MEN’S GAA PREVIEWS

TODAY’S FOOTBALL ULSTER SFC SEMI-FINAL Armagh v Down

St Tiernach’s Park, Clones, 5:15pm This is one of these modern cheek by jowl rivalries – just like Dublin/Meath and Kerry/Cork – that owes most of its heat to the distant past.

Down’s win in 2017 was their only one in this fixture in over a quarter of a century, with Armagh winning seven times in the interim. That trend will not change here. Verdict: Armagh

TOMORROW LEINSTER SFC SEMI-FINALS Kildare v Louth Croke Park, 1.45pm

It can be taken as a gauge of Kildare’s slump this season that despite hammering Louth by 16 points less than two years ago, the Lilywhites come into this as 7/4 underdogs.

That is the net result of not just of a winless league which concluded with a 1-12 to 0-12 loss to Louth, but also a poor performance against Wicklow in which they rode their luck to make it this far. However Kildare need to win to play in the Sam Maguire – and they might just find a way to defy the form book and the market. Verdict: Kildare

Dublin v Offaly Croke Park, 4pm

When is a two horse race a preordained stroll? Most likely when one team is 1/500 to win, which is the price the market has placed on Dublin winning.

To be fair, Offaly are the one county who have gone unscathed through Dublin’s march of 13 Leinster titles in a row but that is only because they have not played them.

They will get a taste of what it is like to face the blue killing machine today. Verdict: Dublin

ULSTER SFC SEMI-FINAL Donegal v Tyrone Celtic Park, 2pm

Even allowing for Ulster football’s democratic state, this fixture has loomed large over the last 14 years. Like pretty much everything else in Donegal’s recent history that is largely down to Jim McGuinness and his mastery of Mickey Harte’s Tyrone in 2010, ’11 and ’13 which set up a rivalry that has ebbed and flowed in recent years.

In truth it did not feel much like a rivalry when Tyrone strolled to an eight-point win last year, but all has changed since. Tyrone will not be as exposed on long kick-outs as Derry were, they are still likely to have the life squeezed out of them by their hosts. Verdict: Donegal

TODAY’S HURLING LEINSTER SHC ROUND 2 Carlow v Dublin Cullen Park, 6pm

Heading for the three-quarter mark last weekend, Carlow were right in their opening round fixture against Galway. It took the combined talent of Conor Cooney and Conor Whelan to really put some daylight between them so this is awkward for a Dublin side who thieved a point against Wexford via a couple of late goals. Verdict: Dublin

ANTRIM v WEXFORD

Corrigan Park, 3pm (GAAGO) A bit of talk that Antrim could squeeze into the third spot in Leinster has evaporated after the humbling defeat by Kilkenny. Wexford though, have found this fixture tricky in the past and need to get back to winning ways after failing to close out their opening fixture. Verdict: Wexford

JOE MCDONAGH CUP ROUND 2 OFFALY v WESTMEATH

O’Connor Park, 3pm A lack of experience perhaps caught Offaly in how they let a winning position slip from their grasp against Laois but the likes of Adam Screeney continue to blossom in a senior shirt. Verdict: Offaly

MEATH v LAOIS

Trim, 3pm Paddy Purcell remains such a quality figure around the middle third for Laois who will be looking to kick-on from that rousing late win over Offaly. Verdict: Laois

CHRISTY RING CUP

ROUND 3 Sligo v Tyrone, Markievicz Park, 3pm

London v Wicklow Ruislip, 1pm

Kildare v Derry Hawkfield, 1pm

NICKEY RACKARD CUP

ROUND 3 DONEGAL v MONAGHAN Letterkenny, 3pm

LOUTH v MAYO Dowdallshill, 1pm

LORY MEAGHER CUP

ROUND 3 Lancashire v Cavan Glenavy, 2pm

Longford v Leitrim Pearse Park, 1pm

LEINSTER MHC Dublin v Galway Parnell Park, 2pm

Wexford v Kilkenny Wexford Park, 1pm

Offaly v Westmeath Faithful Fields, 5.30pm

Kildare v Kerry Hawkfield, 3.30pm

Meath v Antrim

Drumree, 2pm

Laoisov Carlow

O’Mo re Park, 2pm.

TOMORROW LEINSTER SHC ROUND 2 Galway v Kilkenny

Pearse Stadium, 2pm (RTÉ 2) Rarely has a 32-point hammering come at such a price. Reports that Eoin Cody could be a doubt for the entire Leinster campaign are worrying for Kilkenny after the shellacking of Antrim. Adrian Mullen and Eoin Murphy too miss a game that has been written up as another Leinster final dress rehearsal. Add in home advantage then and the stars seem to be aligning for Galway. Verdict: Galway

MUNSTER SHC ROUND 2 Cork v Clare

Páirc Uí Chaoimh, 2pm (GAAGO) Two teams who experienced two very different ways of losing. While Clare’s late collapse will leave its own mark, once again they showed they were a match for Limerick in so many respects.

Overall, there was far more fluency to their play with more players like John Conlon, Peter Duggan and Shane O’Donnell bang in form so while Cork can look to the harsh double yellow for Damien Cahalane and the debatable black card for Ciaran Joyce to excuse the Waterford defeat, the wholesale changes to the starting 15 tell a tale. Verdict: Clare

Limerick v Tipperary

Gaelic Grounds, 4pm (RTÉ 2) The league semi-final blow-out against Clare has dialled down the optimism of the Tipperary natives going into this one but expect Liam Cahill to get a very different championship tune out of his players.

Any team with Jason Forde, Jake Morris and Gearóid O’Connor in the front six has the power to do real damage on the scoreboard.

The bye hardly suits them though, especially when Limerick used the first three quarters at Ennis to iron the kinks out from their system. Verdict: Limerick

JOE MCDONAGH CUP ROUND 2 Kerry v Down Austin Stack Park, 1pm

Kerry produced one of the hurling results of last weekend by comprehensively beating a fancied Westmeath side with Maurice O’Connor and Fionán Mackessy leading the charge. That should give them a bounce for this Tralee encounter. Verdict: Kerry

NICKEY RACKARD CUP

ROUND 3 Armagh v Roscommon Athletic Grounds, 2pm

LORY MEAGHER CUP

ROUND 3 Warwickshire v Fermanagh Birmingham, 1pm

LEINSTER U20HC ROUND 2 KO

Westmeath v Dublin Cusack Park, 12.30pm