Jack Fagan, Pauric Mahony, Mikey Kearney; Peter Hogan, Stephen Bennett, Dessie Hutchinson.
LIMERICK (v Westmeath): Barry Hennessy; Sean Finn, Mike Casey, Aaron Costello; Barry Nash, Declan Hannon, Dan Morrissey; William O'Donoghue, Darragh O'Donovan; David Reidy, Tom Morrissey, Brian Ryan; Darren O'Connell, Seamus Flanagan, Graeme Mulcahy.
