There's a busy day of action on Thursday in the Fitzgibbon Cup with six matches taking place.

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Thursday, February 4

Fitzgibbon Cup Group A**

Limerick IT v UCD, Limerick IT, 2pm

Always strong at this level, Davy Fitzgerald's Limerick IT began with a thumping 4-16 to 0-10 win over Maynooth last week and would all but secure their place in the last eight with victory over UCD. Peter Duggan and David Reidy (both Clare) are two of the big dangermen for the 2005 and 2007 champions.

UCD enjoyed a superb 2-12 to 0-13 victory over UCC in their opener at the Mardyke and with the likes of Cian O'Callaghan, Colm Cronin, Oisín O'Rourke (all Dublin), David Breen (Limerick) and Ross King (Laois) in their ranks, as well as a host of young talents from Kilkenny, Wexford and Galway, the Belfield side are more than capable of causing an upset this afternoon.

Maynooth University v UCC, Maynooth, 7pm

Maynooth have struggled in the Fitzgibbon Cup in recent seasons and their opening round 4-16 to 0-10 defeat to Limerick IT last week suggests they will be up against it again in 2016. They have a committed group of hurlers, but the nature of the modern Fitzgibbon puts them at an obvious disadvantage against college sides stacked with senior inter-county stars.

UCC were stunned last week at home by UCD and need to get back to winning ways here. Alan Cadogan (Cork), John Power (Kilkenny) and Jamie Barron (Waterford) are their go-to men, and a win here will give them a chance of progression to the last eight going into their final game against Limerick IT.

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Fitzgibbon Cup Group B

Waterford IT v DCU, Carriganore, 7pm

Champions in 2014, Waterford IT have a strong side again this season. They were comfortable winners over a decent St Pat's side in their opener, 1-19 to 0-9, with talented duo Austin Gleeson (Waterford) and Liam McGrath (Tipperary) leading the way with 0-13 between them. However, they face two big games against DCU and Carlow IT and can't afford any slip ups.

DCU lost heavily to IT Carlow in their opener last week and it's a big ask for them to go all the way to Carriganore and get something against Waterford IT this afternoon. In the likes of Dublin duo Cian Boland and Danny Sutcliffe, DCU have some exceptional hurlers, but overall, their panel is not quite strong enough to really challenge at this level.

Fitzgibbon Cup Group C

NUI Galway v DIT, Dangan, 2pm

Group C looks set to be extremely competitive with four sides all capable of going further in the competition grouped together. NUI Galway were beaten last week by Mary I (1-16 to 0-13) and must defeat DIT to keep their hopes of reaching the last eight alive. They certainly have the players to do so, with Bobby Duggan (Clare), Niall O'Brien (Westmeath), John Hanbury, Cathal Mannion, Padraic Mannion and Conor Whelan (all Galway) the stellar names in a gifted squad.

Quarter-finalists in 2015, DIT lost to UL last week (0-20 to 0-14) but showed enough to suggest they are capable of testing both NUI Galway and Mary I in their final two games. Lee Chin, Jack Guiney (both Wexford), Robbie Greville, Derek McNicholas (both Westmeath) and Mark Schutte (Dublin) are the big name county men.

Mary Immaculate College v University of Limerick, MICL, 2pm

The winners of this Limerick derby at the Mary I campus will effectively seal their place in the last eight of the competition. Mary I eked out a solid 1-16 to 0-13 win over NUI Galway last week, underlining how serious their Fitzgibbon credentials are. The teacher training college counts Limerick luminaries Cian Lynch (suspended for this game), Declan Hannon and David Reidy in their ranks, while Niall O'Meara, Ronan Maher (both Tipperary) and Colm Galvin (Clare) bring further quality.

University of Limerick are the reigning champions and they began with a solid 0-20 to 0-14 win over DIT last week. Tony Kelly's ankle injury, which rules him out of the entire competition, is a big blow for UL but in the likes of Bill Maher, Brian Stapleton, Jason Forde and John McGrath (all Tipperary) and Clare trio Gearóid Ryan, Ian Galvin and Jack Browne, they have more than enough quality to remain serious contenders.

Fitzgibbon Cup Group D

Ulster University, Jordanstown v Cork IT, Jordanstown, 2pm

CIT tanked GMIT (3-22 to 0-7) in the only match played to date in what is the only three-team group in the competition. With players such as Jamie Coughlan, Mark Ellis, Bill Cooper (all Cork) and John O'Dwyer (Tipperary) in their ranks, CIT are obviously vastly superior to both GMIT and UUJ, two colleges whose GAA scene is centred around Gaelic football. That said, the three-team group structure means one of UUJ or GMIT will advance, and that is likely to be decided when they meet in the final group game.

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